Mary Shelley wrote that the invention is not a creation out of nothing but out of chaos. A chaos studied in detail and strongly positive. This is what João Teixeira, a product designer from Portugal, believes in. João grew up with a love for art and beauty, studying photography and visual arts. At only the age of 16 he realizes that design might be his way forward. According to João, inventing simply means being positive, winking at innovation to simplify the everyday life of man, never forgetting to respect the environment. A close theme for design. João told us about his way of seeing design and his noble projects.
I believe that we live in a world increasingly oriented towards redesign, not design.
Hello João, tell us about yourself and how did you approach design?
It is never easy to talk about ourselves, however, I can say that I am a simple person. This is also perhaps the word that best describes my approach to design. I think that when objects are simple, there are fewer things to dislike about them. Furthermore, I think it’s easier to focus on the details.
Children often tend to be inventors. Have you always wanted to become a
product designer?
I've always wanted to be a lot of things, like many other kids with dreams. But no, when I was younger being a designer was never a goal. Actually, the word design only entered my vocabulary later on at the age of 16. At that age, I already had some shaped ideas, due to the arts course I attended that time. Photography, Visual Arts, Video, among others, were some possibilities. Over time and by understanding more about it, the design had easily become my only path.
What are your feelings about being capable to create something new?
That’s a good one. Mainly because of the meaning I usually give to the word. I believe that innovation should always be placed in context. Solutions already used in other areas can become totally innovative when applied to projects with different realities, either by process or materials. In this sense, I believe that innovation is synonymous with research, and being able to do research is very rewarding.