You can’t talk about design in Sardinia without mentioning Carolina Melis. She has studied and worked abroad, of course, in large agencies in London for clients such as Condè Nast, Elle, Elizabeth Arden, IKEA, Mall of Emirates, McDonald’s, Miu Miu, Pashley Bikes, Penguin Books, Candy, Sony, Tommy Hilfiger, Unilever, Vodafone, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Volkswagen and the Wall Street Journal.
But she returned to the island, from which she continues to work with her clients, and where she offers her qualifications and experience as an international designer to local artisans and businesses. Her designs for textiles and ceramics come together under the Mio Karo label (which also had an atelier at the Promenade in Porto Cervo).
As an animator and director she has shot commercials and press campaigns for brands such as Sony PSP, BBC, Microsoft, Vodafone, Prada, Barclays, Penguin, Chloè, Fendi, as well as a series of short films for Discovery Channel and several music videos. In addition to London, she has worked in China and New York.
In recent months, in addition to illustrating a book on Coco Chanel, designing wall decorations and textiles for luxury hotels such as Casa Clàt or Casa Villamarina and designing for Fendi, she has ventured into the world of NFTs with the brilliant Kubikino project.
Kubikino is a face made up of a combination of graphics and colours generated by code. Using a basic library of geometries and primary colours, the code creates new faces reminiscent of human physiognomy, animals or traditional masks. The work is inspired by Bruno Munari’s “Faces”, a collection of abstract portraits created with basic geometric shapes and lines. Like all of the designer’s work, Kubikino reflects on the simplicity, playfulness and power of design to communicate across cultures and generations.
