From Milano, Italy comes the talented talent of the Space Invaders Design Group.
Fresh from University, these talented young designers have now completed their degrees but are still meeting to enter design competitions.
The team have kindly given Design Tavern a taste of their work – A few past University projects.
"Monolite was our final university effort.. "
Tell us a little about yourselves, where are you from and where are you living now?
Four people make up Space Invaders and we are each from a different part of Italy. We met in Milano at university and discovered that working together could have been some potential so we gave it a go and we created the group.
The Space Invaders group is composed by Giovanni Mendini, Stefano Pertegato, Francesco Schiraldi and Eloisa tolu.
The project was for a lighting system which can become something more than a simple lamp, and is actually an “interactive architetural element” to fit in with the SOHO housings (office houses in which dwellers live their entire day).
How did you come up with the name “space invaders design” the 80s icon i hope!
The name actually has two meanings. It came during a workshop when we made acollaboration with some Australian students. It was called “Octopus, porosity of the city” and we immediately thought of something that could really invade the city space, like a giant octopus.
The second reason is that we needed some graphic mark to identify our style and our approach
We already liked the name so we just picked one small alien from the 80’s arcade videogame with it’s amazing pop and pixelated graphics- it really symbolize our light and ironic approach to design.
This lack of external impulses brings a psycho-physical stress and our challenge was to “design a lamp to make people feel elsewhere”
What does each of you bring to the table? Do you each have particular strengths?
Eloisa is very good in doing research, while Stefano is skilled in drawing. Francesco is the one with the best ideas for concepts and Giovanni is the one who makes everything fit together.
In the end we realized that the most important figure is the one who can make a good coffee which brings peace back in the group in the most “busy” moments.
The most important thing in a creative group is to be all different but to share a common design view.
We did a lot of research into attention, interaction, and the multisensorial aspect of living. After this we came up with a lighting object which could involve the user,supported by visual and hearing experiences.
What people inspires you as a group?
All of us share a common tuition coming from the same university, but whilst we were working together we had the chance to discover artists, designers, architects and people who all influenced us.. Our biggest references are to Naoto Fukasawa because his works keep a unique lightness joined with a deeper meaning. Other’s such as Jonathan Ive, Muji, B&O and of course a little dose of “Rock n’ Roll” to make things less boring…
The ALGASTER project has had a lot of development: its aim was to have a concept for a future tractor which could imagine an evolutive scenery of agriculture, linked more to intelligence than to crude power.
What are your other interests beside design?
Well, this question got an immediate and common answer: Rock and Roll. But also photography, graphics, cinema and travels.
The beginning step was to understand modern agricultural tendencies, and it let us discover the “no food” agriculture, aimed to the production of clean energy and not polluting fuels
What’s the best and worst parts of being a full time, working designers?
The best part is when you know you are working on a good concept. And the end results is up to you!
The knowledge of being able to live, thanks to your ideas is something without comparison.
Also the nights spent working as a group: they are a really unifying experience, jokes, laughs, fights and problems become something to remember together.
Algae can be used for energy production due to its of high oil content. Furthermore, the Algaster can provide water cleaning in polluted areas where algae growth may exceed normal conditions (eutrophic waters) i.e generating energy from pollution.
Any advice to up and coming designers?
“Do something else…”
I’m sure the Space Invaders Group are only mucking around when they suggest those wishing to become designers should “do some else.”
Their Passion for design after all is really amazing, and they are lucky to find such close-knit, like minded group members!
Stefano Pertegato has put up some of his and the group’s work at http://www.behance.net/steste
A huge thanks from the design tavern and best of luck withthe AlcantaraLab competition.
But wanna remark on few general things, The website style is perfect, the subject material is real wonderful. “To establish oneself in the world, one has to do all one can to appear established.” by Francois de La Rochefoucauld.
Hiya, I’m really glad I have found this info. Today bloggers publish just about gossip and web stuff and this is really annoying. A good website with interesting content, that is what I need. Thanks for making this web site, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Hi there, for all time i used to check website posts here early in the daylight, because i enjoy to find out more and more.|
Hiya, I am really glad I have found this info. Nowadays bloggers publish only about gossip and internet stuff and this is actually irritating. A good website with exciting content, that is what I need. Thanks for making this web site, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Hi there. I discovered your site by the use of Google at the same time as looking for a comparable matter, your site got here up. It appears good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.
Hiya, I’m really glad I have found this information. Today bloggers publish just about gossip and net stuff and this is actually frustrating. A good website with exciting content, this is what I need. Thank you for making this web-site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Awesome post. I’m a regular visitor of your web site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I’ll be a frequent visitor for a really long time.
What’s up i am kavin, its my first occasion to commenting anyplace, when i read this article i thought i could also make comment due to this good paragraph.|
Awesome post. I’m a normal visitor of your website and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the nice site. I will be a regular visitor for a really long time.
Hello there. I discovered your site by the use of Google even as looking for a related matter, your web site got here up. It seems to be good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.
