"I'm a curious person and I'm driven by knowledge. I thrive in projects where I can learn something new while applying a multidisciplinary approach to push the envelope."
My name is Javier Díaz. I was born in 1981 and I live in Berlin.
I always found it challenging to answer the simple question: "What do you do?", as any possible answer automatically carries a preconceived set of assumptions, or attached traits and expectations which I find utterly limiting.
Ever since I was a kid, I always had a deep interest in a wide range of subjects: Computers, video game design & development, graphic design, photography, music, electronics, astronomy, applied mathematics, and physics. Later in life I became acquainted with other humanistic disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, and art history and theory.
This pushed me to learn how to code early in my life with the intention of becoming a game designer, but the path proved to be really different to what Ï expected and, during the next 25 years, I studied different disciplines and applied my computer knowledge and skills to all my interests, trying to find a way of achieving everything I had in mind at the moment.
The Synthescheißer is a small Arduino project based on the VCS 3 Synth used on Pink Floyd's "On The Run"
Click the image to see it live!
"My wide range of interests and knowledge gives me a clear idea of what the different pieces, technologies, and processes involved in a project are; how they work and interact with each other."
I've worked in product design professionally for more than 10 years, in roles spanning from UI/UX and product designer to pixel artist, print designer, illustrator, 2D & 3D game artist, game / app designer & developer, frontend and backend developer. During this time I worked for various bigger and smaller clients and companies including: Urlaubspiraten, MyDealz, Tuenti, Ford, Multiópticas, Caja Navarra, Kukuxumuxu, The Basque Government, and The Bilbao City Council.
"My approach to work usually includes a component of deliberate naivety, this opens the door to new ways of empathizing with the public, and gives place to solutions that could otherwise seem impossible or unattainable."
I dedicate my free time to graphic and product design, creative coding, writing, illustration, music composition and execution, studies on perception, synesthesia, chromesthesia, and basically reading and learning about anything that crosses my path and happens to catch my interest.
Talks
2011 - "What did we learn today?" (Berlin): On my 30th birthday, I took the chance to look back at what I had learned about design, and the creative process. See slides
2012 - Gestalt principles Of Perception (Berlin HTML5 BUG): Gestalt applied to product design. See slides
2015 - ZX, An incredible machine (Berlin). Talk about the ZX Spectrum: The wonderful computer that started everything for me.
EXHIBITIONS
2003 - S2E (Madrid): We presented "Cyberia": A videogame based on the CAVE VR system. Lead designer: Game design, level design and modeling, texture art, interaction design.
2014 - IT (Berlin): I presented CODA, a generative interactive musical instrument and algorithmic music generation engine.