All good things come in threes. That is why today we are happy to introduce to you the third great designer from the beautiful country of spaghetti and amore. Claudio Gomboli is an Italian Designer from Torino. He lived in Osaka, Japan for two years and has then moved to Berlin. Grown up in a family of painters, artists and art dealers he became interested in painting and drawing in young age. Here is what he tells about himself:
Claudio: After playing with digital computer technique in my childhood (with old 16 colours PC programs, mixing up pixels in a digital pointillism), I soon started to use also oil colours, pastels, charcoals, and pencils. In subsequent years I continued to feed my passion with art and graphic studies. I joined studios, agencies and cultural organisations cooperating for the creation of various artistic projects such as magazines, multidisciplinary performances, movie screening and literature meetings.
Claudia: What kind of designs do you create usually?
Claudio: I like exploring different fields of design and creation process: working on an illustration, and coding a website; making pixel perfect icons and user interfaces, and play with colours and shapes on paper without constrictions.
I like drawing as much as coding in CSS, and merging and mixing the different techniques. They all are tools to create something, and that something is the creation itself. In the Lab section of my website you can see “some little css3 stuff & drawings”. It’s a divertissement, an example of making illustrations (and sometimes small animations) in HTML, CSS3, and JS.
Claudia: What inspires you?
Claudio: Anything can inspire, it depends on how you look at things. Inspiration could arrive by watching movie, playing an old video game (I’m a retro games collector), or walking around to explore the city. The Japanese culture has been very important since my childhood in making my taste, from Ukiyo-e and Japanese printings to the 80’s/90’s anime and video games. But also western art movements such as Macchiaioli, Impressionism, German and Austrian Expressionism, Dadaism, and many others.
Claudia: Do you have a signature style?
Claudio: I think designers develop a proper own style at some point of their careers. Using tools and programs in a certain personal way also helps, or the way you build images in your mind before trying to fix them on the canvas (both digital or analog). Be inspired is something really important in our work, but in your works there must be a piece of yourself, without just following trends and the styles of the moment. Designers should be good at reading and feel the time and the culture they’re living in, and interpret it, not following someone else’s interpretations.
Claudia: What is your philosophy in life or favourite quote?
Claudio:
“There is nothing impossible to him who will try” – Alexander the Great.
Claudia: Any closing words of wisdom you wanna share with the world?
Claudio: Try living and working abroad, it’s one of the greatest feelings that we can experience. It can give a lot of expertise, opening your mind and improving your skills. It makes you living with curiosity. Take your time to understand what you want to do in your life, and then do it. Don’t stop being curious.
