Interview with Hrafnkell Birgisson

Hrafnkell Birgisson is one of the designers behind Vík Prjónsdóttir. We asked him few questions to get to know a little bit more about him. The interview was first published in Birkiland’s newsletter in december 2009.

What is your favorite moment of the day?

Picking up my son from kindergarten (when he doesn’t yell “mom was supposed to pick me up”)

Favorite bus route in Reykjavik and why?

I wish I would have one. Then I guess it would be route 15. It takes your through the whole city and all the way to the town of Mosfellsbaer.

What did you want to be when you were a child?

I grew up in a nature resort in the south east of Iceland in the idyllic town Kirkjubaejarklaustur. The environment influenced my future plans. First I wanted to become a bird-watcher, then later a meteorologist.

Describe your work?

I am educated as a product designer from the Academy of the Arts in Saarbrücken. The school had developed a new interdisciplinary approach with the focus on critical and artistic experiments. Even though many of my colleagues from Saaarbrücken left the field of conventional product design during/after their studies I decided to stay in the field and keep experimenting. I continue working with conventional and banal objects, changing their appearance, transforming them into new areas of function. 

How is your work influenced by where you live?

I get influenced for sure but how exactly is difficult to say. I have moved twice in the last five years from one country to another. The social relevance is very important for my work and when I lived both in Berlin and Reykjavik I was busy experimenting with the local manufacturing infrastructure. In other words the localization can be crucial if it is a starting point in your work.

Where do you go in Iceland when you want to feel inspired?

Depends on the projects you are working on each time. I love visiting local ethnological museums and discover old shops. I do not get so much inspired by nature, glaciers and vulcanos, like some of my fellow designers.

Where do you work on your design?

Everywhere in fact. But my current studio is on Guldbergsgade in Copenhagen with few other creative people.

When you are working, do you discuss or exchange ideas with your colleagues?

Yes, constantly and I have always sought the collaboration to other designers. It is both fun and very creative.

In which way do you think design is important for Iceland?

In so many ways. So many people in Iceland do not understand what design is and what it is capable of. Especially in economic sense. In Iceland design is an almost unused source to develop both the economy and the culture. It can be the ignition for building up exporting manufacturing industry based on branding and contemporary social & environmental values.