Paula Dib Interview

26 September 2007

This weeks SOURCE lecture was held by Paula Dib, a social designer from Brazil.
The people in the VLAG team who accompanied her were Rachel Baker, Davide
Dulcetti, Damian Tonon and Samanta de Jong.
Prior to giving the lecture, Paula Dib sat down with us for a bit to have a chat. We
prepared some questions to ask her in an interview, which you can read the transcript
of below.

Interview
SdJ: Is there any particular person or people who have inspired you in your work?

PD: Yes, I have many different sources of inspiration. Actually, I was here at the
Design Academy Eindhoven, and I had contact with Hella Jongerius and I was
amazed with the way she was treating design, with an open view, everything that
happens within this word “design”. And for me, coming from Brazil, it made much
more sense because it actually fit in my reality, the Brazilian context. So, since I came
here 5 years ago, I came back to Brazil with another point of view about design. This
was very important for me, it changed a lot my point of view about design,
broadening the range of possibilities. Here I noticed this breakthrough, design can be
so many different things, the way you look a things is the most important, that is what
I learned here.

DT: You are professionally an industrial designer, did you find inspiration for your
work during your studies or afterwards?

PD: Actually before, my interest in this kind of field within design, more social in
this context, has to do with my education. I went to school with a human approach,
based in arts, we learned math through arts, we had a very humanitarian atmosphere
in Sao Paolo. It a is kind of school originally from Austria. It is not only about school,
the whole thing I guess.

SdJ: I was wondering about working so close with communities, which have been
your most positive experiences?

PD: It is something that you learn a lot from, it is very interesting way of working.
There is one moment, I just go there, naked you might say, we start to build-up a
whole relationship with the people and the environment, we start researching the
materials, research with different group of people, it is like a process, little by little
you get to know them, their history, and the talents, their background their interest
and as the work is a combination of all these elements, when we finally get to cross
them that is a very beautiful moment. Because before that everyone was inspired to be
there but they do not really know what we do there, but when they finally see one
product coming out from the group that is “the moment”; then everyone understand it,
it is like a refreshment in the process, we get new batteries, and everybody is ready to
start again…and it is so nice.

DT: Is it difficult to build trust with the people?

PD: I don’t ask them to change, my approach is not based on changes it is based in
opportunities. I think what I try to do it is just to try wake them for the possibilities
they have there. For example, sometimes I work with communities which never
worked with crafts before, actually they were doing nothing. So you try to find people
with some skills to teach the others, then the whole group starts learning. I am not
imposing something, I just show them and by interest they get there. This trust comes
with the process. I believe that at the end they will come-up with the product and we
have this goal. It is funny to see, we came here to play, slowly this changes, and I
think mmm…just wait and see…they change the perspective, they say
afterwards…well, I have a job now…they are in a different timing, they are small
communities, timing, sometimes small communities in rural areas. The income
generation is a consequence of their research within themselves and within the
community..am I clear? Sometimes I am metaphoric…

SdJ: Yes, you are very clear! In your website you talk about social and
environmental design, can you elaborate on these concepts?

PD: We have been discussing a lot about this “social environment”…I think the
social approach is the way we introduce ourselves to the communities, and what we
expect them to bring to us and this collaborative way of working , it is not something
that I go there as a designer and tell them, to change this and that. What we want to
have is this sense of belonging, we expect them to be involved. I do not expect at the
end of the process to go and sign with my name, because it is not mine, it belong to
everybody, this is the social approach, the environment is because we try all the
element we have there, sometimes we use other materials or native materials…we
always try to build a sustainable system…materials coming from industrial waste,
seed they have in their yards, the design in their context is to look for these kind of
things.

SdJ: In your opinion, doe you think that designers should always have a sense of
responsibility towards the environment and the community?

PD: I do not know, what I do it is something that came to me according to my
context…I think designers should be aware about the materials, we have to think
before, during and after, the life cycle o the product, you have to be aware of the
communities as the users, so you need to produce things useful for the people, my
direction happens according my conditions.

DT: do you relate your projects to Fair Trade, are you also involve with the trading
of their products?

PD: No actually not, there is a limit where you can go. There is another person
hired by NGO, she produces the bridge between the communities and the buyers.
There are many NGO, I just help them with contacts, magazine, but I am not involved
with the trade.

DT: Have you thought of expanding your vision to communities abroad.

PD: I work with urban and rural communities within Brazil but why not? I do not
discard the idea of doing the same in neighboring countries like Argentina, Paraguay,
i.e…I know Manu Rappoport, he has some work done in Patagonia. We tried with
Bas, we have this challenge, we brought student from Brazil and NL and went to
London, 3 mentors, and we tried to use these methodologies we use in Brazil,
transferred to a completely new context, a high school in London, teenagers, trying to
build a collaborative environment. W went there trying to build something related to
school environment, and then we were thinking maybe the school needs more chairs,
this and that and we realized that what they wanted and needed was communication.
There is something specific about the school, it is a multicultural place. In one room
we had up to 30 diff countries, so we developed 3 project and it was all about
communication, interaction. It was a very nice experience. Sometimes you work in
design not looking for specific products but for something else. Design can help you
find this…open to new alternatives.

DT: Could you tell us a bit about your company Trans-forma?

PD: I decided to open a company because I realize I had to professionalize my
work…I thought a lot about the name. It has this name because has a strong
connotation, transformation, and it is also connected to form, and object of design.
In the future, my company will hopefully grow, or maybe it won’t! Its flexible, and
as the needs change, so will Trans-forma.
Thank you very much!