We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer about their original and creative design work. is an award-winning creative designer, that makes our world a better place with their original works.
("") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work . Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
: The main principle was to create a fine product, the product which doesn´t have any time borders or horizons. We also wanted to follow minimalism, not to make things more difficult than they are. There is a stereotypic view that premium products should be luxurious which equally means that showy and unjustified details should be applied. So only these details can make the product deluxe. We are against it, and we truly believe in a simple and direct design.
: Our main wish was to achieve simplicity and pithiness.
: It will help us to become even more sure about our design idea and it tells us something about our product even if we have not met a person who doesn’t like it yet.
: It takes nearly two months. During this time the main idea of the product came to the mind and took its shape.
: No, it was just an inspiration. E.g. we do understand which samples have been already placed on market and in which way we do not want to create a case. And after that every single detail just fitted in. First sales were on pre-order basis, even though there were no photos of the real product. it was a very good news that somebody believed in us and our design vision.
: No, it wasn’t. The design concept was made by two persons: there is the author of design and idea and the was a designer which visualized it and created the first render.
: It was a hobby of our CEO, Vadim Garnaev. He is interested in High End devices, e.g. radio tubes. These radio tubes have many things with nixie tubes in common, which we start use in our clocks afterwards. So, then the hobby became a job, and the design which was conceived as private hobby thing became a stylish interior item for many people.
: It is a person who appreciate minimalism at external image , on average it´s a man, who appreciates the beauty of the technical items. Our customer mainly likes the brutal models and colors like black or brown. Our target customer knows what he wants and understands that he already have and done enough to get it.
: The quality of final product and our approach to creating of making process.
: This answer needs some prehistory facts. Every nixie tube contains a vacuum. We decided that vacuum in different languages has almost the same meaning, that is why it is understandable to everyone and everywhere. So, when the first word was found, the next step was to find a second one. At the beginning, we chose light, so the name was Vacuum light. Items to be suitable, but deficiency. We continue thinking and brainstorming. And guess what, we found the new word. And it was a glow. Glow is truly process compared with light. On the one hand VacuumGlow mean nothing, but on the other maybe our brand identification obliged to our pretty successful name.
: On the one hand our nixie tubes are the most unique part, because they are quite rare nowadays, and they look like vintage items and their light imparts some sort of fragility to the brutal case. It seems to be very fresh and extraordinary. On the other hand, the role of most unique aspect may play every laconic line, because the combination of nixie tubs and metal case is more than only result from their link.
: Our clocks are a result of a team work- of designers, engineers and IT-specialists. The idea isn’t enough; it should also be realized and materialized. Due to our production approach and our clear understanding of our aims and clear vision, it worked out and it was materialized by the people with completely different design visions.
: The main idea of the clock was a combination of the vintage elements and modern technologies. We automated clock’s operation. We also made an App which simplifies the time operation. Just with one button click, you can change the lighting color, time, you can experiment on the visual effects, and due to all the technical opportunities, your clock can be adjusted to your individual taste and interior. In this sense, technologies are an important part of our design, the part of the idea of creation a high-quality product at the intersection of polar flows- vintage and functionalism.
: At the beginning of the project, there was an analytical research which influenced to some extent our design. When there was a willingness to create a product using the lamps, and google helped us: we found hand-made clocks of some private master hands, and we just decided to go further. Indeed, we did it. We are still the only ones who produces such clocks in serial production terms in compliance with the most stringent production standards. We just realized that there was no high-quality product on the market. You can find something simple and only due to lamps-exotic, but there was nothing fresh and fine. So, we refused to make a simple wooden case, which is just too easy. Instead we chose a metal case. We automated the clock’s operation- you won’t meet something like that by hand makers. So, the primary market analysis helped us to definite our product vision and to be sure in our design concept.
: In order to make our design idea a reality, we had to accept couple of challenges. Our main challenge was to accept our primary design vision and actual results of the production. Production standards in Russia have some specifics, e.g. unwillingness to produce fine designer products according to client’s perception and deadlines. Production side offered us some simple options which are easy to be technically made, but uneasy to visually appreciate. E.g. some of the introduced to us options was a round case, which supposed to be a very creative designer idea, but in fact, we asked for a minimalistic case with a certain cover and got a completely different one. We still have many difficulties with glass-panel production. Lamps apertures are placed too close to each other, which complicates its processing. So just a few are willing to accept this challenge. Thus, to make our fine vision come true, we had to try 3 different places, but in the end, out glass-panel is exactly the same as it should be. The challenge itself is a normal thing, if you know, what you want to achieve. This experience will definitely help us in our future development.
: It was accidentally. When you create a product; you want to share it with others. In May 2016, we introduced our product on the one of the biggest international High End products fairs in Munich- HIGH END. We realized that people were interested in our product, we come to know many people from producers to customers. And just accidentally we got to know about this A’design Award competition. The participation conditions, entry list of participants, categories and nominations made us curious. So, we made the decision to participate, and we hope we will be proud of it and get a chance to tell about our achievements.
: We can probably state that the making process changed or influenced makers. From the idea and hobby, we made simply a brand-new brand and cool product. It took us about a year to work our way up from the possibility to make a product to its actual realization. The most important thing- it became a business and works. Our team is able to embody its ideas and make them interesting to a great variety of people. We have learned to make our idea clear to our target group and even to feel it, which is also a challenge, as it’s very heterogenic in its needs and tastes. We’ve learned to communicate with Russian production sites. We’ve learned not to take it seriously, when somebody tries to convince us that there are cheaper clocks for us to fail and relinquish. We’ve learned to explain the meaning of our product and there is no one who doesn’t like it; or at least we haven’t met this person yet.
