Hrvatsko dizajnersko društvo / Croatian Designers Association

“Experiments often depend on designers’ individual engagement and their efforts to provide conditions for themselves because they cannot necessarily rely on a well-developed institutional or industrial context. The domestic fashion scene is small and perhaps relies too much on local fashion weeks as an essential model of legitimacy. We lack more independent initiatives, collectives and new forms of association and networking on the wider fashion scene. There is also a lot of room for online experimentation, and this context is currently weakly or superficially present in the domain of local fashion design.” – interviewed by: ORA MUŠĆET

“The visual provocation was the holy grail. We played with taboos and national and international symbols. We were lucky enough to work with some of the most audacious characters and to learn from them. The challenge was to create small or big visual mischief with regard to forbidden topics: Tito, the Party, partisans, communists… It was a favourite mantra of rock performers as well as theatre directors, writers, and even us, the designers, who were lucky enough to work for them. We happily took on this challenge and wanted to create some kind of our own pop art and we had a really good time doing it.” – interviewed by: ORA MUŠĆET

“Digital design in the world is undergoing major changes and designers are required to be much more involved in the current problems of society. I think this can already be seen in the employment process of top companies, and it will certainly be even more pronounced in the near future. Designers from smaller, more conservative backgrounds, such as Croatia, will be in a weaker position. We can counteract this to some extent through a wider education and self-education, with the aim of increasing empathy for as wide a circle of people as possible. The core of design as a discipline is empathy, and empathy is nourished by new ideas, knowledge and experiences.” – interviewed by: ORA MUŠĆET

“The head is full, and the hardest part is stopping ideas and redirecting them. You have to give up some, separate the important from the irrelevant. Then the first guiding thread comes up, an aha moment happens. So the blink starts with a slogan or a movie in your head. I am inspired by organic forms and the world around me. Designing a space is a way to create a unique sensory environment that acts seamlessly and cohesively. It is a unique micro-universe that creates an impact on its users and can bring happiness, peace and inclusion. I often imagine the interior as a continuation of the urban fabric that connects the environment with its interior, creating a visual connection between the external and internal space, respecting the elements of the natural environment. ” – Interviewed by: Ora Mušćet

“Writers and editors (and magazine art directors) should not be the story. We bring our experience and knowledge to a subject, but a magazine is for its readers – whom we presume to want the best words and the most appropriate pictures for each feature or review. Magazine-making is not a form of self-expression. Having said that, there will always be parts of one’s personality that leak through, and that occurs in designing, too. ” – INTERVIEWED BY: MARKO GOLUB

“The future of design in my opinion lies in collaborative concepts and new ways of using materials. The field will hopefully be affected more and more from the current focus on ecology, while designs that are thinking and producing with sustainable, circular, and trans or multi-disciplinary methods will continue to be on everyone’s agenda. Technological products will feature more personalised options as our attention will still be on the digital world and mobile applications.” – interviewed by: ORA MUŠĆET