Interview with Vivian and Jesse - Tronic Studio

Please, tell us how the company was started.
Tronic Studio was founded in the spring of 2001 by myself and Vivian Rosenthal. We met while attending Columbia University?s Graduate School of Architecture. It was there that our collaboration began. We completed the first joint thesis on the intersection of digital and physical space, called the Blue House. The Blue House was an exploration into mapping two distinct environments onto a third location to create a seamless experience. This was our first exploration into what is now referred to as experiential design, which we continue to explore in our work.

What is design for you? What is inspiration for you?
Design occurs at various scales and can be found in both dynamic and banal places. Mostly design grows out from the individual in how he or she filters all stimuli.

You are speaking at OFFF this year. Any thoughts about it?
Seems like an amazing group of designers who are devoted to experimentation.

What do you guys do when you don't work?
Eat, sleep, sex, work some more. We chose to do what we do because for us it does not fit into the whole work vs. play/hobby issue. They all blend together. Work is our hobby.

A little biography please.
I studied architecture both in college and graduate school. My love of building things with my hands led to my fascination with the computer and building digitally. I worked at Morphosis during college, where the intersection of architecture and digital design were really beginning to overlap. This is where my obsession with digital design really began.

Do you surf on such sites like Digital Abstracts? What do you think
about them?
Some people here at Tronic do and some do not, I try to keep my work pure if at all possible and to have only my subconscious influence me. But when I am not preparing for a project or dreaming up the next one I love to see what others are up to.

Flash, print or motion? Why?
Motion because it is the most challenging and most complex. For me, motion is the best medium for exploring both aesthetic and conceptual ideas. From my motion work I sometimes create print pieces but usually the motion comes first.

Most funny dream you remember ;)
Waking up.

Do believe in life outside the earth?
Of course I do, I like to think of the scale of things and patterns that keep repeating. For example: how within the body there is a whole system or structure that in many ways is not too dissimilar to the universe as we understand it.

What is music for you? Do you always listen when you work?
I embrace silence. But if there was a name that tune contest I believe I could hold my own.

What can you advice to newbies who start designing?
Don?t worry about what programs you?re using and just focus on developing interesting concepts. So many young designs are stuck on what software to use instead of just focusing on developing a unique idea and then figuring out how to create it. And most importantly, look inward for inspiration, not outward.

Well, last comments please!
Thank you for including us on Digital Abstracts.