Manfredi Calamai Prortfolio 2015 by Manfredi

Manfredi Calamai

Creative Academy Application Portfolio

“Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Confucius

Pag. 06

About me & the portfolio. This is the part where I briefly present myself, my studies and my experiences. Here I also present how this portfolio was made.

Pag. 14

Blackhole. An urban cargo bike project focused on usability, where we developed an innovative design based on fractals and hydraulic steering..

Pag. 24

Scribble. A 3D printable lamp who’s design aims to be a provocation, combining a cutting edge technology with an “old school” approach.

Pag. 34

Manhattan. Development of a packaging system, designed for the private catering, based on a low impact profile, usability and elegance.

Pag. 46

Stout. A lighting project, meant to light a Manhattan’s hotel roofgarden. The inspiration comes from the combination of nature and early industry.

Pag. 58

Thesis. The main aspect of this project was the user experience, we developed an unusual way to eat in a cardboard box.

Pag. 70

Orologi Calamai. A fine timekeepers brand. Within the family company established in 2012, I play the role of art director, being involved in every design and production decisions.

Pag. 90

Extras. A bunch of unlisted projects, from branding to vector illustrations to 3d rendering and so on.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;And this is mostly why I am applying, because I feel like luxury is one of the only places where design still has the time and the will to develop also the untold aspects of a project and, maybe, these are the most relevant.â&#x20AC;?

Why I am applying. I have always been curious and this lead me to study product design, while studying I developed a passion for research, to me every project must have strong and untold historical or cultural references. Moreover I do like to tell stories, I love to explain that “this” particular shape is driven by the same proportions of the Gaza’s pyramids and so that particular curve describes the same orbit of the moon around earth in proportion and so on. I love craftsmanship, I can’t explain why but I feel like that the craftsman always gives a little bit of his soul to a product, making it alive. And this is mostly why I am applying, because I feel like the luxury is one of the only places where design still has the time and the will to develop also the untold aspects of a project and, maybe, these are the most relevant. To me luxury isn’t about the price, well actually it’s neither about the product or the service itself. Luxury is mostly about the charme given by the craftsman who made the piece and the time he needed to master the technique and more further the time (hundreds of years) to refine the knowhow. When talking about luxury, people are buying a world instead of a product or a service. Moreover, since it’s not a matter of price, I strongly believe that luxury should be green, not as a marketing lever, but it should be implicit as the quality.

A B O U T me & the portfolio.

About me. My name is Manfredi Calamai, I am 25 years old and I am an eclectic. I won a scholarship in Product Design at the I.E.D. in Milan, where I graduated with the higher ranks in 2014. During my scholar years, I discovered that I was keen in everything. When developing a project, I was interested in every aspect, from the design itself to the engineering to the presentation and communication. This approach, that I consider one of my strengths, comes out from my strong curiosity. Moreover I love to work in team, specially in heterogeneous teams, where everyone has his own peculiarities, capacities and experience to share. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m also very curious about my capacities, I tend to push the limits to find out whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s beyond, tough I am a climber, a sailor, a snowboarder. I love to try to build most of the things that I need, for example instead of buying some expensive lighting equipment for a light studio set, I experimented many other ways to do it by myself. This, has some drawbacks, like the huge amount of time needed to research and find out solutions, but during the path I always gain lot of experience that might be handy in future.

Summer 2002 & 2007 Summer 2007 Lakeowen Skateboard Camp, U.S.A. Cushing Academy, U.S.A. I have been a month in the States to learn English while skateboarding. I also learned a new culture.

Where I attended the English as a Second Language summer course (ESL). I met people from all around the world and expanded my sights.

2003 2003 / 2008 Waiter at Caffé Caldesi, London. I.s.i.s. Machiavelli Capponi, Florence. Where I was the less important staff member and I learned the meaning of hard work and the value of the so called Customer Relationships.

I have attended the scientific experimental course at this International School, taking two diplomas: an Italian and a French one.

2006 / 2009 2009 / 2011 Instructor at Pa-Kua, Florence. U.C.S.C. law studies, Milan. Martial arts are about combining hard work and discipline with art and self expression.

2011 Stage at Italia 7, Florence. Italia 7 is a big Tuscan TV station, there I started doing the hard work, like the night shifts. Than from selecting news, I started making them, becoming a reporter.

2012 - Present Art Director at Orologi Calamai. When my father decided to start making fine watches, I designed those watches and I followed every creative aspect of this new business.

2015 - Present Shop owner at CreativeMarket.com. I had the permission from the staff to open my shop, offering what I was looking for without finding it.

The discipline of law is very fascinating, but when I realized that that’s wasn’t what I wanted to do I quitted.

2011 / 2014 IED Product Design, Milan. I decided to follow my passions, one of the best decisions I ever took, and I won a scolarship.

2014 Freelance Designer, Milan. After graduating I did some freelance designs, working allso with the TBWA \ Integer group.

2015 Stage at VM6, Milan. VM6 is a place where I could experience every aspect of a creative work from the product design to graphics.

2015 - Present 2015 - Present Freelance Designer, Milan. Consultant at Studio Diamante, Milan. During this period I worked for some big brands such as Samsung, and AIRC and increased my presence in Orologi Calamai, developing the new models.

