Insights

Q&A: Josep Lluís Xuclà

Based in Barcelona, Josep Lluís Xuclà is the founder of his namesake design studio, known for interior design as well as lighting and furniture design. Xuclà’s work has earned international recognition over the years, including the RED DOT, IF, and Good Design awards. He has collaborated with Vibia on multiple lighting collections, among them Empty, Set, Break, and Palo Alto. All are distinguished by their pure, minimalist profiles and geometric rigor. Read on to learn more about Xucla’s work and inspiration.

When did you figure out that you wanted to be a designer?

It was back in 1975, a difficult time here, the word design wasn’t one often heard, looking through a magazine about the Bauhaus I was fascinated by the really simple yet advanced aesthetic. Something encouraged me to enroll in Barcelona’s Llotja School (of design and art).

Where does your greatest inspiration come from when creating?

The everyday, the objects that surround us, the practical needs and day to day working.

What is the part of the creative process that you enjoy most?

When mysteriously and not being sure exactly why the piece that you were looking for appears.

What are the unmissable Barcelona places we should all visit even just once?

The Mies Ven der Rohe Pavilion, a walk through Gracia … and Barceloneta …And of course the Ensanche (Barcelona’s grid network of city blocks)….

How do you think the arrival of the ‘new normal’ is going to affect the world of design?

I think that Design is always the consequence of the times we are living through, we’ll have to provide the user with what they need, both in the formal sense and the economic sense.

Once we are allowed to travel again what destinations would you recommend a fellow professional or a student of either design or architecture?

Milan, New York and Tokyo…

If you could choose what would be your one material of choice for creating?

It’s difficult to think of just one material, but I would choose one that I hadn’t worked with up until now.

Your best and worst quality?

Being ordered….and being ordered.

Something that’s never missing from your fridge?

Cold water.

An important design or life lesson that you have learned so far?

Simple design, that which is essential, good health in life and strength.