I just could not depart your website before suggesting that I actually enjoyed the standard info a person supply for your guests? Is gonna be again regularly to inspect new posts|
Hello there. I discovered your site by the use of Google whilst searching for a similar matter, your site got here up. It seems to be great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.
Hiya, I am really glad I have found this information. Nowadays bloggers publish just about gossip and internet stuff and this is actually annoying. A good website with exciting content, this is what I need. Thanks for making this web-site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Hey there. I found your website by way of Google even as looking for a similar matter, your site got here up. It appears great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.
Thanks for every other great article. The place else may anybody get that type of information in such an ideal means of writing? I have a presentation next week, and I am at the search for such information.|
Hiya, I’m really glad I’ve found this info. Today bloggers publish just about gossip and web stuff and this is really annoying. A good site with exciting content, this is what I need. Thank you for making this site, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Awesome write-up. I am a regular visitor of your blog and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I’ll be a frequent visitor for a long time.
Hey there. I discovered your site by way of Google while looking for a similar topic, your site came up. It looks great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.
Hiya, I’m really glad I’ve found this info. Today bloggers publish only about gossip and internet stuff and this is actually irritating. A good website with exciting content, that is what I need. Thanks for making this web-site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Awesome write-up. I am a normal visitor of your site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the nice site. I will be a regular visitor for a long time.
Awesome write-up. I’m a regular visitor of your site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the nice site. I’ll be a regular visitor for a really long time.
Awesome post. I’m a normal visitor of your web site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I will be a regular visitor for a really long time.
Hiya, I’m really glad I have found this information. Today bloggers publish just about gossip and web stuff and this is really irritating. A good blog with exciting content, that’s what I need. Thanks for making this web-site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
I’ve been absent for some time, but now I remember why I used to love this web site. Thank you, I’ll try and check back more often. How frequently you update your web site?
Hi there. I found your web site by way of Google whilst looking for a comparable subject, your site came up. It seems to be good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.
Hiya, I am really glad I’ve found this info. Nowadays bloggers publish just about gossip and web stuff and this is really annoying. A good blog with exciting content, that’s what I need. Thank you for making this web-site, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Awesome write-up. I am a regular visitor of your blog and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I will be a frequent visitor for a really long time.
Hi there. I discovered your website via Google even as searching for a related matter, your web site got here up. It appears to be good. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.
Hiya, I am really glad I’ve found this info. Today bloggers publish just about gossip and internet stuff and this is actually annoying. A good website with exciting content, that is what I need. Thanks for making this site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Awesome post. I am a regular visitor of your web site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the nice site. I will be a regular visitor for a really long time.
I’ve been browsing on-line greater than three hours today, yet I never discovered any attention-grabbing article like yours. It’s beautiful price sufficient for me. In my opinion, if all site owners and bloggers made just right content material as you probably did, the net will be a lot more helpful than ever before.|
Hello there. I discovered your web site by the use of Google even as looking for a similar subject, your web site got here up. It looks good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.
Awesome write-up. I am a normal visitor of your blog and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the nice site. I’ll be a frequent visitor for a really long time.
Awesome write-up. I am a normal visitor of your website and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I’ll be a frequent visitor for a really long time.
Wow, this article is nice, my sister is analyzing such things, therefore I am going to inform her.|
Hiya, I’m really glad I have found this info. Nowadays bloggers publish only about gossip and web stuff and this is actually annoying. A good site with interesting content, this is what I need. Thanks for making this site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Awesome post. I’m a regular visitor of your website and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I’ll be a regular visitor for a long time.
I was suggested this web site by my cousin. I am not sure whether this post is written by him as no one else know such detailed about my trouble. You’re amazing! Thanks!
Aw, this was an exceptionally nice post. Finding the time and actual effort to create a great article… but what can I say… I procrastinate a lot and don’t manage to get nearly anything done.|
Awesome write-up. I am a normal visitor of your blog and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I’ll be a regular visitor for a really long time.
Awesome write-up. I’m a regular visitor of your site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the nice site. I’ll be a regular visitor for a long time.
Hey there. I discovered your blog by the use of Google even as searching for a comparable topic, your website got here up. It seems great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.
Hello there. I discovered your site via Google while looking for a similar matter, your site came up. It appears great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.
Hiya, I am really glad I’ve found this information. Nowadays bloggers publish only about gossip and web stuff and this is actually annoying. A good site with interesting content, that is what I need. Thank you for making this website, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Awesome post. I’m a normal visitor of your web site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the nice site. I will be a regular visitor for a really long time.
Hiya, I am really glad I have found this info. Today bloggers publish just about gossip and web stuff and this is actually frustrating. A good site with exciting content, this is what I need. Thanks for making this web-site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Awesome write-up. I am a regular visitor of your site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the nice site. I’ll be a regular visitor for a really long time.
It’s very effortless to find out any topic on web as compared to books, as I found this post at this web site.|
Awesome post. I’m a regular visitor of your site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I will be a regular visitor for a long time.
Hello there. I found your website by way of Google while searching for a similar topic, your site came up. It appears to be good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.