INTERVIEW
Luis Mendo
(GOOD INC.) Designer
Interview February 1, 2010
(GOOD INC.) Designer
Interview February 1, 2010
In the right hands, what can art do?
I dare to say art can change lives. How many times a book, a film, a record or even a song has changed my life.
What made you want to become an artist?
I think we are all artists of some kind. Some of us have more the urge to do something with it. Other people exercise their creative urges in other ways like cooking or planting a tree. They are all some kinds of arts.
Favorite diversion:
Probably reading comics is my favorite "other" thing.
What do you wish someone had told you when you were just starting out?
"You're going to be just fine".
Most treasured item:
A couple, but my Pilot Capless fountain pen is probably the most treasured one. Bought it a long time in Spain, I had the nib changed in Tokyo for a better one. 2 days later someone let it fall and I had to go back to the Pilot shop. A very nice old man repaired the nib he had installed 2 days before. Now it feels as if the whole pen have had a life, with this "wounded" nib.
Thing people would be stunned to learn about you?
I'm afraid I am a pretty boring person and your readers don't get stunned easily.
Are your dreams in color or black and white?
Any dreams that recur?
I think they are in black & white to help me differentiate them from reality. I have no recurring dreams but I often see the same people coming back in them.
Best method to get unstuck creatively?
Walk away, do something else. Doing the dishes help but the best is to go for a city trip of 1 or 2 days.
Single most pivotal point in your career?
Probably going on a 3 month sabbatical to Tokyo was a definitely break point. I have never in my life encountered so much inspiration from a trip. This is part because it was a long break, and part because Japan is a truly inspirational place where you can learn many things like the attention to detail, the respect for nature and the other.
What are you in search of in your work? Have you found it?
Ever since I started my own company, the only goal has been to become a better person by doing good to those around me. This hasn't changed and I work hard everyday on it. I guess it's a process without an end, and that's fine.
Most intoxicating smell?
Ammonia. I hate the stuff.
To date, what is your favorite project?
Probably a very simple folder I ever did for a farming machine company. The subject was utterly boring and far from anything I like, but the passion the client had for the product was so contagious I got infected by it and loved to make something up to the client's expectations. I guess it's a matter for relevance. A machine moving potatoes might not be important to me, but it's everything for the client. Who am I to think I'm above that? We designers practice an applied art after all.
If you weren't an artist, what would you be doing?
Being an artisan (shoe making for instance) or a bookshop owner.
Time of day of highest creative powers?
Without a doubt very early in the morning or late at night.
Hardest thing for you:
Concentrate, not procrastinate, thinking positive 24/7
Unnatural fear of:
Getting mugged
Favorite artist:
Probably the French cartoonist Joann Sfar and Luis Buñuel
Favorite architect:
Tadao Ando
Favorite musician:
Kevin Shields
What the world needs more of:
Smiles, respect and positivism
One crucial piece of advice you’d give an aspiring artist:
You're going to be just fine.
Strongest inspiration comes from:
A strong self, from within.
Fears you had to overcome to get to where you are today?
If so, biggest one?
Thinking I wasn't good enough. I still have to stop myself thinking that, otherwise I get stocked. Just doing it works best.
What are you working on now?
Trying to publish my Tokyo diary, starting a shop with my studio mates, making a new format for internet magazines, a couple of corporate identities and sites...
learn more about this artist >
I dare to say art can change lives. How many times a book, a film, a record or even a song has changed my life.
What made you want to become an artist?
I think we are all artists of some kind. Some of us have more the urge to do something with it. Other people exercise their creative urges in other ways like cooking or planting a tree. They are all some kinds of arts.
Favorite diversion:
Probably reading comics is my favorite "other" thing.
What do you wish someone had told you when you were just starting out?
"You're going to be just fine".
Most treasured item:
A couple, but my Pilot Capless fountain pen is probably the most treasured one. Bought it a long time in Spain, I had the nib changed in Tokyo for a better one. 2 days later someone let it fall and I had to go back to the Pilot shop. A very nice old man repaired the nib he had installed 2 days before. Now it feels as if the whole pen have had a life, with this "wounded" nib.
Thing people would be stunned to learn about you?
I'm afraid I am a pretty boring person and your readers don't get stunned easily.
Are your dreams in color or black and white?
Any dreams that recur?
I think they are in black & white to help me differentiate them from reality. I have no recurring dreams but I often see the same people coming back in them.
Best method to get unstuck creatively?
Walk away, do something else. Doing the dishes help but the best is to go for a city trip of 1 or 2 days.
Single most pivotal point in your career?
Probably going on a 3 month sabbatical to Tokyo was a definitely break point. I have never in my life encountered so much inspiration from a trip. This is part because it was a long break, and part because Japan is a truly inspirational place where you can learn many things like the attention to detail, the respect for nature and the other.
What are you in search of in your work? Have you found it?
Ever since I started my own company, the only goal has been to become a better person by doing good to those around me. This hasn't changed and I work hard everyday on it. I guess it's a process without an end, and that's fine.
Most intoxicating smell?
Ammonia. I hate the stuff.
To date, what is your favorite project?
Probably a very simple folder I ever did for a farming machine company. The subject was utterly boring and far from anything I like, but the passion the client had for the product was so contagious I got infected by it and loved to make something up to the client's expectations. I guess it's a matter for relevance. A machine moving potatoes might not be important to me, but it's everything for the client. Who am I to think I'm above that? We designers practice an applied art after all.
If you weren't an artist, what would you be doing?
Being an artisan (shoe making for instance) or a bookshop owner.
Time of day of highest creative powers?
Without a doubt very early in the morning or late at night.
Hardest thing for you:
Concentrate, not procrastinate, thinking positive 24/7
Unnatural fear of:
Getting mugged
Favorite artist:
Probably the French cartoonist Joann Sfar and Luis Buñuel
Favorite architect:
Tadao Ando
Favorite musician:
Kevin Shields
What the world needs more of:
Smiles, respect and positivism
One crucial piece of advice you’d give an aspiring artist:
You're going to be just fine.
Strongest inspiration comes from:
A strong self, from within.
Fears you had to overcome to get to where you are today?
If so, biggest one?
Thinking I wasn't good enough. I still have to stop myself thinking that, otherwise I get stocked. Just doing it works best.
What are you working on now?
Trying to publish my Tokyo diary, starting a shop with my studio mates, making a new format for internet magazines, a couple of corporate identities and sites...
learn more about this artist >
