Each week we chat about the tools of the trade with one outstanding creative to find out exactly how they do what they do. The questions are always the same, the answers, not so much. This week: Robert Dabi.The Creators Project: Who are you and what do you do?
Robert Dabi: Hello, my name is Robert Dabi. I’m 30 years old, from Germany, and work full-time as a media designer for a stationery/pencil company. I’m supporting their marketing department with everything related to packaging and catalog layouts, sometimes web design, too. That job often isn’t very creative, but I’m a creative person and my passion is to design, illustrate, and create. That’s why I also work on things apart from my main job. Soulja.de is kind of my second home, but even if I don’t do many freelance jobs (which isn’t very often because of a lack of time), I like to create things just for me and for fun. This way, I also keep learning and evolving my skills. One day I’m more interested in knowing more about web design, another day it’s 3D modeling or digital painting that keeps me busy… but I never feel like I’ve learned enough.What kind of hardware do you use?
Both at work and at home I use a MacBook Pro and two 24" screens. I also have a pen tablet which I don’t use very often. Other than that, I don’t use any special hardware. About a year ago, after buying an iPad, I sold my laptop because I barely used it anymore. I feel like mobile devices are for consuming media and the web most of the time—it was very uncomfortable working on a laptop. Even if laptops have strong CPU’s and graphics nowadays, to me, screen size, a precise input device, and hard disk space are the most important. Another hardware (or is it software?:)) I like to use is modeling clay. When thinking about a product design it can be very useful to get a feeling for size and shape. For example, when I tried to find a good shape for an ergonomic computer mouse.What kind of software do you use?
First of all, the usual suspects that I use everyday are Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator. For some time, I was teaching myself Cinema 4D to be able to create 3D models and renderings. I also tried ZBrush and some other 3D tools, but didn’t keep using them. I thought about learning Maya, but in the end I felt that the time I’d have to spend learning wouldn’t justify the benefits because I want to be versatile, not only specialize in 3D tools. Other than that, after getting to know some CSS, I found Coda to be useful (and beautiful too) to help me with some not too complex coding.What piece of equipment can you simply not live without?
Generally said, what I can’t live without is a computer. What I don’t want to live without anymore is a solid-state drive (SSD) as my system hard drive. After switching to that, I never want to go back to a spinning disk anymore.If money were no object, how would you change your current set up?
Actually I’m quite happy with my setup, but if I really HAD to burn some money that I’m not allowed to donate, I’d replace my screens with two 30" Eizo ColorEdge screens, wait for a desktop Mac with a Thunderbolt port, and also buy a NAS, accordingly. Oh, and a Wacom Cintiq would be nice, too.Is there any piece of technology that inspired you to take the path you did?
I like things that are simple to understand and simple to use, but still have maximum functionality. This is what good design is all about. And if there is also a fun factor (some more, some less), it makes a product even more attractive. That’s what I tried to do with the ZIIIRO watches, for example, and also with some other ideas that I have in mind. There are many products, like the iPhone and iPod, that follow this basic principle. In the watch business, there are also some pieces that inspire me, like those designed by Philippe Starck. But with watches it’s difficult, since they are not only pieces of technology, but also fashion accessories.What is your favorite piece of technology from your childhood?
When I was a kid, I had this Casio organizer, the one where you could save telephone numbers, addresses, and dates. Of course I had nothing to organize, but I just loved having something like a little computer that solved multiple tasks, and I was attracted to such a display—I don’t know why. Back then, something like today’s smartphone would have been my ultimate gadget. And guess what, it still is. Another (fictional) thing was the lightsaber from Star Wars. I tried to build one using LEDs and batteries, but it didn’t work.What fantasy piece of technology would you like to see invented?
Other than the lightsaber, there’s something about a tablet computer. I’d like to have a tablet that can be used with a stylus, not like one of those bulky ones that respond to the capacitive screen, but also not a purely resistive one. I mean a screen that is both, capacitive and resistive with multiple pressure levels. Every interface can be ported to be used with your fingers—we’ve seen it with video and audio editing. But I think the only thing that still can’t be done, even with bigger screens or faster processors, is a precise way of input, simply because of the nature of a capacitive screen and the thickness of our fingers. But I know that right now all those tablets are meant to be consumer devices. Maybe this will change, maybe later rather than sooner.
