From graffiti nights to disciplined commissions, Giovanni Fazzini’s creative path is driven by instinct, observation, and small everyday revelations. In this interview, he reflects on mistakes that became foundations, the moment responsibility reshaped his approach, and why today’s creative world doesn’t need more ideas—but more time, care, and collective humility.
When you look back at your journey, what was the detail (a gesture, a meeting, a mistake) that you now recognize as the first signal of your identity as a designer?
The mistake was falling in love with graffiti.
A factor that deeply shaped my identity as a designer, especially in the way I approach the discipline.
I call it a mistake because it got me into a lot of trouble, but even today my best ideas come at night. Just like in graffiti, instinct guides the creative process: I lose track of time and keep working until I collapse.
In the end, I painted the same way back then… with the difference that now I don’t risk falling asleep on the street anymore.
What was the most “risky” choice you’ve made in your work—one that forced you out of your comfort zone and changed you as a creator?
Probably my very first commission.
Choosing to put my skills out there, reasoning within constraints I would have never imposed on myself, forced me to be fully confident in what I do and how I do it.
By doing so, I changed my approach, stepping out of the comfort zone of the artist—constantly free to make mistakes.
If you had to describe your style without talking about aesthetics, but only about sensations, which words would you use? And why those?
First of all, I want to clarify that, unlike many people around me, despite the many projects, I still can’t define myself as vertical or focused on a single direction capable of defining my style.
That said, I do feel I know the sensations that define my research: Epiphanies.
What shapes my stylistic research are small, subtle epiphanies I experience in everyday life, especially by observing apparently insignificant objects. I look at their colors, surfaces, manufacturing flaws, or the marks left by time.
Often, and unintentionally, these elements turn into solutions or inspirations for ongoing projects or ideas for the future.
What do you feel is missing today in the creative landscape, and that one day you’d like to bring yourself?
The point is: nothing is really missing.
What I would like to bring back is time.
Time to reflect, time to let ideas mature, and the resulting care for detail.
Maybe also a bit more humility and a stronger sense of collectiveness.
