Team Spotlight: Antonio Flores

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A Q&A session with Antonio Flores, one of solidThinking's veteran senior product specialists, reveals his dynamic personality through his thoughts about solidThinking, the industry, and his creative inspirations.

Antonio, you consider yourself a veteran member of the solidThinking team, and rightly so. How would you describe your role as senior product specialist?

My role with solidThinking is dynamic, multi-faceted and intended to help grow the business in three distinct ways: 1) development support, which means following the product development and continuously improving the software; 2) sales support, by facilitating and delivering demonstrations and presentations to customers, resellers and prospects, as well as by teaching and sharing best practices; and 3) technical support, by helping users solve problems or identifying new techniques and procedures to share with solidThinking users through various different formats, including multimedia documentation.

How long have you been working with solidThinking?

Well, it's been quite some time now. I started in August, 1993, as part of the original team in Italy, so it has been just over 18 years. At that time we were just four: the two founders, me and my friend Guido Quaroni, who now works for Pixar Animation Studios - you may have heard his voice as “Guido,” the small blue car in the computer-animated films Cars 1 and 2.

Where do you feel industrial design is headed in the future?

Art and beauty applied to products are big and evident needs in the market. Years ago, no one would ever complain if a computer was "ugly." Today, no one will even consider buying an ugly computer. So even with products where the main focus is represented by a function, beauty is no longer an option but a necessity. Now try to think of how many products have already reached their maximum level of functionality and how the market is trying to differentiate them, through style and beauty. Say you need to purchase a speaker system for your laptop. There are hundreds available in the marketplace, and given a certain price level the quality will be more or less equal. How would you pick one? You will pick the one that best emphasizes your idea of style. And now think of how many products are reaching that maximum level of functionality and how many will reach it in a year or in the near future. The list is quickly growing; more and more products will rely on style and beauty as a differentiating selling point. Think of the sheer number of products that are driven by aesthetics - all of these products create a huge opportunity for designers to make an impact. The wave is coming, and quickly!

What do you feel is one of the biggest challenges in your field?

CAD and other technical programs are usually handled by technical people, so there is an easy match between the nature of the tool and the nature of its users.

solidThinking is a software for creative design research and helping designers apply art and beauty to their products and to innovate. At the same time the product development itself has to be controlled in a very precise and technical way, and a 3D program is always technical. So the big challenge that I see is adjusting and bending the technical nature of 3D software to match the artistic nature of creative people who want a tool to enhance their potential, a solution that could be used without feeling the "weight" and the constraints of the tool. If the tool is doing its job, then it should be a virtual extension of the designer's mind.

We have already done a tremendous amount of work in this direction in the advancement and improvement of solidThinking, but there is so much more we can and will be doing in the future.

What is your fondest memory with solidThinking?

As a father never forgets the birth of a son, I certainly cannot forget the beginning of the solidThinking adventure.

As I mentioned previously, aside from the owners, I remember when only Guido Quaroni and I were pushing hard on solidThinking's development. Guido handled programming while I was working in the field, testing the product in real-life situations and identifying improvements. At any given time, you could find us working side by side, day and night, with the strong feeling that we were doing something very important and with the burning passion that lets you easily forget that it is time to go to sleep. So very often, at a certain time, we were putting chairs together and sleeping there or on top of a table.

After so many years with the product, in your personal opinion, what do you think is the most game-changing feature or benefit that solidThinking offers its users, and why?

For sure solidThinking's ConstructionTree matched with the NURBS surfaces.

The ConstructionTree lets people get more from their models and from the time they spend in modeling, because at any time they can play with any parameter and shape and easily reach a completely new idea. Or they can use a model as a macro for creating many others, even without modeling, while the handling of NURBS surfaces helps position solidThinking as a complement to CAD systems because they both natively speak the "same language."

You spend a lot of time in the field gathering feedback and insights from users. Can you share an interesting fact or anecdote about solidThinking users?

Forgive me as I have to confess that at the very beginning, since my expertise was mainly on the technical side, solidThinking users seemed totally crazy to me. They kept on asking for what I thought were absurd details that were apparently useless and I couldn't understand why they were pushing so much on such small and insignificant details. Soon after, I realized that there must be something more to all of this, and I started a long-term project on myself to better understand art and creative design. I studied photography (I have been studying it for 16 years and now have been leading a photography club for four years) as well as art and creative design. I shared experiences, opinions and results with customers and friends with the same passion. So my studies and collaborations with others helped foster a personal interest in art. This inspired the creative designer in me, and so with solidThinking I started to invent many concept products of my own that excited the taste and appreciation of people who saw them, bringing me to the other side of the fence. Now I have a better personal understanding of my customers. I really enjoy talking to them on a personal and collaborative level - I perceive every single one of them as friends with the same passion. And, in turn, they really trust me as someone with the experience and sensitivity to really love and understand their world.