We are working on the concept of a new timekeeping device. On this project I am working on the user experience and usability aspects.

Rhinoceros

Autodesk 3DS Max

Keyshot

Adobe Illustrator CS

Adobe Photoshop CS

Adobe Indesign CS

Adobe Premiere CS

Adobe After Effects CS

Sketching

Prototyping

Photography

Word Press

The Portfolio. The Portfolio is a project itself, and maybe, it’s one of the toughest. In fact it has to speak for me, presenting the way I am at my best. Moreover iy’s a multidisciplinary project, where you have elements of product design (e.g. choosing and designing the bindings or the choice of the materials and packaging), of editorial design (that lies in the whole layout in the concept itself of how they are told), of graphic design (in the cover and all along the portfolio), of communication and so on. So, you can’t only be focused on well presenting yourself and your works, you must be aware of the touch and feel of the portfolio, choosing the right materials, binding techniques, layout and packaging. I probably spent more time in designing the whole concept than filling in the contents of this portfolio.

“I probably spent more time in designing the whole concept than filling in the contents of this portfolio.” The paper(s). To build this portfolio I wanted to use the finest matirials. The paper on which its printed is the Mohawk Superfine Eggshell it’s one of the finest papers ever made in terms of consistency, colour and finishing. The paper is FSC certified, that proves that the producer really cares about the whole production process. It’s acid free and the resolution of colours is fantastic. To me when talking about papers this is the only choice.

Font matching. As I am keen in the details, not only the content had to be meaningful, but even the way it is displayed had to be expressive. I decided to use a combination of typefaces, to tell hierarchies and to break monotony. Matching typefaces

ain’t an easy task, I wanted to use font families would be legible and harmonious between each other. I am really fond of those great early advertising billboards, so, for the headings I used the Gill Sans font family, in the semi-bold italic style. What I really like about this font are the ascenders and the descenders length, that give to this modern serif a somewhat classy and retro appearance. This naturally lead me to choose for the body copy a serif font whose x-heights are proportionate to those of the headings and sub headings. So I had to look for a serif font that would be legible and proportionate to the Gill Sans, so I used Sabon. This font, is temporally close to the Gill Sans and its peculiarity is that it’s built following the requirements of the monotype and linotype machines, so it is very suitable for long bodies and subconsciously gives that sense of elegance that was the standard in the era of printed papers.

O N E Blackhole.

Debriefing. In order to properly tell this project it’s important to briefly introduce the scenario in which we were asked to work and the analysis we did. We were asked to design an urban cargo-bike; these tree words can give an overview of the whole question. In fact the word (or world) urban refers to a highly specific space, where the lack of room, the security issue, and the interactions between many players, are the main drivers. Moreover the words cargo and bike are quite the opposite, one refers to something big, heavy and slow, the other one is something much more quick, small and light. From this brief analysis it’s clear that bicycles aren’t very suitable to carry big cargoes…

Ouvertures. We soon realized that cargos aren’t necessarily big heavy things, and most important, that big and heavy cargoes aren’t keen in being moved in everyone’s everyday life, where is much more like that smaller carries have to be moved, yet small but too big to be transported with an ordinary bike. From this point of view it’s clear that cargo-bikes are very useful to carry cargos, but are too big and slow and not suitable to an urban daily use, so they aren’t very appealing… therefore we wanted to make a cargobike that feels like an ordinary bike.

Milan - 2012

First steps. As soon as we started a deeper analysis of the cargo and bicycle transportation, we stated that one of the main points of work would be the stability, therefore the loads had to be stored as low as possible. In the very first moment we decided to start from transforming a traditional bike into a cargo one, by changing its frame structure or adding some plugins. The idea was to give the possibility to upgrade any kind of bike to a cargo one and back. This approach wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t leading us to any good solution and wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t giving us the storage capacity we wanted, so we decided to restart and design from scratch a bicycle around the key features we stated, such as a low cargo storage, a reversible bicycle (from normal to cargo and back) and a small frame to make it suitable for an urban environment.

The Project. Since we started from a blank piece of paper, we hadn’t any restriction in what to do, but the functional aspects we stated. Therefore we wanted to design something radically different, without losing touch with reality. The project started from a deep study of

“The project started from a deep study of proportions.”

proportions, were we analyzed almost a hundred of bike frames in order to have a clear idea of the ergonomics and physics of a bicycle. Then we needed a kind of rule to start

building our frame, finding it in the fractal systems. Every component of the bike was the designed following those principles.

On the functional part we developed a sliding cargo platform that would make the bike shift from a traditional configuration to a cargo one. This solution lead us to face another problem, the steering system. The front wheel wasn’t no more directly connected to the steer. The solution came out from the yachting world, we borrowed the same hydraulic system that drives the engines of the boats. So the steer instead of being attached to the wheel by a shaft, was connected to a system of oil pistons that would drive the pressure to another piston connected to the front wheel making it turn. This solution also gave us much more freedom in designing the shape of the bike, because we were no more forced by a traditional and fixed steering system.

