ART RANT

I hope you are enjoying your summer.
Next we feature the work of Antonio Suarez, Designer from Vancouver Canada.

Destinos from Reverse Design Lab on Vimeo.

When did you start Reverse Design Lab?

Reverse Design Lab started in mid 2008 as a direct reaction to how designers and designs affect our lives, both consciously and unconsciously.
It became a voice in which I could express myself, a name in which I could put meanings to my life and my surroundings.

What are the Design goals, your company would like to achieve?

The Lab's design goals are many and most of them epic. The Lab functions as a platform for experiments, philosophy, the evolution of society and the human race.
The Lab attempts to visually re-construct the current man-made scenario by improving upon it with the knowledge and studies of our past, our future, our rules and rulers, our mechanisms of living, and every vision that affects ourselves and our environment in a positive way.

What is the aesthetic concept behind Reverse Design Lab?

The aesthetic concept of Reverse Design Lab is based on spiritual and physical evolution and from a fusion of all my different expressive aspects. On how we are never the same person we where in the past, and that everything inside and outside of us will change, and will continue to change, with the speed that we set it up to. That's why The Lab's image is constantly changing, because I change. It is a personal reflection on my current emotional status. Everything from the colors and the forms have a deep significance that I continue to study, because it reveals more about myself. And with that knowledge comes a sharper image in which to focus my thoughts, my visions, and my theories. I become closer to my goals by constructing and releasing information that is engaging and deeply meaningful.





Where did the inspiration for the brand Pure & Positive stem from?

Pure & Positive is another reaction. This one is born from the current state of fashion and beauty. The fashion industry seems to be creating a very strange illusion to define beauty. Apathy, soulless expressions, and fragile bodies in awkward poses become repeated images in the portrayal of the current modern look.
What Pure & Positive strives to achieve is an image that is honest and unaltered. A brand that stimulates expression and creativity with its products and projects.

Are the products one of a kind?



The tote bags are one of a kind, yes. The whole thing started up as an abstract diary. I had a calendar and was trying creative ways in which to reflect my daily state. I came up with a system of lines that once together will represent a single day in my life. As days and weeks go by you start to see a flow, a resonance, you see a piece of my life in an abstract image. I could see a clear difference in the lines while being stressed or depressed, and being happy and calm. There is a much nicer flow in the lines when I'm comfortable and free of worries. The experiment stepped out of the calendar and into my sketchbook/diary. Then, inspired by my sisters current brand label, I decided to try it on a bag. I found the process of making them therapeutic, it has the power to calm me down. I use a fine marker to draw directly on the bag and it takes me about 2 hours to make one. I'm currently presenting them to stores here in Vancouver to see if there's anyone interested in carrying my designs.



Your work has a whimsical urban retro edge to it, how influential is the city you live in to your work?

Vancouver is highly influential to my work. There's this fantastic blend of nature in the surroundings that gives it a sort of magical appeal. I spent my time taking pictures outside or doodling on parks because nature continues to fascinate and inspire me. The whimsical aspect comes from a heavy dose of dreams and my on-going fascination for them. The urban style comes from a vision of the future, a future that regards design as art and where art has spread out everywhere, in every sense.
The retro feel comes from the times when people realized their true power and potential. Mostly the 60's and 70's. What I'm currently listening to becomes reflected in my work as well. In short, my work becomes a collage of all my experiences and my reactions to my surroundings.



Up Next: The Fabulous Aunia Kahn