Conditional Statement

Renell is a Dominican-American photographer raised in the Bronx, who has recently become a star in the fashion photography world, working on numerous campaigns and with many famous artists (including Kendrick Lamar's latest album).

At first, I was ecstatic but also very nervous. In the end, I designed and programmed the website and created the visual identity for Ice Studios. I had a lot of fun, and I believe the project turned out really well.

Sometimes the world seems to shrink, and incredible things happen: from my cozy little studio in Zurich, I find myself creating for famous people who work on the other side of the world with the most influential artists on the globe. I don't know, this always leaves me speechless, and I can never get used to it...

Maybe because these opportunities tend to happen in big cities, especially places like New York... here in Zurich, everything seems more scaled down.

Sometimes I wonder if I should move...

I thank Michael for believing in me for important projects like this and for allowing me to understand how things work differently in environments and cities of various sizes. Soon, I would like to make a post talking about Michael, who has somehow helped me grow a lot.

Naturally, I accepted, and soon after I found myself experiencing this wonderful opportunity in Lausanne. I remember that during the day dedicated to the bachelor's in photography, I found myself judging the students' projects alongside Patrick Frey (Edition Patrick Frey). A very interesting and charismatic man. In a casual conversation with Mr. Frey, I remember he started talking about a young photographer who would soon be publishing a book with him and his publishing house. This young man was named Alfio Tommasini, and a few weeks later I happened to meet him in Zurich (in a completely random way).

I met Alfio at a time when I was desperately searching for the right photographer for a big project for the city of Lugano. He seemed to have fallen from the sky, and for the project I had in mind, he appeared to be the perfect person.

A few days later, I called Alfio again and asked if he was interested in working with us. He was immediately as enthusiastic as we were, and that was the beginning of a beautiful and humble collaboration.

We asked Alfio to take photographs of the city of Lugano for a year in uncommon moments and places, with the goal of creating an authentic image of a very beautiful city, but without falling into the cliché.

The project was part of a larger initiative, where our studio was involved in the art direction, communication and identity of the new master plan for the city of Lugano.

Alfio turned out to be the perfect person for this project, and honestly, I couldn't have asked for better. After a year of collaboration, given the quality of the images, the UNSTATED studio and the city of Lugano decided to use all the material Alfio had shot for the master plan to create a publication.

We worked on this project for a long time because we had hundreds of images, each with different meanings, colors, and points of view. Putting everything in order and creating a coherent narrative was quite challenging, but also very enjoyable. Over time, we developed a deep respect for Alfio and didn't want to trivialize all this work.

A few days ago, the book finally arrived, all fragrant with print shop and ink. Holding it in my hands, I felt a certain happiness... it's a beautiful project.

It's wonderful how sometimes things happen all of a sudden... and without intending to, you find yourself with a new friend, beautiful memories, and a new, splendid project.

I would like to send a copy to Mr. Frey.

In recent years, I find myself traveling more and more often for work (which I really enjoy), and in my daily life discussing matters always related to projects and topics that, for one reason or another, are easily connected to studying (projects, clients, ideas, teaching, ...).

It's as if for a few days we return to being simpler individuals, individuals relieved of that ego and personality that we so easily associate with ourselves, not so much for who we are, but for what we do.

Rediscovering the importance of discussing any topic, listening to my friends' stories, and exchanging opinions has allowed me to reorganize some thoughts and distance myself from things.

What I write is obvious to everyone, I realize that... but I continuously forget it. The problem, if we want to call it that, is that I believe deeply in what I do... I believe so strongly that sometimes I forget everything else.

Loving what you do, pursuing your dreams is something I never want to stop doing, it's as if it gives flavor to things for me. That said, I don't want to forget how important it is to maintain healthy relationships with loved ones... remembering that there is a universe beyond my 14-inch MacBook.

We had made this trip 10 years ago. Same people, same concept. It was powerful to see how, despite so much suffering and so many good things, we all remained the same bad boys we were then. Maybe a little quieter, maybe a little more melancholy -- but all with a common goal: to try to be the best version of ourselves.

The idea of the festival came from the desire to attract a new audience to Turin and to create a contemporary event dedicated to photography. Starting from this vision, we reflected on the identity of the festival and its unique atmosphere.