This is a MoirĂŠ animation. In mathematics, physics, and art, a MoirĂŠ pattern is a secondary and visually evident superimposed pattern created, for example, when two identical (usually transparent) patterns on a flat or curved surface (such as closely spaced straight lines drawn radiating from a point or taking the form of a grid) are overlaid while displaced or rotated a small amount from one another.

Final outcome. As you can see in the final outcome, the bicycle, when in its standard configuration is even smaller than a standard bike, making it very suitable for urban surroundings. The small dimensions allow this bike to be very

â&#x20AC;&#x153;When in its standard configuration is even smaller than a standard bike.â&#x20AC;?

agile and fast, the oversized wheels and the low center of gravity make the bike even safer. Shifting to the cargo configuration, the loading area is very wide, and again having placed the load underneath

contributes lowering the bikes center of gravity, making it easier to be driven. The benefits of a multifunctional mean of transport are even greater if we think that usually a cargo has to be moved from point A to B, then the way back to point A will be, most of the times unloaded.

T W O Scribble.

Introduction. For this project I was asked to design a lamp that would be totally 3D printed and then lighted using the LED technology, in particular some 200mm LED bars. When thinking of 3D printing, the first ideas that came to mind are those super complex organic shapes that are otherwise impossible to produce, some medical application, or those â&#x20AC;&#x153;geekyâ&#x20AC;? gears made to build other 3D printers, and yes, also guns! So I wanted to try something different, I wanted to make something unusual with this technology application. One last requirement was that no other manufacturing was allowed than the outcome of the printer and the LEDs installation.

Milan - 2013

Concept. During the years I started feeling that design was more and more driven by the means (e.g. softwares and new technologies), than the designer’s creativity as a response of a need. Therefore this project was meant to be a little bit provocative. I wanted to apply one of the newest technologies such as the 3D printing (who symbolize the software driven new designs) to an antiquate design, symbol of the hand made projects. For this reason the lamp turned out to have the silhouette of an old one. One of those you can see in a old

“The lamp turned out to have the shilouette of an old one.”

British Club House. Giving it a well known shape wouldn’t be enough, I had to fully empower the possibilities of 3D printing, otherwise that lamp could have been produced in much more convenient other ways. I wanted to enhance both 3D printing and hand made designs and I had to find a way to blend this two concepts together.

The idea stroked me when I was hysterically erasing another wrong idea, the result was a scribble that looked like the way kids are used to draw tornadoes... I started shaping that tornado into the shape of the lamp, obtaining a kind of a nest that looked like an old lamp. This was what I was looking for, but it had a problem of strength and I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know where to put the LEDs.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I wanted to enhance both 3D printing and hand made designs.â&#x20AC;?

The solution was a central structural pillar, that held the whole structure and also served as a LED casing. The base of the pillar needed to be heavy in order to well balance the lamp.

The Lamp. At this point I had all the elements I needed to design the lamp. Turning the sketches into a 3D model that could be printed was a little bit tricky, but while modeling I discovered some more features of this design. For example, the lamp body was made out a wire that revolves creating the lamps silhouette, this wire is self intersecting in many points, hence it creates a sort of nest that gives strength to the whole structure. This particular design and the way it is modeled is very flexible in terms of shape variations, in fact, starting from the first lamp I was able to iterate its shape in many different variations, creating a family of lamps suitable for many purposes and environments. But, the most important feature is about the essence of the lamp itself and lays in the way the shadows are casted. Designing a lamp is most of all designing the light and the light is defined by the shadows it generates.

Well, this lamp’s shadows are pretty much particular, the light is filtered by the lamp’s body nest and casts a series of chaotic shadows in a circular pattern where the lamp is the center and fades as the distance from the center increases. This peculiarity gives another degree of flexibility to this

“Designing a lamp is most of all designing the light.”

lamp’s use, you can place it nearby a surface and the shadows are distinct and neat, or it can be placed in the middle of an open space where it gives a nice textured light. Moreover this effect occurs even when the lamp is switched off and the ambient light shines trough the lamp’s body.

Final toughts. In the end the things I liked the most about this project were the challenge to combine a digital technology with an analogical project imprinting. This made me reflect and analyze some aspects I usually wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t notice and lead me to concentrate on the cultural part of the project, approach I have used ever since in every one of the my projects. Lastly, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m quite pleased with the lamp, as I found it suitable for any kind of environment and was able to give an interesting look to the generated light. Moreover this project was selected among hundreds of others to be a part of 5 actually produced lamps, but in the end nothing happened and this lamp is still only a 3D file.

T H R E E Manhattan.

Introduction. The committee of this project was an Italian company leader in the catering packaging sector, specifically in the ice cream packagings. This time we were asked to develop a new ice cream packaging, focusing on the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s values and, most importantly, that would be produced employing the existing companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s technologies, which were most of all injection molding. This company served both industrial and private catering.

Industrial Catering. Industrial catering main drivers were high quantities of stock products, hence low prices and a highly restrictive legal control of quality.

Private Catering. On the other hand, private catering are smaller (even though this is not always true) and often quality overtakes price in terms of relevance when choosing.

