Rising Relentlessly

16 August 2010,

“Design a process in which ideas become real actual products, made to be functional and aesthetical at the same time. Combining these two features is the main aim for a designer, his biggest challenge in designing a product.”- Marco Balestra

Marco Balestra

Via Pietro Orseolo 7

20144 Milano (MI)
ITALY

Through the Salone Satellite which was held at the Saloni on April this year, Milan’s most prestigious furniture and design fair where the campaign slogan was simply titled ‘The Event Is Back’, young designers are encouraged by the trade-show organization to present their achievements. This year, approximately 700 designers including students from the 25 international design schools proudly presented fresh original ideas, and Marco Balestra shined in the constellation of bright designers. Marco is no stranger to the designing world, having already lots of working experience in Italy by collaborating with big design brands and also emerged as a Finalist in the Samsung Young Design Award 2007.

Hailing from The Netherlands, 24 year old Marco who is of Italian descent has always been fascinated by the art of painting, photography; filming and creating things as a kid even though no one is his family dabbled in those areas to nurture this interest.

“Curiosity is a fundamental characteristic which a designer must have, it’s important that you’re always curious of how and why things are the way we see them, everything should have a reason and as a designer you must insist in understanding the reasons of why things are the way we see them.“ 

Marco was only a teenager when the serious thoughts about his future rapped its knuckles against his mind and pushed him to observe the world to find his true calling. The inevitable sight of the uncommon “less than pretty or pretty useless” everyday objects triggered a sleeping passion within Marco where he realized that the world has just offered him the biggest challenge of his life, taking from her all the inspiration and possibilities to create beautiful and yet productive designs.

His RISING lighting product which he showcased during the Saloni this year showcased not only an ingenious and productive, but one that can withstand the ever changing trend styles for its clean cut design. RISING began as a concept where a lamp is made to work in the empty angles of space, each time taking on a different look. With its versatile triangular shape, one or more RISING lamps can fit perfectly in each corner, and it is also an interactive light as it can be adjusted in height through simply pulling up or down the top handle while the base of the lamp is firmly pressed on the ground.

When asked who Marco idolizes – “I don’t really have a specific figure which I see as my idol, although I do sometimes draw inspiration from the history of design as I love the style used in the 1920’s till 1940’s, 1940’s in which the basics of design were founded and many of those products are still nowadays very contemporary and beautiful! One that I do admire greatly is Achille Castiglioni; his intelligent designs are a perfect example of how a master idea can be designed into something functional and aesthetical at the same time.”

With no plans of stalling anytime soon, Marco is already working on some new ideas in order to create a small collection of furniture and lamps, as he aims to have different pieces with the same functionality and identity. As the sky is the limit, so will Marco Balestra’s ideas keep on soaring.

不断攀升
“设计是让一个想法变成一个实际产品，这项产品必须结合功能及美学。而设计师在设计产品的最大挑战是必须兼顾这两项特点。”- Marco Balestra

今年四月在米兰刚举办最著名的家具及设计博览会上，商展组织鼓励年轻的设计师在会展上展现他们的作品。今年，包括25间国际设计学院的学生，大约有700位年轻设计师在会展上展示他们新鲜的原创意念，而Marco Balestra 是其中一位令人亮眼的新晋设计师。对设计界来说，Marco的名字并不陌生，他在意大利拥有许多与大品牌合作过的经验，此外，他也曾获得2007年的Samsung Young Designer Award “Finalist”奖项。

在荷兰出生的Marco是一位意大利后裔，虽然他家中并没有人涉及艺术领域或培养艺术兴趣，但Marco从小就沉迷于绘画艺术、摄影和拍摄等等艺术活动。

“好奇心是一位设计师必须要拥有的基本特征，总是好奇事情或物品为什么及如何会是我们所看见的样子，一切都有一个理由，作为一个设计师你必须坚持要了解所有的原因。”

当Marco还是个十几岁的青少年时，他就仔细地考虑自己的前途并出发到世界各地去寻找属于自己的未来。常见的日常用品引发了Marco沉睡的激情，他意识到这会是他一生中最大的挑战，他将摄取所有的灵感与可能性以创造富有美感和生产性的作品。

他今年在Saloni米兰家具展中展示的RISING灯饰，不仅巧妙和富有生产性，其简约设计风格还可以抵挡不断变化的流行趋势。RISING是以一盏工作时摆放在角落的灯为概念。凭借其灵活的三角形状，一个或多个RISING灯可以完全适用于任何一个角落；而其灵活度不仅在其形状，通过上下拉动手柄，还能够调整灯光的高度。

当问起Marco他所欣赏的偶像时，他说：“我真的没有任何偶像，虽然有时候翻查历史设计作品以汲取灵感时，会特别喜欢1920年代至1940年代的风格。1940年代的设计基础以及大多数作品，现在看来依然充满美感与现代感。而其中我最欣赏的是Achille Castiglioni；他的设计作品是很好的例子，显示出如何把功能及美学结合成一件作品。”

随着近期内没有任何的计划，Marco已经着手于一些新的想法，以创造出一小系列的家具与灯饰，而他的目标是把相同的功能与特性用在不同的部分。有句话说“天空的高度是梦想的极限”，希望Marco的灵感与成就能不断攀升。