Sunday
May302010
Lysandre Follet - Industrial Designer x Photographer x Illustrator
05-30-2010 | 1 Comment | 
Monkee had the chance to ask Lysandre Follet a couple questions some time ago. Lysandre is a DOPE designer that specializes in...well, everything really; ID, Photography, Illustration etc... It really amazed us at how good he is at really building a story around a product and having the skills to do pretty much everything needed to market it too. Check out what Lysandre has to say about what programs he uses, what we can expect from him in the future and much, much more...
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Im 25 years old now and started my higher education with a special preparatory class of physics and ad-math, then got admission into an engineering school of informatics before i realised that this wasnt at all what i wanted to do with my life..so here i took a 360 degree turn, back to square zero... by doing a 5 year course in a School for product design based in paris. I had the opportunity in these few years time to intern in quite prestigious companies such as Auchan,Ripcurl,Nike...etc but also certain internships abroad, especially the one in russia at ARTLEBEDEV, which allowed me to forge myself a true indentity and open up my eyes as to what i wanted to undertake in the future. When i get free time, which isnt ever so often, i restore vintage bicycles, photography and i PARTICULARLY love to travel!!
What is your design process?
As for my designs, i dont have a particular process, i use somewhat the same as every other designer i guess. After the breifing session with my clients, i start by searching 'visuals' in order to learn more about the market and similar existing products..furthermore i like finding different ways of exploring and when i have a couple of axes, i focus on each one with various techniques, such as: sketching/ mock-ups/3D visualisation, then i select the best concept/ID for each axe/bullet point, making sure that I attain the widest range of creativity for each pre-project.
You seem to have many skill sets that you combine to create your own unique style, what is your favorite of those skills?
as you have noticed, i love to combine various techniques because they are all quite complementary; certain things can be sketched but are better understood through/by a global volume design process, which allows me to validate certains things much faster. for ex: a door knob.Moreover, I often use 3D and more precislely photo rendering as it helps me perceive the object in a very accurate and realistic manner...which of course helps save a lot of time!
What media/programs do you use when designing?
Now im going to fill you in on the software I use. Its basically a combo of Photoshop + Illustrator but also Solidworks and maxwell for photo rendering..and of course, like every designers side-kick..crayons/markers/a ball point pen and paper are present too!
What are you working on right now, and what can we expect to see from you in the near future?
Ive been in Lyon for over a year now, where ive set-up my own design studio aswell as a boutique http://www.jadoo.fr . My design activity is mostly based on product design ranging from bike manufacturering to handtools but also covering graphic design for local markets. Right now Id like to have more time for my personal projects like watch design/ bike design and other funky products..
In the near future i'd liek to present to you my new website but for that i'll have to invent a time-freezing machine first!
What people or websites do you look at for inspiration?
my everyday reflex is to take a good look on behance.net which is the best creative community online ..but also Hypebeast for new stuff and a lot of small fashion blogs ...and since im the biggest monkey lover ever..i dont miss out on monkeedesign !
Any advice to young designers?
A message for young designers from me would be " try to do a maximum of internships in lots of different structures..small agencies/ multi-national firms etc and do your best to go abroad as often as possible cause its really enrichening and while youre doing all this dont forget ABOVE ALL..to enjoy YOURSELF to the max! :-)
Thank you for this interview !
No Lysandre, thankYOU for the interview! BIG monkee love to Mr Follet, don't forget to check out his website out too; www.minigorille.com.
Reader Comments (1)
See you !
;-)