Milan - 2013

Concept. While analyzing the catering’s scenario, we highlighted two main points of concern. One was the sustainability of the project and the other was the user experience. We faced the first issue applying a DFX way of thinking, focusing in particular on the transportation and the end of life. Regarding the user experience, we noticed that it wasn’t taken into serious account in the company’s production line.

Sustainability. To reduce the ecological footprint of our project, beside working on the materials that would raise the price and because PET if well handled does the job, we focused on lowering the emissions generated during the transportation of the packagings. To do that we wanted, to create a packaging that would be as stackable as possible, to maximize the quantity of products movable with a single carry.

User Experience. The first aspect to keep in mind is that this packagings are meant to hold an iced product, so we had to prevent the cold product to touch the user’s hands. This allowed us to avoid the ice cream’s melting and to give a better experience to the user. Moreover this packaging had to present well the product, not overwhelming it, so they had to be discrete.

The project.

The Cups.

This project is made by a family of elements, that work

The cups are the main feature of this project.

together in order to fulfill the brief. In fact the catering’s

In first place their design creates a gap between the

world is too much complex and involves too much

content of the cup and the user’s hand. This way the ice

relations to be properly covered with a single product.

cream won’t melt and the fingers won’t freeze, giving

For this reason, and to maintain coherence all along the

the best experience possible to the user. Although it

products line we decided to design a full set.

seems complex this design can be produced by injection molding. This feature generates another one of the main characteristics of these cups, the outer walls. In fact in

“These trays are build upon a module that gives the possibility to turn the trays into a riser and viceversa”

order to be injectable we had to keep in mind an undercut of at least 2°, this allowed the cup to be injected and then ejected from the mold. These cup’s geometry allow them to shrink and flatten drastically reducing their dimensions. In order to control the collapse of the cups we added some weak points in the cup’s shape.

The Trays. Another element of this project are the trays. These trays are build upon a module that gives the possibility to turn the trays into an exposition complement and viceversa. Basically the single module is made out of a piece of methacrylate (PMMA) on which are carved three

recesses to hold in place the cups. These recesses are carved on both sides of the piece, in this way it can be turned upside down. On one hand, it works as a riser, or it can form groups of three pieces jointed with an extruded aluminium bar; on the other hand, it can be used as a tray for the waiters to carry the food around.

The set. The whole project becomes a set of products, where the complementary products emphasised the cup’s main role. In order to make the project complete we realized two sizes of cups, a standard one meant to hold ice cream (as required) and a taller one that goes beyond the standard and can be employed to serve a much wider variety of foods. We also designed the cutlery that

“Each piece is thought with the same principles of space saving of the cups.”

goes along with the cups, each piece is thought with the same principles of space saving of the cups. For instance the spoons are meant to bend only when in the hands of the user, otherwise they are a plain sheet of plastic. Forks are also provided within this cutlery set.

te t e pp

i o s s a v e

o c r e d n Re oli sing

Packaging of the packaging. Since transportation was one of the biggest points we worked on, we also developed a system of packaging and storage that would minimize the space needed. For example in a 120mm X 130mm X 60mm we stored 30 cups. This helps the work of the organizer since all the setâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s components are stored and classified in boxes easy to carry. These boxes arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a waste of material and space, in fact the cups, spoons and trays are reusable, so boxing them is crucial to preserve them as long as possible. Moreover we developed a starter kit, which is a bigger box that holds all the necessary components to set up a home made catering without having to purchase all the single elements separately. Opening new markets and possibilities to this project.

F O U R Stout.

Introduction. The brief of this project was to design a lamp or a family of lamps to light the rooftop garden of a hotel. First things first, the hotel: we chose to hypothetically design for a high level hotel in Manhattan. Right after choosing the hotel we started analyzing it, demographics, competitive environment, history, the neighborhood and the concept of rooftop garden in general.

Rooftop garden. These places are called rooftop gardens, on the term rooftop we all agree, but when it comes to the concept of garden we noticed that these places are everything but gardens. In theory in a garden nature is the dominant element, in the so called rooftop gardens, the presence of nature was basically nothing. We wanted to start working on this aspect.

Milan - 2014

Concept. We said that in the roofgardens there isn’t any trace of garden, so we wanted to introduce the element of nature with the lamp we were going to design. Once again this project wasn’t only an object but we aimed to give it a deeper level of lecture, we wanted to whisper the fact that we (the human race) are loosing the touch with nature, and, most important that we are the weak part in this play. We wanted to bring back to reality those who think they can continue living like the world is their, because, one day nature will ask her pay. In order to do that we wanted to design something that symbolizes the raise of the modern cities, a symbol of the industrial power, something that would never be associated to nature. We found our symbol in the stout, the element upon which every skyscraper was built. The role of this element would be taken in second place by the beauty and the power of nature, expressed by the light. This concept had to be more clear and immediate. We designed a special lens, built to generate the so called

“We found our symbol in the stout, the element upon which every skyscraper was built.”

caustics curves (those reflections we can see on a pool’s bottom for example). This

light

effect

really

expresses

the concept of chaotic order that nature has. Moreover the effect is so spectacular that all the user’s attention will be shifted from the physical lamp

to the light itself. We wanted, using the light, to express the core concept of the role of man and nature. The lamp would have two lights, on one hand the nature’s light generating the caustic curves, on the other hand a light empathizing the stout’s shape. In this way, we tightened together the two aspects of the roof gardens.

