INTERVIEW WITH THOMAS SCHNUR - NOMINATION FOR GERMAN DESIGN AWARD 2014

How would you describe your work?
I try to transform my thoughts into products.

What made you chose to become a Designer?
Until the age of 19 I didn’t know that the profession called “Design” exist.
I wanted to create something. That’s why I started a profession as a carpenter. During the apprenticeship I learned about the profession as a designer and applied to the University.

Do you believe that Design is only about aesthetics or it should have / play a social role in our days?
Aesthetic already plays a social role in my opinion. If you see it in a larger context it can be more than beauty. Aesthetic can also be a form of morality and ethic. An honest relationship can be highly aesthetic as an inner aesthetic not a physical beauty. Of course this form of aesthetic has a much higher importance then the surface – also in products.

Does technology play an important role in Design?
Yes, but it doesn’t play the most important role in my work.

How important is hand sketching for your design process?
Hand sketching is important for me as a form of documentation of thoughts but not as a tool to find the right form for a product.

In your work we can see lots of visual effects that break the usual logic of the objects, where comes this inspiration from?
“The visual effects” are results of thoughts regarding materiality, appearance, meaning, function and the way of how a product is produced.

Which is the project you feel more connected to or gave you more satisfaction?
Hook up, because it is the first product in serial production.

Which are those elements, according to your opinion, that make a designer better than others?
No one is better than the other. Each one has its importance and individuality.
This variety makes the (design) world interesting.

Which other disciplines do you think have interesting connections with design because nowadays we see people that are multiskilled or/and multitalented?
All disciplines can have interesting connections with design. That’s interesting but also very complex. That’s why today each designer has to find his own focus.

Where does your inspiration usually come from?
For me the word “inspiration” became inflationary. It gives you the illusion that designing something would be very easy and random. It doesn’t reflect the process of idea finding for me. I’m more driven by interests and researches then by inspirations.

What advice would you give to the new designers generation from your experience so far?
Each one is individual and living / working in an individual context. It’s impossible to give an advice.
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