Interview with Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo from Portugal

Each of us may have unique motivations for pursuing a career in design, but a common thread among us is the shared aspiration to enhance the quality of people's lives.

We are a group that unites professors and former students, dedicated to conducting research and fostering innovation in local businesses. Our goal is to enhance both the practice of design and the creation of products and services, while advocating for sustainability within companies and the broader community.

As Tomas Maldonado stated, design means "coordinating, integrating and articulating all those factors which, in one way or another, participated in the constitutive process of the shape of the product".

All forms of design carry cultural, ethical, and social values, particularly those designs that enhance people's well-being.

The decision and evaluation of whether a design is good or bad is ultimately in the hands of people. Therefore, good design should be created by people, for people. It's essential to remember that each of us is an individual living within a community, and we all have the right to happiness, as well as the responsibility to help others achieve it.

We don't see our design as having a particular style. It's not just because it's a blend of four different perspectives, but also because each project has its own unique identity. It has its own typology, its own goals, and it's shaped by different reasons and cultures.

Our process is not linear; it consists of both progress and setbacks. We draw inspiration and added value from a wealth of sources, including broader cultural influences as well as the specific culture of the company we collaborate with.

Sure! Portugal is a country rich in tradition and its production has always been linked to a great culture for the detail that qualifies and makes each product unique.

It is an honor and an incentive to always do better.

Our work is a project inspired by the muses and dryads, those divinities that inspire human beings but also protect them. So participating in an award called the MUSE Design Awards was inevitable.

The major challenge of this project was to establish pathways into areas typically outside the realm of the product industry, encourage innovation, take calculated risks, and persuade our partners that this is the right strategy.

Receiving an award is a confirmation that we're on the right track and should remain in that direction.

In this case our client, Furnor has three unique characteristics:

- Quality in process.

- Quality in the people who work on the processes.

- Quality of the final products.

Maybe in the coming years, design will have to learn to pay attention to aesthetic and environmental quality.

The best advice is that, when designing, they should remember to put themselves in the shoes of those involved, whether it's the worker producing a component, the shopkeeper selling the product, or the end user.

Our most valuable resource is culture, so the key is to continuously explore and embrace what surrounds us, and whenever possible, enrich it.

People, because design is made by people and for people!

I think the key to our success is that we are four different people and we complement each other using our differences as added value. We are plural, not singular.

We would like to thank MUSE Design Awards and the dedicated jury panel for recognizing our work!