A very special lens. When we decided to embed nature in our project we had to find an element that would be representative of the nature and compatible with the project we were doing. After a while of research we were stroked by the fact that although nature is so wide and varied, it is all ruled by the same laws. These laws are apparently chaotic, but are very clear in depth. We started exploring these laws and one of the most fascinating was the so called chaos theory. This theory is graphically well represented by the Lorenz systems. At this point, we needed a way to embed these concepts in our lamp. The solution came out with the caustic curves, which are apparently chaotic. Wikipedia defines caustics like: the envelope of light rays reflected or refracted by a curved surface or object, or the projection of that envelope of rays on another surface. The caustic is a curve or surface to which each of the light rays is tangent, defining a boundary of an envelope of rays as a curve of concentrated light. Now we needed to deeply study this phenomena and more important we had to understand how to create and control them. We started playing with some curved surfaces and started making a mind of how it worked.

“The displacement of it’s surface is computer generated following a fractal algorithm.”

After a while we came out with a wavy piece of glass. The displacement of it’s surface is computer generated following a fractal algorithm. The light source behind the glass wasn’t relevant in terms of effect generated, every light source generated a different light pattern but all of them generated caustic curves. We saw that the best looking pattern was created by some wide angle spotlights.

The project. The lampâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s structure is quite simple but very

The lamp is than provided with another light source, it

representative, it is built upon a heavy concrete base,

is an upright light beam that enlightens the inside part

in order to ensure balance and to keep the center of

of the stout, to empathize its height and shape. This light

gravity as low as possible. In the base is sinked the stout,

source is again a LED also stored in the main unit.

specifically we are talking about two C section stouts,

Grouping all the components in a single space means

mirrored to obtain a sort of H section, the same way

simplifying

as the first skyscrapers were built. In the lower section

diagnostics, but also represents a problem, in fact

of the lamp is housed the chaos lens, the lens is part

the LEDs generates heat, we needed to find a way to

of a waterproof block that contains also the power

dissipate it. The solution was to build the structure that

transformer and the light source itself, a pair of hi-power

holds the LEDs in aluminum.

all

the

maintenance

operations

and

LEDS. This unit is simply snapped inside the stoutâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body in order to give easy access to the maintenance.

Ambient light. Due to the nature of the light effect thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s casted, this lamp has two faces, according to its position in the space. For instance, if the lamp is placed nearby a wall, the caustic effect is well defined and the sourrounding area is enlightened by the reflected light. On the other hand, if the lamp stands in the middle of a space, the caustic effect tends to fade outward the lamp, softly illuminating the area around.

F I V E Thesis.

Introduction. This project was considered a packaging project. In fact the committee was a company of rest stations, or in general that was working in the food service market, and they were aiming to overtake their main competitors (and leader of the market) trough an renewal of their offer and image. In general terms in the rest stations coexists two ways to serve the food, one is the fast service, the toast at the barâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stand; the other one was represented by the self service restaurant. While the barâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s service and offer evolved trough the years, the self service restaurant was left behind tightened to an old way of serving food. We were asked to concentrate our efforts in one of this two areas. Since the self service restaurant was the most challenging, we decided to work on that.

Milan - 2014

A brief analysis. The first step was to make a broad analysis of the area we had to work on. We wanted to know well how the actual self service restaurant worked, and how good it was. We also wanted to know how the competitors did it, both the best one and the worst. We extended our research to all those services that had some aspects in common with ours. From this broad analysis three points of reflection came out. In first place the layout of the space deeply influences the behaviors of the customers, that was no news, unfortunately the committee wanted us to focus on the packaging, and not influencing the general status quo. Then we noticed that the offer was one, but the customers were way different from one another. But again, the management didn’t wanted to change its service that much. Third, the food quality was higher than our competitors, but it wasn’t well communicated, not only in general terms, but more specifically the customer experience was going to let the food quality down. At this point it was clear that we had to focus our efforts in designing a customer experience, where the food’s quality would be at the center. The packaging had to be a mean to enhance the customer experience and had to be designed after it, not vice versa.

benzina

GOMME

TOILETTE

vetri gas

bagno restroom sete CIBO

appuntamento

internet

TELEFONARE cellulare

MEETING

merenda colazione

SONNO

CENA

PRANZO

fame stanchezza zZZzzZ

zZZzzZ

Not a branding project. It was clear that the main problem was the image (in general) of the service than the service itself. So we started focusing on that. But every since in

“The packaging had to be a mean to enhance the customer experience.”

a while we had to keep in mind that we were supposed to work on a packaging project! Therefore we started working on a packaging that would drive a whole customer experience and change the service’s image without actually changing it. It had to be so iconic to have the strength to sustain this change in style we were planning.

