Agent01

What should the modern James Bond be like as a symbol of the modern man?

Tough question. Should he be like modern androgynous Keanu Reeves, who saves the world in The Matrix, or "retro" Josip Broz - Tito, who had women eating out of his hand? Given that the current vision of the world is "back to nature and man", in an extreme situation the man can once again be the hunter, full of testosterone, and the woman the keeper of the nest, i.e. once again a more traditionally divided gender role. I'm afraid that sounds very provocative. I read that in the past 40 years we men have been deprived of about half of our male hormones due to pesticides. Irrespective of these different views on men, I think that it still "works" if a man has some gentlemanliness and refinement and romance of the "old school" without pathos. And sharpness is a must.

Do you have anything in common with James Bond?

Ha ha, I try to be as professional and fast as possible. I'm a little ashamed to admit that I'm also a huge gadget freak. The first personal digital assistant I had back in 1994 was Apple's Newton, which in my opinion was the most ahead of its time of all Apple products. I've been listening to the iPod at home, in the studio, and in the car since 2001, and I had the iPhone in my pocket as soon as it hit the US market last year. I probably also share a desire for perfection with James Bond. For example, these gadgets must meet all the criteria: materials, user experience, product story and socio-cultural backgrounds must be in line with me. Form is not enough. I used the same criteria when buying a car.

Speed and adrenaline, ingenuity and success and neatness and refinement; how do these elements intertwine for you?

If possible, in careful harmony. At the pace we're going, it takes a lot of discipline. To preserve the former with age seems to me to be an art.

How dynamic or do you have to be active to successfully follow and create trends in the environment?

In my opinion, you can be very lazy or hyper-active, it is important that you are avant-garde or ahead of time with your ideas. Maybe I'm wrong and it's only "hyperactive" people in high places when they get ahead of themselves and get tired of it layerers they're pretty good at it multitasking, a brilliant idea occurs. It's definitely a good feeling if you can do it.

Is creating trends the transfer of certain concepts from other fields or is it "plowing the fallow land"?

Creating trends can be both. Of course, the feeling when you "plow the fallow" is better, because you set something from scratch. A colleague, jewelry designer Lara Bohinc, for example, got inspiration for a series of jewelry from her brother's construction statics textbook. She created a very modernist jewelry and executed it in the laser technique. Jewelry was created like never before in history.

Are you also advertising yourself by creating an image for a client?

Of course, the word about a good product goes by word of mouth. In fact, I can boast that, so far, subscribers always call me first. Perhaps this is related to my attitude towards them, because I don't design for myself, I always try to empathize as much as possible with the client and his milieu. I sometimes joke that clients come to me on the couch, where they get an image that, in retrospect, seems like it's been a part of them forever. Of course, prizes also help in advertising yourself. Together with the Alpina team, we received the most prestigious award for product design in the world in Essen, Germany. I only realized this when we were written down in history by being entered in a heavy book along with Aston Martin cars, the iPhone, Bang & Olufsen and the rest. I think this is the biggest advertisement or reference that can be achieved in the field of product design.

What do "moving boards" and the creations of fashion designers on mannequins have in common?

If we try, we dress the actors as well as the models, but unfortunately due to MovingBoard Worldwide's policy it has to be boys only. Ask girls if they like them. They best dressed MovingBoards in a promotion for Monkey Shoulder whiskey in London. They wore smart business gray suits and had monkey masks on their heads. It is interesting, however, that such advertising, which now appears on the streets, was used far back in history. In the Middle Ages, movable billboards invited people to watch hangings in the next street. Today it's a bit more sophisticated and urban, I could say yes, almost like in the Blade Runner sci-fi movies. After all, it can also function in a much more fashionable way.

When you decide to travel, what is important to you, do you even "leave" the Cabinet?

Sometimes it's important for me to be able to "disconnect" completely, sometimes again, depending on the nature of my profession, some visits to metropolises are perfectly "matched" with a break. When I was in London last year, for example, I paid attention to how Asian restaurants were decorated, because at that time we were working on the logo for DA BU DO in Ljubljana. Otherwise, bookstores and exhibitions in all metropolises are necessary for my work. Because design is such a broad concept and because visual culture is almost everywhere around us, I am a "professional" observer and evaluator at every step. But this is sometimes annoying, because sometimes I would like to overlook something bad, I would like to be superficial, but it doesn't work.

Is the image and dynamism of the place where you go for lunch or coffee important?

The image of the bar, which is in line with the good content, is of course necessary. Although in this area, as a "visual person", I absolutely immediately forgive the owners of the awkward image, if only the offer is good or delicious. For example, I have had the best lunches many times in fancy Italian inns. The unpretentiousness of the image itself is sometimes quite reassuring. I usually eat lunch at Ambient because it's close to the studio and because they consistently try to offer a variety of food. I heard that it's worth going for lunch at the new restaurant Pri potic in Stara Ljubljana, so I'll try it out soon. There are plenty of good options for coffee and cake in Ljubljana, but not enough for lunch, but maybe that's why the cuisine in certain places in Slovenia is already top-notch