He completed his studies at the SPD - Polytechnic School of Design - in Milan and after a few years in Chicago and Istanbul as a visual designer, he moved to Riga in Latvia. With his 'Acquatic Creatures' project, Riccardo Capuzzo imagines an alternative world that contemplates beauty, where sea and music allow to imagine new worlds and new stories while looking at a dish

Here’s what the designer told to MILANO HOME

What is the creative and production process of your products?

First of all, I think about what I'm willing to communicate, then I start sketching all over the place either on flyers or in a notebook. These sketches are then described to a selected group of illustrators who outline and detail them. All illustrations are hand-made in pencil and later traced in ink. They are then scanned in high resolution to maintain the visual characteristics of the hand-drawn sketch.

If the illustration convinces me, I think about where to apply it and, in order to better understand the final effect, some samples are prepared. Then we move to production. About 5% of the drawings I process become products, but I have an archive of over 500 illustrations, some of which are only drafts or unfinished sketches. 

How did you come up with the Marine World idea? 

The characters I create are the visual definition of concepts, for example, friendship. The hot air balloon series was inspired by the pleasure experienced by dolphins when they come into contact with the toxins emitted by puffer fish.

Sooner or later in life, we all need a friend, colleague, family member or even a stranger to pick us up and help us get by. 

I therefore imagined a series of puffer fish carrying their fellow adventurers such as dolphins, orcas, turtles, etc., in order to 'relieve' them of their worries: a metaphor for friendship and complicity.

Also in the Searcus collection, the metaphor of collaboration returns in the form of a marine duo entertaining the inhabitants of the sea with a travelling circus.

Of the 4 values of Milano Home (authenticity, quality, innovation, originality) which one do you feel is most in line with your production?

The quality of our products is the strength of our brand, especially with respect to tableware. The porcelain decorations are fired at more than 1,200 degrees, so that the colours are vitrified and remain vivid and shiny over time, thus ensuring maximum strength and durability.

How can you best describe your product to customers?

Customers in a restaurant or guests at an event are pleasantly impressed when dishes are served with our porcelain. It’s pretty common for guests to share a photo of the dish, which then becomes a communication tool for the restaurateur or the event. 

It is an element that enriches the convivial experience, even for a dinner at home. Lunch or dinner becomes a playful moment where they can imagine new worlds, where food interacts with images and new stories are created.

Moreover, when thinking of an alternative world that contemplates beauty, in my opinion music must be an indispensable constant, which is why were also created piano compositions dedicated to some of these very special sea creatures.”