Concept. The concept was defined by an analysis of today’s society and in particular of three main tendencies and the society’s reactions to them. In particular we live in a more and more rushed world, forcing people to save more time as possible, like the one reserved for eating. This is a global society, where the lack of boundaries (both virtual or physical) is leading to a kind of sense of unease, generating the need of belongingness to anything, such as a club, a town, a neighborhood. People need to feel like they are part of a something that gives them emotional security and stability. Also, it is a fact that nowadays we are filtering our reality always trough a screen. This is, in a certain sense,

“We wanted to make the user feel loved.”

faking the reality itself, that’s why we started seeing people bringing old typewriters to the park and start typing, we unconsciously feel the need of analogical touches, we need to contact again reality.

RUSH

GLOBALIZATION

DIGITALIZATION

TAKE AWAY

SENSE OF BELONGING

BACK TO THE ROOTS

Working on the feelings. We decided to pick up a symbol, the grandma who carries along the memories of a hot lovely cooked meal, of the old way of doing things and the idea of taking time needed to do things well. We looked for the essence of this world of memories and identified some iconic gestures or moments, that were then used as a base to build upon our packaging. We wanted to reveal this world every time the pack was used, we wanted to make the user feel loved, without losing at all the functionality of the pack.

A struggle. The big deal was that we were asked to replace a way of serving food that is perfectly working (regular dishes and forks) with something that, by its own nature, is meant to do another job. In fact, our packaging had to work with as a container (only to carry the food from the pick up area to the table) and then act like a plate. Well it ainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t easy. We struggled working on geometry and realized hundreds of paper mockups, testing bends, shapes and proportions. The final result was a box that when opened was a plate and the strengths of this geometry were that, given one dimension, the others were defined by an equation. Moreover, that packaging was optimizing the space on a sheet of paper (a special one suitable for food) needed to produce it and realized without any drop of glue or any kind of solding.

A pack for everyone. In order to cover every aspect of a traditional meal, we developed three different pack sizes. The pack’s shape is inspired by the old jam jars and also the gestures to open and close the packs are so. In fact, the pack opens and closes with a rotatory hand movement as you would open a jar. Moreover when it opens, the pack “pops” making a sound similar to the one that makes a brand new jar when it’s opened. This little trick also lets out a little bit of vapor and flavor of the food inside, making the customer dream even before he sees the food.

A well defined geometry. r

Considering the ground plane, its angle is 0°

To define the angle (β) of AB segment in relation to the ground plane: α x (n)faces / 2 = β (15° x 12 / 2 = 90°)

To define the angle (γ) of the segment BC in relation to the ground plane: δ x (n)faces / 2 = γ (30° x 12 / 2 = 180°)

To define the length of BC, to pefectly end in the center: r / cos (γ - β) = BC (50mm / cos ( 180° - 90° ) = BC) (50mm / cos ( 90° ) = BC) (50mm / 1 = 50mm)

Keeping things together. To properly complete our “mission” we wanted to offer a complete user experience. In order to stick to the concept of grandma’s kitchen and having to replace those honestly horrible plastic trays they used to use, we developed a basket that allowed the user to easily carry his food. This basket was built with some weak points, so when leaved on a table it opens up, setting the table for a lovely meal. The job of turning the cloth into a basket and back is made by gravity, the handles of the basket are built to hold upright its walls while it’s lifted and let them lay down when there isn’t tension.

“We developed a basket that allowed the user to easily carry his food.”

S I X Orologi Calamai.

Introduction. In 2008 my father decided to follow his passions, flight and watches, and started making pilot’s watches. From the very beginning I worked on Orologi Calamai and I understood that that’s what I wanted to do. I worked on it since it was just in idea, I developed the world gravitating around the brand. We wanted to tell the story of my father’s father, a fighter pilot during the great war and the one of all its companions. We wanted to celebrate the spirit of these men. Thus we decided to realize the watches cases with the steel of an F104 turbine. I helped developing the watches, working hard on the dials interface and on all the collaterals, such as the boxes and everything that would come along with the watches. We worked on the details. I did what I guess is the art director’s job, I supervised every design related question and participated to every technical and managerial aspect.

Florence - 2015

The great history. Even before we started developing the watches themselves, we defined the world of our brand, starting from the histories of my grandfather. He was a racing pilot, challenging even Tazio Nuvolari and he was an aviator. During the war he left as a volunteer and flew the skies of Europe. That was his spirit, and the one of many other men. We wanted to celebrate it. The first step was to design a brand that had to carry the spirit of those men and the elegance of those years. Moreover, it had to symbolized that story, and that symbol was the aviation. Therefore, the first letters of our familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name became the contrail of an acrobatic airplane.

“The watch’s design derived from [...] the stories that he was told about great war pilots.” A pilot’s watch. Obviously the most relevant part of the job was to design the watch itself. In particular the watch’s design derived from two key aspects. In first place it was inspired by the memories of my father, by the simplicity and elegance of his childhood, by the stories that he was told about great war pilots. Moreover being a pilot himself, he wanted a watch that would be a real pilot’s watch, and so we did. The whole interface (or usability) of the watch is directly driven by the aviation use, in fact the intern bezel can rotate and it’s used to mark way-points when flying VFR (View Flight Range), the dial’s layout is totally focused on readability, in order to tell the hour at a glance. To achieve this results we tested hundreds of possibilities, spending years in research and development.