Having launched a completely new festival, we faced many challenges: few people, limited budget, and a lot of confusion. The project involved the UNSTATED team and other collaborators, totaling at least six people. The identity of the festival was designed to reflect the diversity of photography, embracing a wide variety of expressions such as satellites, artificial intelligence, photo archives, scanning, X-rays, photogrammetry, and more. This was our initial dream.

However, we soon ran up against the realities of politics, artists and audiences, which forced us to scale back our expectations and use more accessible materials. In the identity of the festival, we also tried to evoke the concept of widgets, such as clocks, calendars and compasses, to visually communicate the international variety of artists, the richness of the events and the venues involved. I don't know if it fully succeeded--the time available and the volume of work didn't often allow us to delve into these issues that we hoped for.

I would like to reflect not so much on the specific project, but rather on the initial expectation that one has at the start of each project and the reality that then manifests itself in the course and at the end of the work. We have done everything: videos, motion graphics, website, catalogs, posters, exhibitions... so many things that in the end turned out to be very different from our original expectations. Don't get me wrong, the result was outstanding and impactful, but simply different, often in a more simplistic way than we had hoped.

So I wonder if there will ever come a time when, at the beginning of a project, expectations will be perfectly aligned with reality and the end result. Or is it perhaps better that way? Is it normal to begin a project by imagining the best possible outcome, keeping expectations high so as not to limit oneself from the start?

Spending days in Turin, seeing all the work accomplished and experiencing it in person made me realize how difficult it is to fully perceive the effort expended, even for those who, like me and the team, worked directly on the project. I wonder if there is a way for projects of this size to fully perceive their creative value. Is it worth investing so much effort and care in every detail? My answer is yes, and honestly I'm very grateful to have had this opportunity.

Thank you to the whole team and thank you for the trust

We often dive into work without a break, and just when the moment of a big delivery is approaching, when we should be celebrating the effort made, the body goes haywire and forces us to stop. It is a script that repeats itself. Maybe the secret is to never stop-or maybe not?

I can't write-I'm knocked out!

At that time, I was just starting to get interested in robots, as AI, while fascinating, seemed particularly intriguing when integrated into physical objects as well as digital applications... I was interested but I didn't really have time to put my head into it.

This interest in robots motivated me to make the most of this opportunity, thus prompting me to look for institutions that could provide the necessary equipment for the installation and thus not miss this opportunity.

I asked around about the possibility of borrowing some robots but to no avail. Buying a robotic dog or a mechanical arm was a significant investment, too expensive for the exhibition's budget.

After other unsuccessful attempts, I approached Thibault Brevet and Andrea Anner (AATB), from a studio in Zurich that I greatly admire and which works mainly with robots, to ask about the rental cost of a robotic arm. During a brief chat, the possibility and interest in collaborating on this project emerged. And I love collaborating!

Ask AATB for help was definitely the right choice. We immediately hit it off and started developing ideas for the project. Although our practices were very different, our shared experience in design, art and programming made the exchange of ideas particularly interesting and fluid.

After several discussions, we formulated an idea that everyone was enthusiastic about and that was feasible within the available timeframe and skills. We decided to create a work that would explore the use of AI and robotics in warfare contexts: a robotic arm armed with a water gun and equipped with artificial intelligence. The idea of making something meaningful and not just a robot that does robotics was a challenge. A robot that recognises you, holds a gun and potentially shoots is a powerful concept. We were excited (Indeed I still am!).

The installation was set up in a shop window of the SPBH space, located on a busy street. The robot, placed inside, continuously observes the outside environment and, in a completely harmless manner, points and 'shoots' at passers-by. This simply highlights how accessible such devices are and how accurate they really are. Without AATB's contribution, all this would have taken much longer or even been impossible. The inauguration was a success and to experience that day in Milan, with so many people and 27 degrees, was truly legendary!

Without wishing to dwell too long, anyone interested in learning more will be pleased to share further details.

The robotic arm

The camera we used

The gun

The AI code for the camera (python)

Way back in the early days of my career, I rented a desk in Balerna, in the south of Switzerland, at the graphic design studio CCRZ. I look back on those years with affection and nostalgia.