Tell us a little more about you personally. Where were you born?

I was born in the south of Italy in a city named Mesagne, which is in the Puglia region. It's a beautiful place that's always sunny, and the food is amazing. Everyone loves to cook and to share time with family and friends.

Who is the most influential person in your life?

This is easy: my family. I would be nothing without their help and their teaching. From them I learned to be grateful for what I have, rather than complain about what's lacking. I learned to push hard to reach my targets but in the meanwhile to feel happy about those that I have already reached. I learned to look at the problems from a distance when they seem too big, to see them in their real size. I learned to travel the world to understand how other people live. Traveling and having experiences outside of your norm is a great way to get closer to the truth--by never deciding that our ideas are the best or correct and being flexible to accept the lessons the world wants to give us.

For these and a million of other reasons I would like to thank them - they showed me the way to be a better man.

What was the last book that you read?

How Jazz Can Change Your Life, written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning musician and composer Wynton Marsalis. This book has inspired me a lot. It describes music the way I've always perceived it: communication. I've always felt playing an instrument was a way to say to others what I never found the words for. I also feel that, among musicians, there is a part of us that I call "the musical personality" that can only be felt by those who also practice. It's a secret room accessible only through music. Marsalis adds to this the art of 1) improvising - in playing jazz as with a conversation, and 2) how you can use the great ability of listening, which is the key to jazz, in everyday life. Listening carefully, that also means waiting and leaving time for other people, cutting down some time from what we want to say and spending it in better understanding others. I still have a lot to learn in both of these regards, but that's part of the artistic process.

What are a few words that describe you?

I am a traveler and a dreamer. I would also describe myself as loyal, stubborn, deep, unusual, patient, courageous, a little crazy, energetic, knowledgeable, sensitive and passionate.

What is your favorite electronic or technology gadget?

I love photography, so my Canon 5D MK2 and my set of lenses and accessories are my loves--so much so that I've gotten used to carrying a 10 KG backpack filled only with my photographic equipment all around the world on my summer trips, even in remote regions. The other electronic device I can't live without is my iPhone.

What is your favorite place?

I was born in the south of Italy, close to the sea, and growing up I used to spend every summer there. I spent so much time in the water that I feel the sea as a part of me, and in the water I feel like I am at home. I especially love snorkeling, scuba diving and enjoying the colors and the quiet that only exist under the water. The sea and the incredible variety of creatures that populate it are also my main sources of inspiration when I want to find an idea for a new product to invent with solidThinking. The beauty of nature has always inspired creative people, but for me the fluent and elegant shapes that exist only under the sea are absolutely fascinating.

What is your pastime or hobby?

In my spare time I play the drums in a jazz band. (I started playing drums 17 years ago.) I travel around the world every time I can - I love visiting places where people live in a way that is very different from what I am used to, so I can have the chance to learn from them. Places like Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Bolivia, Australia, Peru, India, the Philippines and many other places. I am proud to say I have touched every continent except Africa, but I already have plans for it. As you know, photography is one of my passions, including studying reportage and studio photography. Studio photography is by far the best way to understand rendering.

I also enjoy staying active through sports like running, hiking and mountain biking.

With this laundry list of passions and hobbies, you might wonder how I can pursue work and still have time for all of my passions. My "secret" is not having a TV - in this digital era you can get all of your news on a PC, phone or tablet - and, moreover, I constantly try to stay active versus sitting down on the sofa. Basically I see it as deciding very deliberately how to use my time, rather than letting myself be captured by useless activities. I know I'm a bit strange, but it suits me very well.

Do you have a hidden talent and, if so, what?

In the past I had big troubles in my spine. I had surgery and went through eight very difficult years of recovery. During this time, I spent a lot of effort in therapy and have since studied techniques for massage, including learning about applying pressure points. Over the years it has helped me better understand the pains that people have and increased my willingness to help others.

All things considered, it was a very positive experience, because I succeeded in turning a dark period in my life into an enriching experience. I became a better person because I learned to see the beauty in everyday life, especially in things as simple as "feeling good." I learned that happiness comes from within and depends on how we react to life situations.

How do you want to be remembered?

I would like to be remembered as a person who so strongly believed in his dream that he made it a reality. The dream is helping make solidThinking a tool that brings art and beauty into everyone's everyday life.

Thank you Antonio

Be on the lookout for more on the solidThinking team in future Team Spotlights.