The G50 Chronograph. The G50 Crono watch is not the result of a sterile industrial process, rather it was forged from the steel of a General Electric turbine that equipped the legendary F-104 of the Italian Air Force. The objective was to create by hand a unique machine that would last over time. This stylish manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s watch is set to mark the minutes of few men with the personality and courage to live according their own principles and values. The watch casing was carved out from a solid block using EDM technology to provide the best precision in its construction. Subsequently it was then hand-filed for a satin-like smooth finish. Special attention was reserved for the readability and functionality of the watch. This is a watch suitable for flying, with a rotating inner ring to mark waypoints, precise indicators, and large digits to read the clock with a simple glance.

G50 Crono MKI tech specs. Mouvement automatique

Fabrication suisse.

Référence

SOP 2021/A10-2

Calibre

13 1/4’”

Diamètre d’encageage (mm)

30.00

Hauteur du mouvement (mm)

6,90 (ne comprend pas l’aguillage)

Affichage

H/M/Sec chrono au centre 60S/12H/30M

Position du giuchet

4,5 heures

Manipulations et corrections

1. 2. 3.

Boutons poussoirs

A= Départ-arrêt B= Remise à zéro

Nombre de rubis synth./Incabloc

Fréquence

28800 alternances par heure / 4 [Hz]

Autonomie min.

38 heures

Remontage

Automatique à 2 sens

Réglages

Selon spécifications techniques

Assortiment

mhvj (Suisse)

Remontage manuel Correction du date rapide Mise à l’heure avec stop-seconde

C.O.S.C certified. Officially certified COSC chronometer is identified by a serial number engraved on its movement and a certification number given by the COSC. Testing criteria are based on ISO 3159 which defines a wrist chronometer with spring balance oscillator. Only movements which meet the precision criteria established under ISO 3159 are granted an official chronometer certificate. Compare ISO 3158. Each uncased movement is individually tested for fifteen days, in five positions, at three different temperatures. The movements are fitted with a seconds hand and the automatic winding mechanisms are disengaged for the tests. Measurements are made daily with the aid of cameras. Based on these measurements, seven eliminatory criteria are calculated, each of which must be met (e.g., for movements of a diameter over 20 mm, the requirements, indicated in seconds/day, are noted below). Average daily rate: −4/+6 Average daily rate at 23 °C: ±0.07

Difference between rates in H & V positions: −6/+8 Rate stability: 0.05

Mean variation in rates: 2

Largest variation in rates: 10

Rate at 8 °C: ±0.2

Dynamic rate: ±0.05

Greatest variation in rates: 5

Thermal variation: ±0.6

Rate at 38 °C: ±0.2

Temporary effect of mechanical

shocks: ±0.05 Rate resumption: ±5 Rate resumption: ±0.05 n/a Residual effect of mechanical shocks: ±0.05; 200 shocks equivalent to 100 g (981 m/s2, 3,217 ft/s2)

Measurements are compared with a time base established by two independent atomic clocks synchronized on GPS time.

Focusing or readability. After developing the chronograph, we created also a three handed watch. For its own nature a watch like this isn’t very suitable for an aeronautic use, therefore we wanted to fine tune the watch’s readability as much as possible, in order to make a watch that would be useful anyway when flying. The idea was to let the user know the time as fast as possible, to do that we separated the hours and the minutes counters in two concentric arrays, in this way it’s possible to quickly look at the time referring only on the hours hand, or having a very precise reading in looking also at the minutes hand.

“The idea was to let the user know the time as fast as possible.”

The dial’s layout is the result of hundreds (maybe thousands) of models, where I tested fonts, lines thickness, spacings and arrangements of the elements of the dial.

The G50 three hands. The little brother of the G50 Chrono menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s watch, with equal quality and precision in production. It is made from the same materials, with steel derived from the turbine of a F-104 fighter used to create the chronograph casing. Being exclusively a time-teller, the dial of the watch is slightly smaller, making it more streamlined and suitable for everyday wear. The G50 Solotempo timepiece has been created in accordance with the same philosophy as the G50 Crono, the design of the dial being the result of hundreds of tests to optimize readability. The minute and hour counters are separate, each with a dedicated sequencing to facilitate a faster and more precise readability. This menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s watch meets all the technical and functional qualities necessary for that of a flight watch, with the dial layout allowing the telling of time at a quick glance referring solely to the hour hand.

G50 Three hands MKII tech specs. Mouvement automatique

Fabrication suisse.

Référence

SOP Alternance 10 (a 10-2)

Calibre

11 1/2’”

Diamètre d’encageage (mm)

25,60

Hauteur du mouvement (mm)

3,60 (ne comprend pas l’aguillage)

Affichage

H/M/Sec au centre

Position du giuchet

3 heures

Manipulations et corrections

1. 2. 3.

Nombre de rubis synth./Incabloc

Fréquence

28800 alternances par heure / 4 [Hz]

Autonomie min.