I used to frequent the studio to avoid working alone at home and found the environment extremely stimulating. In Ticino, the guys at the studio were an important reference point, which inspired me deeply. Although I was an external figure, I gradually started to collaborate with them. In particular, I had the pleasure of working closely with Paolo Cavalli, one of the founders, who, often unconsciously, passed on to me precious notions of architecture, graphics and interior design. That period had a decisive impact on my practice today, forming a solid starting point.

Immersed in an environment full of design objects and rare books, I was able to absorb the flavour of Swiss (and other) design by leafing through countless books countless times. My knowledge of Swiss and Italian design owes much to those walls in Balerna, in those years so close to the end of university.

MDF is initially a client of CCRZ, but as their studio has always been mainly focused on print I was asked to work on the digital part, i.e. the design and code of the website (of their contract section not the main website)

I am particularly proud of the MDF contract website, a project that reflects my great passions: graphics, architecture, respect for rules and object design. Despite the time that has passed, I still look at it fondly, and I always enjoy it, which is certainly a good sign.

The website is a modular solution, developed with NUXT and Vercel, which is fully manageable by the customer.

In addition to the project itself, I wanted to share the memory of my collaboration with Paolo, a presence I have missed since I moved to Zurich. Currently, given my intense activity with UNSTATED, I find it difficult to keep this collaborative bond alive, which I imagine is also complicated for them, now that I am no longer a young freelancer.

During my years in South Ticino, I was lucky enough to meet wonderful people, whom I often remember with affection: a salute to Ruffini, Alfio, Andren, Daiana, Cassino and Castiglioni!

With the studio, we only have a month left until the start of EXPOSED, a festival for which we are taking care of the entire visual identity and supporting materials. Considering that it involves 20 exhibitions and the setting up of an entire city, the amount of work is immense. On top of that there are numerous other interesting projects we are working on, which has made it particularly difficult to find moments to dedicate to writing or even just listening (to oneself). There are weeks that literally fly by. I wonder, how is it possible to arrest the course of time? Is there a way to carve out spaces to devote to parallel projects when work is so intense? Everything seems to move too quickly.

Many years ago, when I was still a young inexpert, Paolo Jannuzzi (with whom I was teaching at the time) asked me if I would be interested in designing the website for one of his clients. That was how I had my first contact with Michele. That project was one of my first in architecture and was a moment of great happiness. I remember realising for the first time how close architecture, or at least its fundamental concept, was to the world of graphics and how incredible it was in general. I felt proud and privileged to be able to collaborate with him. That period was significant for me... and it was definitely then that I started to approach architecture and somehow also grow as a professional.

Recently, together with Michele we were working on what was to be his last book, a publication about his works, but above all about the people who inhabited them.

This book was not intended to be a self-celebration, but rather a love story between places and the people who inhabited them. The aim was therefore to change perspective, narrating his work through the stories of the people and places Michele thought of and designed.

In the meetings over the last few months, Michele told us how something inside him had changed over the years, how a new light had come on. This had prompted him to create the book, with the sincere goal of talking about his work in a different, authentic way. The book was to explore themes of light and shadow, solids and voids, deciding that instead of the usual self-referential texts written by well-known architecture critics, it would be enriched with poems and sounds.

The last time I saw Michele, he confided in me that his dream, at this point in his life, was to make his architecture sound. At the time I wasn't sure I understood... now it seems a little clearer to me.

For what it's worth, I think of you and I am honoured to have met you.

Why does doing something for oneself seem so complicated? When I work for others, the decisions flow naturally, but when the client is me, everything becomes enormously complicated.

Am I a bad client? I don't know... but it is possible.

It seems that when it comes to personal projects, expectations are raised out of all proportion, and nothing I do ever seems good enough. Every attempt to create my portfolio is met with a myriad of doubts: what kind of clients do I want to have? How do I select the most suitable projects? How much time will I devote to creating case studies? Is it better to show more or less work? Should I outsource the site creation to a professional? Do I prefer to focus on digital or traditional projects? Help!

These questions assault me and I end up getting stuck, leaving the project halfway through each time.

This blog represents one of the rare occasions, after years of work, when I have realised something exclusively for me, without external commissions, driven by the need to express myself.

The habit of developing personal projects should be cultivated and strengthened. Otherwise, one ends up waiting for someone to come along with a new proposal or idea. Probably, what I am saying will sound obvious to many, but am I really the only one who is struggling?

