Amy Franceschini
www.futurefarmers.com
Designer, Artist | San Francisco, USA
Tell us a little bit about Futurefarmers?
Futurefarmers is an ever evolving network of people working together in many media. We specialize in works that challenge us both conceptually and technically.
Futurefarmers is moving between san francisco and gent belgium at the moment, but will be situated in San Francisco until 2004.
Do you have any new projects coming up soon that you can tell us about?
Right now i am working on an installation for a show at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. the show is called: Gaming Scenes. I am doing an installation called the Natural History of Video Games. I will be conducting research for this installation while in residency at The HeadlandsCenter for the Arts.
I am using Stanford Universities Video Game archive to research how the natural environment has been represented in the virtual world of video games.
I will explore the representation of botany in the real and virtual worlds. These explorations will manifest in sketches, texts, and small scale mechanisms of inquiry. I will be working with specialists in the fields of botany and computer science.
Futurefarmers inspires a lot of designers, where you look for inspiration?
I look for inspirations in natural systems. I also look at a lot of art. I am also inspired by people and social situations. I think the important thing for me when i am designing is flow. I like to make visual connections and relationships between all of my artwork. In a sense i approach each design problem as an ecosystem and create a working network within the page or project.
Please tell us about the book “Harvest”.
Harvest is a document of futurefarmers work of the last 8 years. It was published by IdN Pro.
What programs do you use to create your websites?
Flash, Director, Dreamweaver, etc etc. nothing secret.
How would you describe your design style?
Dreamy, i hope.
When did you start with graphic design?
1978. I designed a cardboard computer that i carried around with me called the Buttonary Push.
How many hours/day do you spend on your computer?
Too many.
Do you prefer technologically advanced sites or sites with simple but good design?
it really depends on what i am looking at. i like good content with simple design, but i also like to look at experiments in technology as well. They are very different ways of looking.
Do you have any hobbies outside of digital art and computing?
I do a lot of biking and reading. Lately i have been visiting many museums and galleries, as i have been in europe the whole summer.
What is your favorite food?
Right now i miss taco’s from california and must say they are my favorite, but i am also a big fan of belgian chocolate.
What kind of music do you like?
johnny cash, classical, jazz, and this wonderful woman: johanna newsom.
What are your plans for the future?
For the immediate future, i am focusing on this gaming installation and continuing to do design/illustration/interaction design with futurefarmers. I have a few collaborative projects i am doing in Belgium next year with Boutique Vizique and the Vooruit.
If you were to advice a newly educated designer, what would you advice or recommend them to focus on?
Focus on life. Focus on humanity and the community that surrounds you. Get involved in your community and support your local non-profit organizations.
Any final comments?
Viva Brazil.
Thanks Amy Franceschini for having taken her time to make this interview with us
Interview done by Flavio Monteiro for UAILAB
July 2004
Professional experience in on-line and off-line media. Art direction. Brand development (visual identity). Character creation. Development work for web, flash animations and presentations, creating web sites.
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