Robert Dabi: Hello, my name is Robert Dabi. I’m 30 years old, from Germany, and work full-time as a media designer for a stationery/pencil company. I’m supporting their marketing department with everything related to packaging and catalog layouts, sometimes web design, too. That job often isn’t very creative, but I’m a creative person and my passion is to design, illustrate, and create. That’s why I also work on things apart from my main job. Soulja.de is kind of my second home, but even if I don’t do many freelance jobs (which isn’t very often because of a lack of time), I like to create things just for me and for fun. This way, I also keep learning and evolving my skills. One day I’m more interested in knowing more about web design, another day it’s 3D modeling or digital painting that keeps me busy… but I never feel like I’ve learned enough.
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Both at work and at home I use a MacBook Pro and two 24" screens. I also have a pen tablet which I don’t use very often. Other than that, I don’t use any special hardware. About a year ago, after buying an iPad, I sold my laptop because I barely used it anymore. I feel like mobile devices are for consuming media and the web most of the time—it was very uncomfortable working on a laptop. Even if laptops have strong CPU’s and graphics nowadays, to me, screen size, a precise input device, and hard disk space are the most important. Another hardware (or is it software?:)) I like to use is modeling clay. When thinking about a product design it can be very useful to get a feeling for size and shape. For example, when I tried to find a good shape for an ergonomic computer mouse.What kind of software do you use?
First of all, the usual suspects that I use everyday are Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator. For some time, I was teaching myself Cinema 4D to be able to create 3D models and renderings. I also tried ZBrush and some other 3D tools, but didn’t keep using them. I thought about learning Maya, but in the end I felt that the time I’d have to spend learning wouldn’t justify the benefits because I want to be versatile, not only specialize in 3D tools. Other than that, after getting to know some CSS, I found Coda to be useful (and beautiful too) to help me with some not too complex coding.
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Generally said, what I can’t live without is a computer. What I don’t want to live without anymore is a solid-state drive (SSD) as my system hard drive. After switching to that, I never want to go back to a spinning disk anymore.If money were no object, how would you change your current set up?
Actually I’m quite happy with my setup, but if I really HAD to burn some money that I’m not allowed to donate, I’d replace my screens with two 30" Eizo ColorEdge screens, wait for a desktop Mac with a Thunderbolt port, and also buy a NAS, accordingly. Oh, and a Wacom Cintiq would be nice, too.Is there any piece of technology that inspired you to take the path you did?
I like things that are simple to understand and simple to use, but still have maximum functionality. This is what good design is all about. And if there is also a fun factor (some more, some less), it makes a product even more attractive. That’s what I tried to do with the ZIIIRO watches, for example, and also with some other ideas that I have in mind. There are many products, like the iPhone and iPod, that follow this basic principle. In the watch business, there are also some pieces that inspire me, like those designed by Philippe Starck. But with watches it’s difficult, since they are not only pieces of technology, but also fashion accessories.What is your favorite piece of technology from your childhood?
When I was a kid, I had this Casio organizer, the one where you could save telephone numbers, addresses, and dates. Of course I had nothing to organize, but I just loved having something like a little computer that solved multiple tasks, and I was attracted to such a display—I don’t know why. Back then, something like today’s smartphone would have been my ultimate gadget. And guess what, it still is. Another (fictional) thing was the lightsaber from Star Wars. I tried to build one using LEDs and batteries, but it didn’t work.What fantasy piece of technology would you like to see invented?
Other than the lightsaber, there’s something about a tablet computer. I’d like to have a tablet that can be used with a stylus, not like one of those bulky ones that respond to the capacitive screen, but also not a purely resistive one. I mean a screen that is both, capacitive and resistive with multiple pressure levels. Every interface can be ported to be used with your fingers—we’ve seen it with video and audio editing. But I think the only thing that still can’t be done, even with bigger screens or faster processors, is a precise way of input, simply because of the nature of a capacitive screen and the thickness of our fingers. But I know that right now all those tablets are meant to be consumer devices. Maybe this will change, maybe later rather than sooner.