I have a lot of ideas and a lot of energy and I would like to devote myself to more personal initiatives, but lately I feel overwhelmed by events. If someone on the other side of the screen is reading this blog and has advice to offer, how do you succeed in this?

Observing the world around me, I notice many people who are able to carve out time for their studio, personal projects (both work and personal) and, more generally, for their lives. On the contrary, I currently struggle to manage everything effectively.

Apart from the important things in life, I feel the urgency to learn how to organise my time better and to be able to publish a portfolio that adequately documents the passionate work of our studio.

I hope to achieve this soon.

These are the reflections of a Sunday evening.

Initially, I was very happy but also a bit uncertain. I wondered: what is the point of doing a website for another agency when ours (unstated.co) does not yet have one? And then, I was afraid that this choice might lead us to lose potential clients, since, after all, we would be promoting another agency instead of our own.

After I thought about it, however, I realised that these thoughts were unfounded and I am sorry I had them: wrong thoughts since they specialise in something else, elsewhere, and in any case have more experience than us.

Collaborating with other agencies in the end is essential: working with other studios and professionals opens up new opportunities and exchanges that would otherwise not exist. Listening and understanding different points of view is fundamental to questioning, learning and growing.

Designing for another designer/s introduces a dimension of vulnerability. Interacting with other designers is very different from doing so with clients from other areas. Often, clients think they know more than you just because they are paying you... but when your client is himself a designer, the conversation becomes much more interesting (and sometimes more complex).

There are times when stimulating dialogues and exchanges emerge; at other times, you need to be flexible or simply discover the best way to illustrate the value of your ideas, defending them with solid arguments. Among designers, it is not uncommon to be confronted on issues closely related to personal tastes, specific context or influences that each one brings.

Yes, yes, I think so .... we should encourage more designer collaborations, trying to support each other and be complementary where possible. Too often we look at other studios with competition, envy and jealousy.

I learnt a lot from this experience, but the most important lesson was not to be afraid to give because, in the end, what you receive could be much more valuable.

Thank you Michael, Casandra and Oliver. I hope to work with you again in the future.

My reflection on the role of photography is getting deeper and deeper, so much so that I often find myself discussing and reflecting on it. In this context, I would like to share a particular project that I developed between 2020 and 2021 for the artist, photographer and friend of mine Salvatore Vitale.

The idea came from a proposal by Salvatore, who asked me to work on this project. I immediately found it fascinating, attracted as I was (and am) by this kind of challenge. At first, I thought it would be enough to buy a few webcams to complete the project easily, but I was very wrong. Very wrong.

The project, called Persuasive System, is an installation that addresses the issue of surveillance, highlighting privacy issues. The aim is to reverse the role between observer and observed, allowing participants to interact in real time with three cameras via a web interface (HTML, CSS, PHP, Python), view webcams and capture images: accessible from anywhere in the world with any browser.

Exhibited in Piazza Riforma in Lugano in 2020 and at the OGR in Turin in 2021, the project may soon reach Amsterdam.

I dedicated more than a month to this work; halfway through, I was convinced I would not make it. There were many problems to be solved: how to create a website that could control webcams and take photos? Are there suitable webcams? And APIs available? How can I get cheap but editable webcams? And how can I ensure that they are weatherproof? Internet? How do I connect them in a public square?

Since I could not find a pre-existing solution that met all these requirements, I decided to build the webcams and software myself. I opted for three Raspberry PI 4, cameras and lenses. Although I was initially enthusiastic about the idea of using real-time streaming via Twitch, this route proved impractical for capturing images directly from the stream. The ultimate solution was to continue taking pictures and save them in three separate online folders accessible via FTP.

Users could take pictures via a website that drew directly from these folders. Each shot was recorded in the database (mysql) with information about the selected image and user details such as IP, browser, time and location.

Thank you Marco Lurati! His help was crucial in realising the waterproof cases for the cards and for all the support in managing the electrical aspect. Without him, the project would not have been possible.

This experience brought me closer to Python and electronics, showing me that today almost everything is feasible in electronics and software at a reasonable cost (even without too much expertise). I learnt how to remotely control devices and sensors and how to make objects that communicate in real time with the web, increasing my fascination for the thin line that divides the physical from the digital world. I hope to explore this frontier further, time permitting.

