Danilo has been with us for almost a year now. He describes himself as a designer who codes rather than a developer who designs, but frankly we don’t really care, because he does both equally well. We asked him a few questions about his work at Primo.
1. Tell us, who is Danilo?
I’m an interactive developer with a background in graphic design and a passion for toys. My parents have owned a toy shop since I was born and, although I grew up around toys, I was never allowed to have many as I had a tendency to open them to see what was inside (and most of the times I couldn’t put them back together). Toys have shaped my interest in interaction design and I’m therefore thrilled that I can now work on making new ones.
2. Why did you join Primo?
I met the founders of Primo when they were preparing their Kickstarter campaign. As soon as I saw the playset, I was very surprised by how easily this toy introduced computer science concepts such as sequencing and iteration just by using tangible elements without any words or additional instructions. What I was most impressed of was the idea of making the toy re-programmable and based on open source hardware: children would have a better understanding of what they were playing with and finally be able to see how programming could affect not only what lived on their screens but also how their thoughts could be transferred into a real, physical world.
3. What is your role in the team?
I’m responsible for our digital interfaces and I help with the ideation and development of physical prototypes. I also take care of field testing new toys, collaborating with educators and leading workshops with classes and focus groups.
4. Is this what you did before joining the company?
After graduating in Graphic Design, I studied programming and HCI. In the past 8 years I have developed digital interfaces for the web and interactive installations, for clients like Google, BBC, ITV and the Victoria & Albert museum. I see in Primo the opportunity of focussing on a series of products that share the same cohesive principles and attention to detail in all fields of communication, from branding to interaction, from software to hardware.
5. What are you hoping to achieve and what will you be doing here?
I want to create meaningful and playful products whilst learning more about interaction and product design. Before joining Primo I rarely had the chance to work on physical computing and since I joined I learned something new every day. I hope to use my expertise to help the team rapidly prototype new products, assess their value and take them to market and finally, being recognised for the quality and attention to detail for all of our products.
