Q&A: Victor Carrasco

Victor Carrasco began his professional career having graduated in Industrial Design Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Valencia. After nearly a decade of close collaboration as Founder, Creative and Strategic Director at Viccarbe, Carrasco started developing his own projects based on his unique ability for trend prediction, his passion for learning and his understanding of synthesis, balance, differentiation and sustainable growth.

As an industrial designer, Carrasco has collaborated with a number of international companies, including Vibia with whom he has an ongoing relationship. His latest creation for Vibia breaks down traditional architectural barriers by introducing a floor lamp that is suitable for both indoor and outdoor environments. Available in a range of soothing colours, Out consists of a conical base and shade connected by a rod that extends vertically into the air before bending over in a broad romantic arch.

When and how did you discover your passion for design? Do you remember your first creation?

As a child I spent the day repairing things with my grandfather, who helped me deal with my dyslexia. We would argue about the aesthetics of each repair because engineers tend to be decisive but unemotional, that was our debate because I was always sensitive to aesthetics. More than a first creation I remember re-designs since many of the things we had at home simply didn’t convince me and I would customise them, which basically consisted of simplifying them.

What is it that makes a design authentic? What makes something timeless?

My interest is in added value and I look for it wherever it is, or rather wherever it should be.

“When I hear that everything has already been invented, I never cease to be surprised. I believe that everything is yet to be made.”

Differentiation is the mother of all projects, there is no sector that serves as an exception, but the complexity comes when differentiation is sought with a sober and timeless language.

“When you can’t simplify a project anymore, when you see and feel that it was always there is when you know that it makes sense.”

How do you balance function and aesthetics?

As an engineer, function is a must for me and especially working with Vibia, a brand that leads by always achieving an exquisite performance. That the movement of the wind does not affect how our lamp illuminates us in the garden, that its arc is of a single piece, that its joints are as elegant as the proportions of the whole…that silent harmony resolves the aesthetics if it is done with good judgement. It is a pleasure for a designer to have an engineering team like Vibia’s, always ready to solve the details with elegance.

How would you define your style as a lighting designer? Is light a difficult medium to work with?

Lighting is probably one of the most complex and exciting fields of design because light is difficult to govern. My way of working is a constant search for balance. I come from the Mediterranean and therefore my genetic background is inherited from Romans, Visigoths or Muslims. You could say that I am designed for collaboration, I am curious and I adapt naturally to multiple situations and scenarios. I imagine that this cocktail of cultures influences my work.

What is the key to creating an atmosphere of wellbeing?

I am passionate about studying what’s next, the next next thing. I have spent many, many years of my life travelling alone around the world and I talk to myself a lot. I like to try to guess what will happen “tomorrow”, it’s like a game that makes travel more enjoyable.

“I believe that much of the future of well-being in our environments comes from lighting as it has a clear influence on our emotional state and therefore I bet on comfortable and discreet solutions that will bring us both serenity and sanity.”

The coming years are going to be so disruptive that it is important that our environments help us to enhance creativity and collaboration.

Out has been described as having a romantic aesthetic. Was this always your intention? What was the inspiration for Out?

I imagine that this romanticism comes from its sensual curve, as subtle as it is technical because it is resolved in a single piece. My inspiration is evidence, rescuing everyday languages to transform the obvious into objects of desire. To achieve much with little.

“It is a responsibility to create a new project for Vibia from a simple gesture, a subtle and delicate curve accompanied by two cones, so that it will always remain with us.”

Outdoor space is becoming increasingly essential across private, public and commercial environments. Out is a hybrid: it brings the intimacy of indoor lighting outdoors. In what ways do you expect Out to be used?

I believe that the solution to all our problems lies in balance, in moderation. Avoiding polarisation and extremes, the right and the left. My vision of the outdoors is a soft prolongation of the indoors. I would like the line that separates our living room from our terrace to be more and more subtle, in fact we already see outdoor furniture, carpets and other elements increasingly similar to the interior and vice versa.

What was your criteria when choosing the colour palette for Out? How does colour influence our perception of a space?

Friendly, warm and long-lasting. It is proven that colour, like lighting, influences our mood regardless of gender, age or status.

What travel destinations would you recommend to a fellow professional or a student of either design or architecture?

Japan, because more than just another country it can be another planet. Their sensitivity and roots are so deep that they are masters in knowing how to read the air, Kuuki wo Yomu, a process by which they decipher intentions without the need to verbalise them, a skill that I consider necessary for anyone but especially for creatives.

Something that’s never missing from your fridge?

Water, it’s the only thing I drink and I love it.