If you have stumbled upon this black hole of the internet and want to know more, I will be happy to share more details.

Photos: Persuasive System and Salvatore Vitale

When we were both teaching, we were a bit behind with the office and work organisation. Every night, it was a race against time to catch up on everything - from phone calls to emails, from estimates to the actual work.

Ideally, we should always be available for both our team and clients. However, during these busy teaching weeks, everything seems to pause, only to suddenly speed up once the commitment is over.

Teaching during the day and working in the evening are exhausting, but there is something in all this that fills me with satisfaction. Fortunately, the economic situation is stable and teaching is not a financial necessity. So why do I keep doing it? I am a masochist.

Lately I have often wondered why I lucidly choose to add this stress to my life. The answer is simple: I love it and I am passionate about it. I love sharing my knowledge, challenging myself, seeing if I really have something to offer. Teaching forces me to organise my thoughts and make them accessible to others, helping me to maintain continuous learning. It might sound obvious, but through teaching I realise the passage of time and the inevitability of ageing. The students stay young, while I age; and every year I am surprised at how quickly time flies. I don't know if I would be so aware without all this. Focusing on topics such as creative coding, artificial intelligence, electronics and design, I am constantly driven to update and renew my approach, which fuels my creativity and my desire to learn by always putting myself out there. Sometimes I think that without teaching I would miss out on something important: the opportunity to connect with new generations and explore new perspectives and discuss things I would not otherwise do.

Although I do not consider myself old, I begin to perceive a distance between me and my students, who perhaps look at me with different eyes. The age difference, in some cases almost a decade, is starting to make itself felt somehow.

I am probably just very tired now and these reflections might seem worthless. However, it was important for me to share these thoughts with you. Today, teaching feels like a crucial part of my life, a way of giving back and sharing what I have learnt on a daily basis.

Tomorrow I will start teaching in an interaction design master's programme in the south of Switzerland. I want to better explore the concept of exhibition space, multiplayer and mobile devices. I will let you know.

Sweet dreams to you all.

Despite the workload, the large amount of energy at that time and the financial support from my jobs allowed me to start freelancing relatively peacefully.

The first freelance project of which I am particularly proud was the website for YET Magazine. Although I am still neither a designer nor an experienced programmer, I worked hard to achieve a decent result. This project met with a certain 'success', giving me an important push to improve and believe in myself more.

Since then, I have never stopped coding and working on design projects. The city of Lugano, with which I still collaborate today, was one of the clients that most contributed to my growth as a designer, entrusting me with projects ranging from publishing to posters, websites and installations. It was like having a huge creative playground at my disposal.

Fortunately, over time, I was able to move away from my Master's assistant job and other commitments to focus full-time on my freelancing. In 2016, I started teaching creative coding at SUPSI, extending my teaching activities to other schools.

After many years in Lugano, working for almost all major institutions, I realised that in order to grow further as a person and as a professional, I needed a change. So, I moved to Zürich together with Sabrina Cerea, my life partner and incredibly talented designer. Upon moving to Zurich, Sabrina and I started to collaborate more and more closely, until we decided to start our own studio. In the beginning, although we were a bit uncertain, we chose to communicate our business both as a single entity and maintain a certain independence. "0×000" and "0×fff" were the names that characterised the studio: the first represented me (black) and the second Sabrina (white), with some projects signed individually and others jointly. The collaboration with Sabrina greatly improved my work and our ability to realise projects more efficiently. 0×000 and 0×fff was a project that lasted two years.

In 2022, Ludovica Niero, an architect and copywriter, joined the team, further expanding our skills and collaboration. This led to the need to grow even more. Eventually, in 2023, we became a team of five, with numerous external collaborations.

Unstated is the name of our new studio. It came from the need to have a name that sounded serious (unlike "0x000" and "0xFFF", which many people didn't understand) and that made everyone feel included, reflecting the idea of an open and evolving identity. The name unstated is the result of a certain insecurity about the definition of our studio. We have no clear idea of what it is or what it will be. We kind of like it to be something undefined and something mutable (Be Water My Friend).

