We recently connected with Piero Desopo and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Piero thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

I started playing a little keyboard when I was six, and when I was ten, I went to the Conservatory of Music to study piano. It seemed only natural for my parents to let me continue on that path. It was a hard commitment, for both myself and my parents. The Conservatory was in the main town, far from where we lived. So, my mother had to wake up early to get things ready for me, and my father would drive me to the train station, even when he returned from a long night of work. This went on for eight years.

While I was continuing my studies at the Conservatory of Music, in the fourth year I went to the high school of the arts, to foster my other passion: drawing. In the meantime, my love for music was having ups and downs. The more my knowledge broadened while I embraced other musical genres, the more I found classical studies too strict. Eventually, I grew tired of all the rules, which to me felt stagnant, and what had started as a passion, quickly became a burden.

When I finished high school it was time to make a decision. I decided to drop music and go to the Academy of Fine Arts. I was expecting a hard no from my parents, considering I was only a few years away from my music degree.
To my surprise, there was no arguing. My parents fully supported my decision. They told me they would be happy for me whatever I would have decided to do in my life. They were from a generation where saying no to a parent wasn’t an option. Their support has been wonderful, and I will be forever grateful to them for that.

Piero, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I enjoy experimenting with light. I believe a 3D image doesn’t necessarily have to be photo-realistic to convey the idea effectively, but if the lighting is incorrect, nothing else can save it. A few years ago, I drew inspiration mainly from other designers. Although I still appreciate looking at other people’s portfolios, I am now captivated by movies, especially the work of DPs (directors of photography). I have amassed a vast collection of film screenshots that I admire for their cinematography.

However, there exists a delicate balance between personal preferences and delivering a solution to a client’s problem. As a creative individual, I have the right to incorporate all the elements I adore into my work. Nonetheless, as a professional, it is my responsibility to address the client’s requirements. Of course, if I can accomplish this while utilizing the aspects I enjoy exploring, it is a win-win situation. Understanding when to hold back on my desired direction for a project and when it is appropriate to engage in a conversation with the client is crucial.
Assuming we have superior knowledge solely because of our experience as creatives is never ideal. A successful project occurs when both parties collaborate and inspire each other. While we may know our craft, it is important to acknowledge that the client knows their identity and vision.

Have you ever had to pivot?

For the first part of my career, I worked as a web designer. I started from the basics, designing web page layout in Photoshop, coding in HTML, and putting everything together for the final delivery. Then (Macromedia) Flash appeared. I was excited to be able to finally mix images and sound. The more I worked with it, the more I loved it. Thanks to it, I’ve been able to grow as a designer, and creative. During my daily job, I worked for famous brands, such as Dolce & Gabbana, Volvo, etc. At home, I used to spend my nights creating experimental interactive websites where I could push the limits and test new approaches. Eventually, my efforts paid out, and they made me earn international recognition. All of this was happening during the new-economy boom.
Then things began to settle. It was no longer as it once was, and one could feel the change. Clients started becoming more careful in how they presented their brand, and eventually, the experiments were replaced by more secure approaches.

At that time (around the beginning of the 2000s), I started playing with After Effects and 3D software, even though it was nothing like today. There were no tutorials, online resources, or communities. If you had an interest in any of those things, you had to figure it out by yourself. I was creating animations, but with hindsight, I don’t think I was actually aware of what I was doing :)
Then, an opportunity arose. Fox International Channels was launching in Italy, and I decided to submit my resume. Initially, I assumed they already had their team in place, so I didn’t have high expectations. However, I was invited for an interview, which eventually led to an offer. Now I had to choose: leaving behind my hometown, girlfriend, family, and friends to relocate to Rome – a place that differed considerably in terms of lifestyle compared to my hometown — or continuing with my old career.
I always thought that if we keep repeating what we know, and we never leave our comfort zone, then our chances of learning, growing, and expanding our knowledge could be limited. I decided I’d move to Rome. Three years later my girlfriend joined. Six years later, we left Italy and moved to LA for my first overseas job at Prologue Films.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

More than a resource it’s actually a discipline: photography. I’m learning so much through it. Even if the genre I’m interested in is not directly related to what I do as a graphic designer, the core concepts, ethics, and methods that I’m picking up, are teaching me so much that I’m sure if it had happened sooner, I would have greatly benefited from it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://phoenixart.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pierodesopo/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Piero_Desopo
• Other: https://www.pierodesopo.com/

Image Credits
Images created at Yu+Co, PrologueFilms, Los York, Midnight Sherpa. Portrait photo by Divina Sanchez