DI: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
: Since the beginning the intention was to make something different, unseen, elegant and something that customers would be proud to have on their dinner table. Of course, a good design is always developed around a concept, and I developed a specific idea based on the Dolomites as the UNESCO Dolomites are the actual added value making unique this mineral water.
DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
: I wanted to achieve something unique with a real Wow! effect. But at the same time it needed to be a smart product. Not silly, not just an exercise of design, but something that actually would make sense, with a true meaning. It's a matter of mineral water and Cedea needed to be a real product to be drunk, not just an expensive bottle.
DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
: The ideas for its developments are many! Starting with the exclusive Gift Box made last autumn, many ideas are going to take shape to highlight and emphasise the Cedea products.
DI: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?
: Actually myself and Sharon Hassan started this project a few years back. Cedea as company was not defined yet at that time, it was only an idea, a project. During these years I developed a full set of Communication items to support the making of the Cedea company and at the right time we decided to take the product design to the following level. So I developed it to the end, accomplishing the big bottle (750ml) in 2017. Then the 2018 was dedicated to the actual sampling and production, while I developed the small size bottle too. So yes, it's a matter of years, but the reason is that the company is not a big international player, it's a brand new one and the owner had to do all the steps from the very beginning. Starting from the spring source registration, analyses, factory development, plant development. And I was heavily involved in all these steps too, not only as a designer but as Manager of Cedea.
DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
: This is one of those cases when the Client completely trusts the Designer. In fact, the whole management and development of the Corporate identity and Brand Identity was assigned to me since the beginning. The packaging concepts explored initially with my design partner Sharon Hassan were several, all with strong rational bases. Time after that, we realised what was the best route to develop and that's what I did.
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?
: In this case the design was done specifically for Cedea, which is the owner of all the rights internationally, of both the brand and the bottle design.
DI: What made you design this particular type of work?
: It was a great opportunity to create something brand new. And then to develop it. Great, isn't it?
DI: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?
: I initially worked with Sharon Hassan, who specialises in 3D Product design and rendering. She gave me great inputs and together we created the bases for what I developed afterwards.
DI: Who is the target customer for his design?
: Customers of 5-stars hotels and restaurants. It's a high-end luxury mineral water to be found in selected places only.
DI: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?
: There are no others like Cedea. It is truly unique. A Cedea bottle on the table, does make the difference.
Smooth, elegant and delicate, still surprising and colourful. A combination of factors quite winning!
DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
: The Cedea name was not created by me. It was the Cedea owner who entitled the water spring to Cedea, the Goddess of Water and Life of the local Ladin legends. In the end, we kept the name to be the definitive brand name for the bottled water.
DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
: Quite a set! From the usual Adobe package to keynote ant ppt, to Rhino and more.
DI: What is the most unique aspect of your design?
: The colour effect, that actually uses the water in the bottle to spread through the whole inside of it.
DI: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?
: My friend and partner Sharon Hassan.
DI: What is the role of technology in this particular design?
: Creativity and ideas achieve a physical shape thanks to technology. In this case it was also a matter of prototyping (a lot), which was anyway generated by digital files.
DI: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?
: Of course we did a series of audits, mostly abroad. But, being a new business a new design, they were managed carefully to keep the design solutions safe.
DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?
: The fact that the bottle is expensive to make, so I had to find the right suppliers in order to make the product feasible. And, not secondary, the search for a glass maker able to make the bottle. In fact, the bottle presents technical difficulties quite serious because of its spiral shape. In the end, the right glass maker revealed to be the only one in Italy able to do it. They specialise in distillery and their plants can make things that others cannot.
DI: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?
: We all felt that it was a special piece of design. It deserved to be properly celebrated!
DI: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?
: Every single project makes you learn. Because, if you are a passionate designer, you accept projects with challenges that for you are, indeed, challenges.
DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
: I can only say that I enjoyed it a lot, and I can only thank the Cedea owner for giving me a complete trust, really on anything. This is something that don't happen everyday!