INTERVIEW WITH ALEXANDROS KOTOULAS OF ALEXQUISITE DESIGN

 

 

While studying in the Design Academy, I realised that this school is focused not only on the knowledge of concept, material and form, but a lot in individual personalities also. It became easier for me to feel confident for what I like and try to support it in the right arguments. But definitely the most essential lesson was about the importance of reflecting to your own work. Thinking and analysing before making is of course fundamental but there is another equally crucial step; taking distance from your own work, being able to disconnect from it and make a conclusion about this process. 

 

 

 

It was quite clear during my former studies that after graduating I would move to something more creative. I didn’t really doubt about this decision. But to be honest, I cannot say that the two subjects are really connected, at least in my case. I am mainly focused in conceptual product design, where the technical details are not such a big part of my process. So the main equipment was not the technical knowledge but more the attitude and the constructive way of working. Engineering school was quite demanding and entering the very competitive Design Academy after these years in the Polytechnic school was definitely an advantage.

 

 

 

My brand is actually me, is not something that I developed in parallel. And after some years of experimentations, I concluded that my interest lays on the softness of things. Soft materials, soft surfaces, but not only by themselves but applied as well. Under alexquisite I am trying to gather my latests projects that fulfil my view on design. It’s all about materials, colours, textures, and all these together creates a softness that it’s not only for the hands but for the eyes too.

 

 

 

Until now, all the pieces I have designed, I have executed myself. This is the usual way of working over the last years, and have found it very constructive. By making what you have on paper, you see the details, the problems and the proportions immediately in front of you. In the development of materials this is even more important. Experimentation is the core of the process and you have to be always present because the decisions need to be made on spot and quickly.

 

 

 

Honesty and simplicity are the principles I try to follow . Everything needs to be there for a reason. Simplicity leads to a final product that is immediately comprehensible from the user piece, but easy to produce at the same time. I think of design as the process of simplifying your initial idea to a stage that cannot be more explicit. 

 

 

 

I am actually part of this addiction too, as you can see on my blog (alex-quisite.tumblr.com). And I believe it derives from the overload of information and images in our era. The amount of visual input we have to confront in daily basis leads us to search for inspiration in a way that is more easily digestible; simple setting, neutral backgrounds, unsaturated hues.

 

 

 

Unfortunately I am not a big fan of 3D printing. It’s a bit far off what I like to communicate with my work, so my opinion would not be very objective. But I definitely agree that it is a great tool for rapid prototyping and can have great impact not only in design but in science and medicine.

 

 

 

At the moment, just a couple of weeks after graduating, I am mainly interested to gain experience and expand my network.  I am focusing in collaborations both in Greece and abroad in products, textiles and concept developing. As far as the backpacks are concerned they are already available online for Greece, and at the moment i am talking with some showrooms as well.

 

 

You can find out more in Alexandros Kotoulas` Facebook Page and Instagram.