"BIZNES meble.pl" international 1/2018

interview X design international edition 1/2018 [ BIZNES meble.pl 63 f P lease step back in time and answer the question: why did you become a designer? It was so long ago ( laughs ), but that par- ticular thing I remember because that was one of the most fundamental things I wanted to do in life. For sure it was due to the fact that, as a young man, I want- ed to organize the world and, perhaps, my approach was then too emotional. How did you organize the world? It was about getting distance to what was around me. I wore white gloves, because the aesthetics of that time did not suit me. I wore colourful trousers, because everything was grey. That was my little manifesto. There were no open borders and we could only dream of many things to meet our expectations on functionality, as well as user-friend- ly. For me, a young boy then, such items were inaccessible. My awareness, as well as of many other designers who are now recognized artists in Poland, was under huge influence of abroad journeys and contact with this true reality which was created in the West. That shaped our consciousness and the desire to change our surrounding, because – as I said – it was not good. It is common knowledge now, that at that time we also had a very good design, of which we had no idea then. Ironic, isn’t it? In the West the icons of design are still known and still on the top, while in Poland the products that could become such icons as those in the West, unfor- tunately have always been marginalized. As a result, the authors of furniture or applied art projects remained unknown but still used in arranging houses and flats. This knowledge was very poor and top-down controlled. The State had no ambition, the designers obviously had, but there was no will from the State part to promote those designers and their work abroad. On the contrary. There are many examples that unfortunately con- firm this. As a result, I, as a young boy who had the opportunity to go abroad and touch the design and that other re- ality, tried to make this kind of thinking come to us as well. In fact, going in the direction of design, architecture, was the only solution that allowed to change our reality. Which directions were then the most important ones, in which countries you were looking for inspiration? Unfortunately, the most important direction was the West, but as for the inspiration, Finnish and Danish fur- niture influenced me the most, I was fascinated with Scandinavian design. These projects were very user-friend- ly with high quality of design. It was a warm and, at the same time, modern design due to the combination of ma- terials. The same or similar solutions existed in architecture as well as in fur- niture design and interior design, and this was consistent with my feelings and aesthetics. And if you were to mention the people who stood on your professional path and became your masters, mentors, whom would you point out? There is only one master and men- tor for me. If we talk about the years of study at the University of Arts in Poznań, which changed its name and is functioning as a UAP only since 2010, then of course my mentor was Pro- fessor Rajmund Teofil Hałas. He also supervised my diploma in furniture: ‘Krzesławe’ – multi-purpose piece of furniture. This workshop provided the opportunity to develop the project in- dividually, that is, in such way to find the best and shortest solution to the problem. The completion of the math- ematics and physics class in the Karol Marcinkowski High School in Poznań influenced me deeply – I learned ana- Ryszard Mañczak , Born on 21 May 1967 in Poznań, his adventure with art started with a successful drawing contest in New Delhi in India where he was one of the winners and won the silver medal. He was one of the co-foun- ders of, so called, GEMELA (from DGEMELO – discussion group of The Electric Light Orchestra enthusiasts). Graduated from‘Marcinek’, one of the best secondary schools in Poznań, studying mathematics and science. Studied in the years 1987- 1992 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań at Interior Architecture and Industrial Design Department, where he was allowed to expand his skills at the Department of Design by professor Rajmund Teofil Hałas and at the Department of Bionics Design by professor Włodzimierz Dreszer. He also increased his ability at a three-year Signage Design Lab of professor’s Henryk Regimowicz. He graduated in 1994 with a diploma ‘Krzesławe’. In 1992-1994, he co-fo- unded the Studio of Signage System – Prolog. In 1994-2000 he continued business in Prolog Design – Signage Systems. He works in project teams, cooperates with contractors and de- signers, coordinates and implements visual and directional information systems, performs graphic designs, designs logotypes, arrangements of forms and spaces, deals with design in all its aspects, drawings, sketches and graphics. Exhibition organizer, curator, juror in design contests. A lover of sport and recreation, with an indication for good jazz. The ‘Grazia’sofa. Photo by Michał Różalski.