DI: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
: My collection is inspired by my minimalistic art that reveals the depth of human interaction, feelings and thoughts. My artworks have been a quest to find the meaning of things; when removing the noise, just a few lines are more than enough to describe a thought or an idea. The human mind is fully capable of connecting minimalistic sketches to concepts and feelings. I found this fascinating and I wanted to give my artworks a more physical touchable form. Thus, I moved to 3D printed jewelry as a form of wearable conceptual art.
DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
: My main focus was to combine art, fashion, and technology in a form that is aesthetically beautiful, retains the artistic value, the feeling or the concept of the artwork and is technologically achievable. There is a controversy surrounding the use of technology and whether it kills or not creativity nowadays, but for me, technology is what turns ideas into tangible possibilities, and it can drive creation. The jewelry collection managed to balance all the above.
DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
: To promote it further to the market. I love when I see my designs being worn by people who pay attention to the meaning behind the piece of jewelry they are wearing, or when the pieces are given as gifts because they convey particular messages.
DI: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?
: Many months, as the jewelry designs were based on my ongoing art project.
DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
: By inspiration. Inspiration is triggered by everything in my life, my experiences, the things I read, and feel and think, from discussions with friends to news, cultural explorations, or social and political matters. I want to create pieces that have some meaning when people wear them, that carry meaningful symbols.
DI: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?
: The pieces of jewelry are produced by a 3D printing company. I sell the jewelry through my website and I would like to collaborate with shops and extend my market reach.
DI: Who is the target customer for his design?
: They are modern independent people with elegant aesthetics and sensitivity, and a particular interest in art.
DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
: The name of the collection Phaino is a Greek transliteration. It means to show, bring to light, reveal and become evident.
DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
: I used drawing and 3D modeling applications.
DI: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?
: It is the product of my own work.
DI: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?
: It is my first product design work so it was a challenge for me to see the process and what I can achieve.