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YOUNEEDTOGETOUTMORE

PEOPLEText: Simone Biffi

There’s an online place in Portugal that is become a must for all the creative and designers whom want to be inspired, get up-to-date, and know what really new and fresh comes out from the national and world wide design panorama.

YouNeedToGetOutMore is the slogan behind this project. A multidisciplinary work group that as a whole brings to an end a variety of experimentation, based on a structure of trust and mutual respect amongst its members and collaborators.

The main thought that comes out by the way to intend an alternative vision of our creative work starts from the point to getting out more’ to retrieve more from everything taking place around us, in our visual and artistic panorama. Starting with design which is everywhere, but not only; design helps our life become possible, it should serve’ people, not deceive or limit them. It should find solutions; not help to create more problems.

So lets introduce the author, asking him more about the project and his vision for the future.

Carlos, when and why did you start up the yntgom project? What was the “lack” that gave you the idea to open a community and mag like this?

The idea to create yntgom, a platform that the design community can use to develop and expand, was the idea of Pedro Mateus, Alexandre Santos and I, the co-founders of this project. The idea grew a few years ago, at the end of 2001. Initially, we had the idea to create a space that could show various works and still have a strong pedagogical base. We also wanted it to be a space where people can change ideas and learn together. We wanted it to help with the growth of a new community of designers but this time online. What we were looking for is a place to find references of Portuguese design and to try to discover those national values and show them.

As designers, we were aware of the increasing quality of Portuguese design, illustration and art and we start to wonder, who are these people behind the advertising agencies, design ateliers and underground art collectives? Who designed that typeface, that illustration, that logo or website?

For us, this was the right moment to build a base to be used as a platform that answers these questions. We wanted to discover other people here in Portugal, to establish connections with the international community and to invent a way to give voice and space to people considered important and relevant to the design community both here and at the international level. We want to contribute to the healthy growth of a community of positive people who believe in design and art as a medium to make the world a better place.

In the manifesto you promote: “From a Portuguese political context, of sometimes perverse economic and social global discouragement, our only priority and pride is our work “. Please may you explain us what’s the meaning behind?

As human being we need to fully realize and develop ourselves. Each person has a seed that needs to blossom . Design helps us to attain self-realization because we love it, we live it and sometimes we can not get away from it; the design is a pure form of communication, a vehicle to express ideas, to improve our lives, to resolve problems. At this moment Portuguese society is starting to wake up and understand the importance of the humanistic designer to the development of society.

The specific context of economic crisis and discouragement in Portugal; the fight for raising the level of consciousness of the designer and his acceptance in society; the lack of motivation mirrored in the faces of our design students; all of these things worked as a catalyst for the creation of an online magazine.

We think that we need to show that we believe in people , the quality of the work and the capacity to project and contrast, to use our imagination and to find solutions. The significance is simple: we like what we do and this helps us to wake up, to open the window, pick up a tune, take a bath, choose our clothes, eat and get out on the street!

Yntgom is starting to be renowned not only in Portugal but even abroad. What’s in your opinion the better way to let Portuguese design known overseas and what’s the approach you have with the international design panorama?

We think the best way to get Portuguese design some recognition is to show its quality. We try to stimulate a new way of thinking about Portuguese design which consists in sharing experiences and works between students, professionals and designers from all around the world. Through communication and sharing, we can open the door to recognition.

We are always optimists about the future, and everyday we see new examples of good design, communication, illustration, music, art and cinema. We are looking at the old and the new and the result is what is published in each new edition of the magazine. For this we are looking forward to develop a magazine that hopefully will innovate more than a little bit, break some moulds, show good work, and make us thinks about some fresh new good ideas….

What do you think about the creative scene in Portugal and what’s your vision for the future?

Here there exists a lot of quality work but most of it has no exposure whatsoever; we need some kind of organization or a socio-cultural base with incentive and new stimuli. We feel at times a lack of support from the scene. At this moment, there is a lot of creativity that is absorbed by the advertising market. We need something to motivate us to do a little more than just our work; side projects, experiences, remixes.

Everyday we see some excellent new examples of Portuguese design like Musabook (Musa-Portuguese Design Collective), Rev Design, Rmac, Carlos Quitério, Benedita Feijó, Nuno Valério, Ana Cortesão…

Co-operation, not having fear to share what we know, to be open to new ways and to always believe…. That is the vision for yntgom.

Text: Simone Biffi

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