Today, Unstated embraces a variety of disciplines, from programming to interactive installations, from artificial intelligence to robotics, from typography to motion design, from architecture to editorial, from teaching to corporate identity, and more. We are very attached to Unstated, a project that defines us, our roles and ambitions, and engages us in work that we are passionate about and happy about (ok ok... not always). This studio is not only a place of service to clients, but also a space for exploration, sharing and research, where we can also initiate self-initiated projects, freely exploring new disciplines and as yet unknown areas.

Right now, we are extremely happy with how things are going and hope that this journey will continue in the best possible way. Special thanks to all the people who work with us, our friends and our customers for their support and trust.

PS: There are also a lot of hard sides to having a studio... it's definitely not all sunshine and roses... often quite the contrary. I hope to have time to tell you about the dark side too.

At the moment we are working hard to create a visual identity that fits in many different media and extends across more than 30 exhibitions. Basically, we are taking care of everything: from art direction to design, from videos to the website to strategy, naming and communication. The festival is called EXPOSED and will start in May 2024.

During this project we were lucky enough to collaborate with Salvatore Vitale and Menno Liauw, the masterminds of Futures Photography and artistic directors of EXPOSED. It was they who gave us the push and believed in us and proposed us for this project - thanks a lot guys!

Being the first year, it is a bit like sailing in unknown waters, with requests raining down on us from all sides. Despite the challenges, we are charged up and grateful to be part of this adventure, even if it sometimes feels like mission impossible.

In the beginning, we had a rather articulate visual identity in mind, but as time went on, we realised that keeping up with such a complex design, with so many people involved and the clock ticking was utopian. I will talk more about this in the coming weeks, when we will have something concrete to show you.

Before EXPOSED started, we did an initial project at the end of 2023, collaborating with the C2C Festival for a performance to promote both the festival and the Futures photographers. Club to Club (C2C) is that huge electronic music festival in Turin, where artists such as Aphex Twin, Nicolas Jaar, Bicep and countless others have performed.

We only had four weeks to get the project up and running. Impossible without extra help, so we called in Luciano Baragiola, a talented graphic and motion designer, as well as a fantastic person. Have a look at his work, it's worth it! To make it all work with more than 100 photographers at an electronic music festival, we relied on a visual narrative made of scrolling images and metadata (a mega scroll in fact). The latter also became a pillar for EXPOSED's identity. The use of archive images and videos was crucial to give visual coherence between such diverse content.

With Luciano, we chose the best images (in relation to the use of the live show) from the photographers, created a strong sequence and then manipulated everything with AI and various techniques, integrating the archive material. The result was a video that we projected in real time on three mega led-walls, synchronised with the music during some live shows. We wanted it to visually support the show without overpowering the music and who was playing.

We used PHP for metadata, Figma, Runway and After Effects. The selection of images and their sequencing were the toughest parts, as well as having to amalgamate everything coherently.

In the end, the result in Turin did not go quite as we expected. At one point, the sound engineer decided to go his own way, ignoring our directives and, at least in our opinion, compromising the result of our efforts. These kinds of glitches happen because there is often too little time for these projects and no room for proper communication with all the parties involved. Deadlines overlap, pressure mounts, and mistakes are just around the corner.

It was a real marathon of work, evaporated in a few hours. There are times when I stop to reflect on the actual value of all this effort. Yet, despite the difficulties, thinking about how much we have achieved fills me with satisfaction.... And that is perhaps the feeling I cling to. A huge thank you goes to Lucio, without whom none of this would have been possible.

During the four-day workshop aimed at second-year BA Graphic Design students, we chose to exclude coding to focus on something more contemporary yet still rooted in traditional graphic design, particularly publishing, a sector still highly regarded in Italy.

The central theme of the workshop was Die Gute Form and artificial intelligence, explored with the help of tools like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion. We endeavored to imagine new forms inspired by Swiss design from the '50s to the '70s, specifically the Gute Form, a concept originating from a design exhibition created by Max Bill, a well-known Swiss architect, designer, and graphic artist, and a Bauhaus alumnus.

The goal was to use new technologies to create novel objects, similar in form to historical ones, but with completely revamped functions.

We encouraged students to conceive new and beautiful objects, multifunctional, provocative, or even impossible to use. To stimulate their imagination, we drew inspiration from Bruno Munari's book "Fantasy".

