Gino Carollo is the founder of Studio 28, an agency dedicated to industrial product development, architectural design of exhibition spaces, showrooms and corporate identities.

 

He has been the recipient of numerous design awards including the respected Red Dot, IF Design, and German Design Awards.

 

In this interview,  he talks about himself, his work,  and his inspirations for the Mobili Möbel Chicago Showroom design.

Share a little bit about yourself and what inspires you.

The eureka moment

I find inspiration from everything that attracts and surprises me. My passion, intuition, and curiosity are the basis of my creativity. Repetitive and standard is boring. Every day is a new day and a day to begin again. My personal search for growth is due to inspiration of great historical designers and current events. It is essential to draw experience from these great figures to understand what allowed them to achieve momentous results.

You began your career in industrial design. How has it translated into other opportunities in the design industry?

The design industry field

Industrial Design involves various aspects and needs thorough collaboration with design It has contributed to the development of the architectural studio for projects like showrooms, shops, and exhibition spaces.

What current trends are you most excited about and why?

Trends & fads

I like “NEW” things where ideas or thoughts are beneath the surface…not obvious, normal, or banal.

Tell me about a time you had to think outside of the box to solve a design problem. How did that impact your decisions in developing the final product/space?

Dealing with hardship

Every problem generates new opportunities to find alternative solutions and new ideas.

What do you do to keep your ideas fresh?

Achieving excellence

I travel often for work, and I like to know different realities, to relate with diverse cultures, to discover new customs and ways of living. I try to assimilate these experiences, learn from them, and use them as a source of inspiration. Curiosity is at the base of the creativity.

Castiglioni used to say that: “you have to plan to start from what you shouldn’t do, and then find, in the end, what you need to do”. I believe that this approach to design is an effective way to achieve excellent results.

What do you hope to do as a design leader in 2023 that you have never done before?

Foresight

We are working on many diverse kinds of projects; in the design sector, we are developing a new corporate identity to create our new product line.

DESIGN OF MOBILI MOBEL CHICAGO SHOWROOM

You designed the new Mobili Möbel showroom. What was your design inspiration and design process?

The concept

Due to the rapid change of trends and styles, the settings of the showroom were meant to be dynamic, flexible and showcase the latest trends. We have transformed a static environment into ductile and fluid.

The setting elements are rounded modules and walls. It is designed to be flexible to change the colors and the materials and to make each product setting unique.  The colors were inspired by nature.

When working in a retail space, flow, flexibility, and product placement are big factors in the design. How did you implement these elements in the two spaces? Was there anything else that was pivotal such as experiential design?

The elements

As indicated previously, the space is thought to be a flexible and fluid space.

The use of characterizing but at the same time customizable elements are thought to involve the visitors and to create a good atmosphere.

How did you incorporate the brand recognition within the two showroom spaces (such as through experiential design, company identification, visual representation of the brand, etc.)?

The brand

The new brand identity involves Mobil Möbel and Valcucine in a single communicative brand. Although the spaces are separate, they remain linked in a single marketing message starting from the insertion of logos in the external windows to taking the Mobili Möbel graphics and integrating it into the interior spaces.

As the design is constantly evolving, what do you foresee as pivotal to enhancing the design experience at Mobili Möbel?

The reveal

Every brand is mixed up with the other to create a new idea of setting. With this system Mobil Möbel can offer to customers amazing ideas for living spaces, with the ability to customize each environment and tailor it to the customer.  The personalization is always particularly important.

Was there anything you would like to share about the overall project experience that was not covered?

The judgment

The collaboration with Mobili Möbel has been positive both on a project and personal level. We have developed all the points we had set forth in the project initiation.