PM—Ciao ragazzi! How's it going in Italy?

BS—Ciao! All great, thank you! We are happy to be here to chat with you. Everything is fine in Italy, but maybe we have to make a clarification: we are in Milan and everything is fine here too but you know, life is really frenetic here and we’re in the middle of a crazy event season. It’s hard, but we’re always ready to rock!

PM—I hear you just moved the studio’s location, are you growing?

BS—Well, when we started there were two of us and a desk, a small studio and a window on the street were more than enough for us. Over the years, however, we have expanded, we have a real team and different "compartments" dedicated to different activities. We were really starting to feel tight in 22mq! 

PM—How did it all start?

BS—It all started in our last year of university, for Federica and I. I wanted to bring together the energies and skills of interesting people to create a sort of creative collective. The others had different plans for the future, but Fede and I decided to try anyway and collaborate with that synergy we already had in university. At that moment, we became Burro Studio.

PM—Yeah nice. How many are you in team? Who takes care of what?

BS—We are currently 8 permanent in our team, but we always have a number of external collaborators with whom we work for specific projects. We have always chosen to have a “light” and smart structure in order to be able to adapt to projects of various kinds. Federica and I are the founders and creative directors. I mainly focus on the new business and administration part, Fede on Art Direction and Copywriting. Roberto, who later entered as a third partner, is head of the 3D section. Then we have a team dedicated to events, one for BSR's musical projects, one for PR and then of course graphic designers, illustrators, photographers etc.

PM—Describe Burro Studio’s purpose in one line.

BS—We would use what has been our instagram bio since the very beginning because Burro Studio is truly a world by now but perhaps this sentence encompasses it all: bringing fresh ideas all over the world.

PM—How do you define good studio culture? 

BS—We think a good studio culture is one that is always evolving, the opposite of stasis. It is curious, constantly looking for new stimuli, open to contamination, constantly looking for the New (as also stated in one of the points of our Manifesto).

PM—I see you just went through a brand refresh. Was there a reason for this?

BS—Well, it's a bit of a direct consequence of what we said before: constant evolution. Just like a person, a living being, a studio has phases and is constantly changing. The visual codes, the aesthetic language today is constantly evolving and evolving with it is a natural process. But wait, it does not mean submitting to the codes, but rather, what we try to do is always to look for our specific voice within this panorama.

PM—Your merch on your website is so rad. What led you to start an online shop?

BS—YAY! Thank you! In fact, merchandising has always been a passion of ours and one of the tools we love to use for our communication. From the earliest times we have had our merch, we have treated our creative project just like a brand, both out of passion and because we believe it helps to strengthen image and identity. And indeed it was like this: Burro Studio is not only known as a creative studio, but also as a brand and this means that today there is a real BS community!

PM—You are partying on the southern beaches of Italy. Choose one: Campari or Aperol? 

BS—Ok, this is not simple! Giovanni’s answer, as a “Veneto”, must be Aperol, of course. But you know what I tell you? Have you ever tried the half and half? Unforgettable and ultra red, just like Burro Studio.

PM—I love what you are doing with Burro Radio and love how it’s the soul of Burro Studio. Can you tell us a bit more about how the idea came about. 

BS—Big lovers of parties and music since forever, at some point we decided to create our own project: we were looking for a fresh approach and cut to music culture. It didn’t exist yet, so we created it. At first it was more of a side project with friends, but then it became more and more structured until it became one of our core projects.  

PM—Does your involvement in the music scene help you land cool design gigs for the music industry?

BS—Yes definitely! The goal of BSR, in parallel with that of BS, is to always try to bring something new. As BS does in the panorama of communication and design, BSR is constantly looking for freshness and novelty, open to influences and contaminations. It is a movement, a catalyst for positive vibrations. 

PM—I loved the art direction you did for the Baby Weeda brand identity. What was it like working with a Cannabis brand? That shoot looked fun. Hope you got high!

BS—Thank you! Yes, Baby was definitely a fun project, as well as being one of our all-round projects: from the naming to the brand identity, from photo and video content for social media to merchandising and so on. Our goal with this project was to be outstanding in the market, to stand out from the crowd and speak our language. So we gave Baby a unique and original voice, fresh and playful, refined and contemporary with a touch of streetstyle.

PM—What are some lessons you’ve learnt over the years running the studio? 

BS—Well, we would speak several days for this one! Perhaps the most important lesson is also the one that goes all the way back to our beginnings, when we decided to call ourselves Burro Studio and open our creative studio in Italy, going against all the trends of the moment: trusting your instincts, believing in what you do, always seek your own voice, don't be afraid to experiment. 

PM—What tunes are you currently bumping? 

BS—Anything above 130bpm, especially if we're at the end of the day here in the studio!

PM—Biggest design f**k up to date? 

BS—Unnamed layers and messy files all the way! We’re pretty obsessive about order here. We call it OCD, and the D is for Design.

PM—What does a big night out with the Burro Studio look like? Any entertaining stories?

BS—Crazy fun and carefree. This is how we like our nights out and the vibes at our parties. Just like that time we threw a party for the opening of our studio and people kept on dancing and partying even when it started raining (we were all in the street cause you know, 22mq studio..)! Or that time we literally took over a Pilipino kiosk turning it into the Burro Studio kiosk for one night, all red everything and halo halo mango for everyone!

PM—Haha, crazy. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received in the industry? 

BS—We think we have two, and they have been our staples since the very beginning: “You must know the rules if you want to break them.” and “There’s a chance what you don’t like today you will like in five years.” 

PM—Plug 3 of your favourite IG accounts.

BS—Well, apart from Projektmono, of course? We would say we don’t have a top three as we are always looking for inspiration pretty much everywhere, so anything fresh about music, graphics and memes, of course.

PM—Where do you see the visual communication world heading in 5 years? 

BS—Good question, and a hard one! Visual communication is one of the fastest-evolving matters today. It is increasingly intertwined with technology and fashion, which are also in constant and rapid evolution, it’s becoming increasingly fluid and accessible, breaking geographical and cultural boundaries. It is a continuous contamination.

PM—It’s been rad catching up and taking the time to do this interview guys. Any cool projects or collaborations coming up?

BS—Events are today one of our main activities: not only events for brands, but also our events. After the experience of the Naturale Festival last year, this year, in addition to its second edition, we are working on other festivals by collaborating with other realities and touching different worlds. We can't reveal anything yet, but we can tell you to stay tuned, doing what is always our promise: it will be cool and fun!