For Agata Bugalskaya, design is an awareness of itself. Of herself, the viewer and the product. Learning about materials and how to use them. She herself likes to define the relationship between consumer and object.
She goes beyond the mere feeling of the user, she delves into the production and creation phase. When asked about design, a silhouette of a person pops up in her mind, which in itself is a source of greatest inspiration for the designer. Agata Bugalska, who joined the ranks of the designers of the Polish brand, which is extremely successful both at home and abroad, tells us about her work for Nobonobo.
A career as a furniture designer. We talk to Agata Bugalska
© NOBONOBO
What prompted you to start a design business? In the back of your mind, did you always consider a career in furniture design?
When I was deciding what I wanted to do in life, I knew it would be to create something for people. It was design that fascinated me. The whole process, by the way, is engaging for both the designer and the recipient. I ask myself questions about how the product will be used, what values it will bring to other people's lives. I think that the needs of the client, the manufacturer and the market are equally important. Furniture design, like any field, has its own rules, such as structural. Besides, not all ideas that paper or a 3D program will accept will work well in reality, so there is also a prototyping process involved. Furniture design is definitely an interesting challenge.
A career as a furniture designer. We talk to Agata Bugalskaya
© NOBONOBO
What is the best thing about your job? Why did you decide to work at Nobonobo?
Diversification and opportunities. Nobonobo is a furniture company with tradition and experience, but it is still growing. The owners, Monika Struska and Tomek Matejczyk, have not only ideas, but also the desire to introduce novelties and go towards unconventional solutions. Anyway, they show this perfectly by introducing new, unusual designs. Forms that are difficult to produce, and yet they give our brand its individual voice. I was given a chance to grow and learn here. I'm not just talking about furniture design. Working for this company encourages me to self-development, I am making more and more 3D models of soft forms, which require me to learn more about 3D design.
A career as a furniture designer. We talk to Agata Bugalskaya
© NOBONOBO
What projects for Nobonobo are you currently working on?
This is an exciting topic for me. I hope that the first piece of furniture designed by me for the brand will appear soon. The Abala bed, in its configurations, will allow the client to select a piece of furniture according to personal preferences. It will be a rather minimalist object, with an interesting detail on the headboard. It looks very dignified on the renders and I can't wait for the presentation of the furniture in reality.
How does education influence your work?
I graduated with a degree in design from the Academy of Fine Arts. So in my design arsenal I have not only a strictly design education, we are also talking about studying the needs of the client, taking into account the technology in which the product is made and more artistic issues, such as issues of composition or creating a solid in 3D space. In addition to the fact that my design education helps me in the very conception and creation of new designs, in my current position at Nobonobo I also have contact with other designers, I see that thanks to my education it is easier for me to communicate with them. Looking back on my master's studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Lodz, I appreciate that our teaching was diversified. Creating in different design fields, whether 2D, 3D, product design, packaging, but also visual communication materials, helps me to grow in different areas and be more willing to learn new issues.
A career as a furniture designer. We talk to Agata Bugalskaya
© NOBONOBO
What inspires you creatively?
Sometimes the subject itself, a given design issue, is inspiring, sometimes it is, for example, the forms that arise during the design process. Sometimes it is some element of nature that I associate, for example, with a particular word that I want to describe a product with. Although it seems to me that inspiration comes from exploration, from researching the topic and looking for answers to the questions I ask.
What advice would you give to someone considering a career in furniture design?
It seems to me that people who are new to furniture design, especially in college, have innovative ideas, but I would advise them what a more experienced designer once advised me, to try to get close to production. This allows you to gain perspective on the design as a whole. Then, in addition to aesthetics and ergonomics, manufacturing aspects come into play, and technologists, who often have years of experience, can teach a lot. Likewise, the people who make the furniture in question with their own hands have a great deal of knowledge about how the material behaves and what its capabilities are.
A career as a furniture designer. We talk to Agata Bugalskaya
© Nobonobo
Do you have any tips for people buying furniture?
In addition to choosing sofas and corner sofas in terms of appearance, I recommend, if you have the opportunity, to try out such a piece of furniture yourself. Many of them come in different configurations, so we are talking not only about the choice of seat depth or armrest height, but above all about the feel of a particular piece of furniture. Note that although all Nobonobo furniture is made with the utmost care and from the same materials, some sofas or corners are firmer than others. Selected models, due to the greater amount of feathers, give a different feel during use. It is worth trying out both the furniture itself and touching the different fabrics available. When buying such a piece of furniture, I would also remember that this is an investment in a good quality, durable product that will serve us for a long time.
For more information, visit: https://nobonobo.pl/
