Media and interaction designer Pauline Saglio is aware of how the digital world has reduced most of our interactions to the simplest of gestures; most smartphones and similar devices rely on the simple swipe of a finger. Saglio’s work, however, aims to lend a greater amount of tangibility to these dealings.
Following her Design Talk at the 2017 Design Indaba Conference, we sat down with Saglio to find out what inspires her work and what she believes thoughtful, considered design is capable of.
During her time as a student at ECAL/University of Art and Design in Lausanne – where she now works as a teacher – Saglio met fellow interaction designer Mathieu Rivier, and the two developed a collaborative relationship that endures to this day.
Heavily inspired by the possibilities of valorising objects, Saglio and Rivier joined forces on a project for Hermes called The Magic Shoe, wherein the two looked at the possibilities for interaction with all kinds of shoes. By combining electronics and mechanics in order to personalise each pair, they developed a charming retail installation for the brand that allowed customers to engage with the product on a deeper level.
With a strong interest in drawing and animation, Saglio’s chosen profession allows her to play around with a range of her passions. “I work in visual communication,” she explains, “and this includes different fields – photography, graphic design and also media and interaction design. It’s a field that allows me to combine everything I like through digital programming.”
“I think when it comes to design it’s really all about telling a story,” she continues, “and thanks to digital we can really communicate these stories in a more poetic way.”
Watch the Talk with Pauline Saglio