42 heures

Remontage

Automatique à 2 sens

Réglages

4 positions 0-15

Assortiment

mhvj (Suisse)

Remontage manuel Correction du date rapide Mise à l’heure avec stop-seconde

Difference between rates in H & V positions: −6/+8 Rate stability: 0.05

Mean variation in rates: 2

Largest variation in rates: 10

Rate at 8 °C: ±0.2

Dynamic rate: ±0.05

Greatest variation in rates: 5

Thermal variation: ±0.6

Rate at 38 °C: ±0.2

Temporary effect of mechanical

shocks: ±0.05 Rate resumption: ±5 Rate resumption: ±0.05 n/a Residual effect of mechanical shocks: ±0.05; 200 shocks equivalent to 100 g (981 m/s2, 3,217 ft/s2)

Measurements are compared with a time base established by two independent atomic clocks synchronized on GPS time.

The brand. Along with the watches we created a brand. Every element had to be consistent with one another. The brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personality is well represented in every collateral of the watches. For instance, the warranty booklet, the C.O.S.C. certificate and a personal letter are delivered, with the watch, in a hand crafted leather pocket, that could have been used by an air force chief. All the correspondence is made on a highly indented letterhead paper (Mohawk Superfine Eggshell). We wanted to recall the charm of that glorious past.

Defining a world. The consistency also defines the world we are building around the brand, all the events, the customer care and the relations are based on that will to pursuit the savoirfare of the old military pilots. Moreover this is not an industry, we are artisans and the â&#x20AC;&#x153;handmadeâ&#x20AC;? is not only a label. We always want to make our customer personally touch the materials, to be part of the production process and to breathe the passion thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s behind every single piece we do. For this reason we are only present in those manifestations where human touch is relevant and where charm is one of the main aspects.

S E V E N Extras.

Computer graphics. I started learning 3d modeling, rendering and graphic design softwares as a support to my projects. Modeling and rendering were not much more than a simple tool. Then, after a while, I started appreciating the computer generated images and turned a necessity into a pleasure.

Vector art. I did a large use of vector graphics softwares (such as Adobe Illustrator) when developing the Orologi Calamai dials, in fact the possibility of defining details and easily measure and create patterns helped me very much in fine tuning the legibility of the dial. Then I had fun in my spare time in completing the work, adding colors, shadows and highlights.

Rendering. 3D modeling and rendering always fascinated me. As soon as I started modeling, I have been fascinated by the thousands of functions and possibilities of these kind of softwares. Things became even more interesting when they came to rendering. I like the process of creating a material as close as possible to the reality and love the idea of having a preview on how it might look what I had in mind.

CreativeMarket.com. I used to look for every graphic resource I needed for my projects online. There are plenty of websites that are giving out for free or selling these kind of resources. After a while I started understanding how these files were made, what made a good one and what were the weak points. Taken this in mind I tried to make my own, and I did it.

Creating a mockup. Finally I started making my own mockups instead of purchasing them on the web, it might feel like I was going to spend too much time, but in the end I used to spend the same time browsing the web looking for what I needed. Moreover I had the possibility to create what I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find on the Internet.

Running a shop. I used to purchase my mockups on creativemarket.com, a very well designed marketplace. After being a customer for more than a year, I asked the permission to open my virtual shop inside their community. That wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t meant that I could upload a file every once in a while and people would love it, purchase it and cover me in gold. I had to develop a strategy, I started uploading mockups regularly and grouping them in collections based on themes, after a wile I made some discounted bundles and so on.

How a mockup works. I designed and creative most of the mockups you have seen in this portfolio. A mockup is a .psd file based generally (or at least the quality ones) on the picture of a blank object like the cardboard box you see on the right page, that trough some Photoshop functions hat through some Photoshop functions a graphic is virtually placed. This graphic is changeable without having to edit and readjusts to the photography itself. Basically its a great time saver and a good way to showcase concepts and projects.

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Showcasing a few more works. These are just some other couple of the products Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m selling online. Since the web is full of shops, offers and so on, I wanted to be recognizable. All my mockups, for how different they can be, have a common characteristic: they all aim to be clean and elegant, of course quality is given for granted. The mockups I sell are the mockups I would buy.

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I.E.D. Special project. During my last year of studies, I have been contacted by the â&#x20AC;&#x153;CRIEDâ&#x20AC;? which is the research center of the I.E.D. to develop with a multidisciplinary team, a project that represented this institution.

C.R.I.E.D. The so called C.R.I.E.D. is a non didactic department of the European Institute of Design, where a group of professionals are working to be up to date with the design world and most of all to keep the university updated. Every once in a while they develop some projects totally free from any constraints, just to test their studies.

Pango. I was called, along with two other design students, two graphics, two marketers and four students from the branding master, to develop the project of low cost and low impact cardboard school furnitures. Everyone played his role, but this project was left as a little more than a concept and a group of friends.

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Photography. While working with Orologi Calamai I knew that imagery was essential. Having good pictures of the watches was crucial to convey the sense of quality and to tell the story of the brand. Unfortunately, good photographers are expensive and was hard to find one whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visual language matched the mood we wanted to express. Therefore, I started to shoot the watches myself, this gave me the liberty to make as many pictures I wanted, when I wanted and the way I wanted. It took me more then a year to refine the technique and to find the right tools and hacks to achieve the results I was looking for, but nowadays Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m quite satisfied with the final outcome. The trickiest part was to find a way to take professional pictures without professional equipments, I came out with several tools and set ups that did the job.

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