Angelo Ferrara, Creative Director and Partner at Robilant Milan, formerly Design Director at Wolff Olins London, combining strategic insight with award-winning design across global branding, packaging, and multimedia projects. Known for creating the Chinese Zodiac Paper Sculptures, celebrated in Milan’s ADCI Adward, Biennale of Art Venice and adopted worldwide as an educational tool.
Pronouns: He/Him
A prologue
(The Typewriter – Leroy Anderson)
What is the thing you like doing most in the world?
Nothing.
Real nothing. And no, it’s not a trendy slogan. Not the Instagram kind. The dangerous kind. That moment when you stop trying and suddenly beauty shows up uninvited. I genuinely love discovering the beauty of moments when I’m not trying too hard. It can happen while a brush accidentally finds its own shape on paper, or when I gently cut and fold paper to create shapes or when I make a mistake while I am writing and… Boom, something alive appears. I call it from Imperfect to I’mperfect. One tiny shift can change everything. Nothing added, nothing taken away. Just a small, human mark. Quiet. Imperfect. Transformative. (Nothing left to lose – Everythink by the girl)
What is the first memory you have of being creative?
I was 10 and accidentally told my terrifying uncle (a lawyer, obviously) that I wanted to be an artist. He bought me every pencil and piece of paper known to mankind. Then, in front of my entire loud family, he screamed:
“NOW PAINT!” Panic. Total paralysis. I couldn’t bore everyone with a slow, childish drawing, so I grabbed two pencils and spun them like a possessed child, creating a massive yellow-orange circle on a big piece of paper. I stepped back. Silence. Judgment incoming. I called it The Orange. He called it Genius.
That day I learned that creativity doesn’t ask for permission.
(Carl goes up – UP – Michael Giacchino)
What is your biggest regret?
Designing Music
Somewhere along the way, I chose images over sound. But music never left – it’s been there quietly, patiently, almost stalking me. I design with my eyes, but I think in rhythm. Writing a film soundtrack is still my dream. Ennio Morricone is my hero: proof that music can be invisible, and yet unforgettable.
(The Crisis – The legend of 1900 – Ennio Morricone)
How have you gotten over heartbreak?
Hey Mr. DJ, put a record on. 80s dance music. Loud. On vinyl.
I put it on and suddenly I’m hot again, mysterious again, emotionally healed again. Therapy is expensive; disco is cheaper. Science should study this.
(Such a shame – Talk Talk)
What makes you cry?
Children being brilliant without trying.
I once sent my Zodiac Chinese Paper Sculpture project to a school in Queens working with kids with autism. The project had already been to Venice Biennale and won awards, but none of that mattered. Watching those kids fold paper freely, without rules, fully focused, totally at peace, that broke me open. In the best possible way: the human way.
(Prelude/Prologue – Aerial: A sky of Honey – Kate Bush)
How long does the pride and joy of accomplishing something last for you?
Zero. Gone. Bye-bye. The eternal unhappiness of being a designer: classic designer condition. Finished means finished. The object stops speaking. Satisfaction leaves with the last adjustment. The work is interesting only while it is incomplete. Once resolved, it becomes silent. You look at it, recognize it, and move on. Joy does not come from results: it comes from the process, from the problem, from the moment before the solution appears. Then it disappears again.
100%, pure, endless joy? It appears only when I play with paper using cutting techniques. That never gets old.
(Cornfield chase – Interstellar – Hans Zimmer)
Do you believe in an afterlife, and if so, what does that look like to you?
Reincarnation sounds fun: same emotions, new face, different century. Hopefully better hair.
(Arcangel – Untrue – Burial)
What do you hate most about yourself?
I’m slow. Mentally elegant, verbally late.
I think, rethink, overthink, while other people already answered, ordered dessert, and left the restaurant.
(Savoir fair – Chic)
What do you love most about yourself?
Smiling, seriously.
After eight long years of dental braces, I’ve earned it.
I put smiles into my work, my stories, my life. Smiling is a serious business. A smile is not decoration; it’s a mental position. I love when design make you smile: a smile in the mind. I love telling stories about my family, my childhood, my career mistakes. Without irony, everything becomes heavy.Even design.
(Smile – Nat King Cole)
What is your absolute favorite meal?
Aperitif. Full stop.
Yes, I know it’s strange for an Italian not to talk endlessly about food and family around a table. But picture me: standing up with friends, talking too much, eating tiny beautiful things, drinking prosecco. Breakfast, lunch, dinner: solved. For me: very Italian. Very incorrect. Very happy.
(La Dolcevita – Nino Rota)
The post What Matters to Angelo Ferrara appeared first on PRINT Magazine.