MidJourney proved to be an excellent tool. Initially, we collected numerous objects from the Gute Form (created by designers such as Max Bill, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Willy Guhl, Wilhelm Kienzle, etc.) and later, using the "image to image" function, we produced entirely new objects. With these objects, we created new stories and designers, giving life to entirely original narratives.

Regarding artificial intelligence, although we are not yet able to do everything, it is clear that if used correctly, these tools can stimulate creativity and facilitate rapid prototyping.

I am firmly convinced that all these new tools can be of great assistance if employed in the right way and with awareness. It was a very interesting experiment to be able to use them for a concrete project, in a school context, and with a well-defined project goal.

The design constraints imposed on the students helped ensure the coherence of the result in all its phases. At the conclusion of the project, each student managed to design and graphically represent an imaginary object, accompanied by its story and the profile of its designer.

We are deeply grateful to the students of ISIA for their commitment and passion. It has been a pleasure to work with them.

As I tasted my beer in disbelief and my eyes were fixed on Yoon's profile, I imagined how nice it would be to collaborate with her. At the end of my drink, driven by an impulse, I made the decision to send her a message.

The message went like this: 'Hi :) I am a big fan of your work. I would be more than happy, if one day there is a chance, to work for your brand. No rush. Just wanted to tell you. Greetings from Zurich'. Incredibly, after a few minutes, Yoon replied: "Hello! Shall we think of something?"

I was incredulous! WOO! I want to tell you this little story because it opened my eyes to how much social media can help and the power it has in the business world. It was my first real time pitching myself in this way. The positive outcome of this story has given me a bit of confidence and allowed me to gain more courage and not let myself be blocked by fear of what others think and the possibility of being rejected (or even worse, being ignored).

Whatever, anyway, for those few who will read I wanted to get the message across about not being afraid to put yourself forward, sometimes it seems to work. The collaboration with Yoon and Tessa (his assistant) was intense and lasted a few months (we are still working together). I am satisfied with the result although it was the result of many compromises.

The frontend is developed with NUXT 3, Tailwind and the backend is on Sanity.

Ah! This week we gave a workshop at ISIA Urbino, Italy. It was great, I will tell you about it next week.

mattiagreghi.com is the website we designed, programmed and placed online this week. The project is apparently very small, the challenge for us was to find a simple (not simplistic) but also a bit special form to highlight the content without being trivial.

Perhaps the idea (if you can call it that) that identifies this project was to use the loading of images as an integrated moment of the project experience by avoiding having an initial waiting moment.

Typography is kept to a minimum, so it is all about the content rather than the container. We were very free to be able to express ourselves, so we decided to use this project to be able to explore the handling of simultaneous movements of images within the dom: something we always try to bring into our projects to different degrees.

Moving so many elements within the DOM can become very time consuming for the browser and therefore for the computer. Being able to make transitions directly in the HTML DOM (without the canvas) that are smooth on both desktop and mobile can sometimes be a challenge. To be able to improve performance I often rely on external libraries like anime.js or GSAP. Oh by the way, the website is developed with nuxt3, tailwind and santy.io and and its deployment is on Vercel.

On Friday we were Milan at Self Publish Be Happy and met Bruno Ceschel and Giorgia Zaffanelli and many other really nice people. With them we are rethinking the identity of SPBH (Self publish be happy). It is a work for which we are very excited and very grateful. I will tell you about it in the near future.

This week I also had the pleasure of talking with David Broner, founder of D.V.TK. It was a good time of discussion about topics such as the Web, 3D, and Websockets!

Right now we are traveling to ISIA in Urbino, Italy. Next week we are giving a workshop on artificial intelligence.

Good night!

I have been working as a designer, coder and teacher for 9 years now, and I have always found it difficult to speak publicly and share my practice and its background. With this project I would like to learn to feel more comfortable sharing some reflections, processes, successes and failures.

Therefore, the goal of this weekly journal is to step out of my comfort zone and learn how to share.

I hope that by keeping a journal it will become more natural to be able to talk about the projects done in the past, the present ones, or simply the ones I dream of doing in the future.

I hope that at the end of this year there may be something useful for those few people who will come across this log as well. I will also try, where possible, to share some resource, code and design aspects.

Being a bad writer, and not being a native English speaker, I trust that all this will help me improve in this as well...hoping to make the point of my thoughts understandable.

See you next week!