Maria D'Souza - Designer Profile

DESIGNER PROFILE MARIA D’SOUZA 2022

DESIGNER PROFILE

“Without emotion, there is no beauty.”

MARIA D’SOUZA

DIANA VREELAND

IDENTITY WHO AM I?

Hello!

As a designer, I have an undeterred curiosity about people and what makes them tick. Being someone who is introspective with an ardor towards self-improvement, over the years I have developed a distinct passion for all topics around mental health and emotional growth.

The principal driving force for several projects I have completed during the course of university has been personal emotional involvement alongside the nuanced experience of those who I hold close to me. Creativity is the outlet that allows me to express my values through abstract mediums such as art, and design is the catalyst that makes my ambition of connecting with other people, a reality.

“PEOPLE ARE AT THE HEART OF EVERY ONE OF MY PROJECTS”

IDENTITY

DESIGNER PROFILE

MATTER GROUP PROJECT - COLLABORATIVE VISUAL JOURNAL

MARIA D’SOUZA

Design is about sensibility. People are at the heart of every one of my projects, hence I find fulfillment in picking the brains of others and researching ways to appease the complexity of concepts that are intangible - such as mentality and feelings.

JOURNAL STORAGE

So far over second year I have had the opportunity to work as an individual, as part of a consultancy and along side a brand. This taught me a few things about where I’d like to go with my design in the future. As much as I enjoyed working alongside a brand, I found it more restrictive than individual and consultancy work, which makes it harder to implement my personal ethos without clashing with brand image. I appreciated the challenge but I felt I thrived most with consultancy and individual work.

Working as an individual is familiar to me, so I enjoyed basking in my process, but consultancy broadened my perspective. It was advantageous working in a group setting as we could bounce ideas off of each other rather than me ideating into an echo chamber.

I also learned to be adaptable with my process to cater to different design languages so that we could harmonise when creating a final outcome.

EMOTIVE STAMPS

IDENTITY

DESIGNER PROFILE

INSPIRATION

WHAT MAKES ME TICK?

“Design for Joy, Surprise, Optimism.”

MARIA D’SOUZA

STUDIO YELLOWDOT

My core inspiration comes from the inner workings of individuals, and observing their behaviours in reaction to outside stimulus. It can be as simple as taking notice of how people shift uncomfortably in stools on hot days because the plastic clings unpleasantly to their thighs, to watching how someones eyes dilate with awe upon seeing fireworks light up the night sky.

CANDID PHOTOGRAPHED BY ME

These moments may be seemingly uncomplicated and go unnoticed by many, but these are the moments that have the power to bring immense joy or to disrupt the comfort of someone who may already be having a bad day.The little things count, and it’s these small occurrences that motivate my design process.

A design studio I admire that captures these aforementioned moments with their products, is Hong Kong based, ‘Studio Yellowdot.’ Run by spouses Dilara and Bodin they combine Dilaras arts and crafts background with Bodins tech skills from working with nasa, to design products that ‘spark joy’.

STUDIO YELLOWDOT - USB BUBBLESTICK

A poignant demonstration of their designs sparking joy can be found on their instagram stories from Paris Design week.

The clip of two little girls beaming, laughing and playing with their USB Bubble sticks, resonated with me. To think that something so small and simplistic could incite such emotion, is a fundamental reason behind why I love to design.

INSTAGRAM STORY

INSPIRATION

DESIGNER PROFILE MARIA D’SOUZA

INI ARCHIBONG - MANNA CHANDELIER

“I make emotional things with a function.”

INI ARCHIBONG Industrial designer Ini Archibong, captures my thoughts on design quite nicely. In an interview with whitewall, he stated: “I make emotional things with a function. To me, there’s still artistic expression and the function is part of it.” his emphasis on putting the artistic expression and emotional aspect of his work as priority over function, goes against Dieter Rams’ frequently referenced design principle ‘form follows function’. This is an interesting approach that I do find myself leaning towards, particularly with more recent projects.

INSPIRATION

DESIGNER PROFILE

Delving deeper into my inspirations in terms of artistic expression, Violet Zhou comes to mind. As a RISD fashion graduate, she created a compilation of 6 wearable, ‘interactive sculptures’ that depicted a transition through various mental states experienced during personal struggles. Her colour and material choices were intentional to represent something intangible and internal, as artworks we can collectively admire and empathise with.

VIOLET ZHOU - WITHIN

MARIA D’SOUZA

This leads onto my recently discovered interest in colour, material and finish. Her work demonstrates to me how these three factors are key in striking the hearts of a consumer, be they onlookers or people who have made a monetary investment in the piece. CMF impacts heavily on my design language because physical senses are unquestionably linked with emotional experience. Be it tactile, auditory, visual, gustatory or olfactory, these considerations can make significant impacts on the sensitivity of human feeling. These are the kinds of deliberations that can make design sing..

INI ARCHIBONG - MANNA CHANDELIER

INSPIRATION

VIOLET ZHOU - WITHIN

DESIGNER PROFILE

YAARA NUSBOIM - ALMA DOLLS

MARIA D’SOUZA

On the topic of sense stimulation, one of my favourite pieces of design is exceptionally tactile. Israeli designer Yaara Nusboim created a series of maple wood dolls with colourful silicone inlays, to aid children in processing emotional trauma. Every design decision was made alongside child psychologists to ensure the dolls could suit such a delicate demographic. Despite the products appearing traditional and abstract in form, each curve and colour choice serves a clear purpose to allow for a child to express themselves through play therapy.

Design with distinct intention at every stage of the process will always serve as a point of admiration for me. I want to design products that show my consumer that I care about them on a profound level, and don’t make decisions for the sake of being flashy or insincere. My design ethos is about connection and seeking to imprint onto the hearts of those who invest in it, so sincerity is of utmost importance to my work.

YAARA NUSBOIM - ALMA DOLLS

INSPIRATION

DESIGNER PROFILE

MY FRIENDS - THE PEOPLE WHO INSPIRE ME MOST

MARIA D’SOUZA

I aspire to grow my breadth of knowledge to allow for me to refine my design style to a level that enables me to bring solace to those who can benefit from it, through the medium of carefully tailored products that have their subtle needs at their core.

SOURCES https://www.yellowdotdesign.co/bubbleusbmemorystick https://www.dezeen.com/2020/07/27/risd-graduate-violet-zhou-fashion-collection/ https://www.culturedmag.com/article/2021/10/08/ini-archibong https://www.friedmanbenda.com/press/ini-archibong-designing-in-the-flow-state-whitewall/ https://www.dezeen.com/2019/11/18/yaara-nusboim-alma-therapy-dolls-design/ http://www.casaluisbarragan.org/eng/en_index.html https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a2620/diana-vreeland-why-dont-you/

https://mexandthecity.tumblr.com/post/158198691728/mtc-happy-birthday-to-mexican-architect-luis https://theartling.com/en/designers/yellowdot-design/

REFERENCES

https://hospitalitydesign.com/people/podcasts/designer-ini-archibong/

THANK YOU! Mariatdsouza@outlook.com Mariatdfsd_id 07578748766