Designer Interview: Steve Corsi
Markwins International
Steve Corsi
A detailed design process helps this designer keep the production process on track.
By Marie Redding, Senior EditorCreating a sketch is often just a small part of a designer’s job. Making sure that a concept is feasible to produce takes skill. Steve Corsi, a designer at Markwins International, explains how he has learned to streamline the design and production process.
“I consider it critical to know how to cut the development time for any project. If all of the details are worked out during the planning stage, you’re that much closer to ensuring that everything runs smoothly and achieving your vision. If you don’t get all this right from the beginning, you’ll always have to end up compromising something later on,” Corsi explains.
ck Calvin Klein’s Delicious Pout lip gloss tube and cap are made of Surlyn. “Seeing the color of the product flow through the ck logo on the black band and then down into the clear cap added an interesting dynamic,” says Corsi, commenting on the design. “The ck beauty line was one of the most challenging projects I’ve ever worked on. It required a lot of development in a fairly short time period.”Every new project begins with research. “I want to know what kind of story the brand wants to tell, and how the product will fit with the user’s lifestyle. A design has to be an ‘automatic reach’ for the consumer, on an emotional level,” he says.
The “sketching stage” is the most time-consuming part of Corsi’s design process. “I might literally do hundreds of drawings,” he says. The renderings help to ensure that every detail is worked out from every angle, including the profiles of each product.
After gaining approvals on sketches, the next step is creating 3-D models. Corsi will review the cost of materials and processes, as well as the steps required for production. During manufacturing, suppliers take the lead. “I still want to know the details, like where the snap fits or where the sonic-welding points will be, but my role turns into a more supportive one,” he says.
Corsi feels that a designer’s job also requires sales skills. “You’re always trying to sell your idea to someone, such as a client or marketing team. The hard part is trying to explain a concept in an intellectual, unbiased way—even when I feel emotionally connected to a design,” he says.
Knowing how to accept criticism is another important part of a designer’s job. Corsi has learned to welcome it. “Just because you might fall in love with the first concept you come up with doesn’t always mean everyone else will. Hearing any objections early on allows you to make changes sooner rather than later,” he says.
Corsi has been working for Markwins International for the past four years. Markwins International is the licensee of the ck Calvin Klein brand. Corsi is part of the team that handles the development, engineering, and production of the packaging for the ck Calvin Klein cosmetics collection.
Prior to his current position, Corsi worked on a variety of design projects in California, where he has lived since 2000. Before moving to the United States, Corsi owned his own design consultancy firm in England.
Rather than planning a career in design, Corsi earned a business degree in college. His first job was in marketing. “Looking back, taking business courses was one of the best decisions I ever made. It helps me to communicate with the people who are hiring me for projects,” he says. “Knowing how a product will ultimately fit into a business strategy is so important,” he adds.
“I get to touch people’s lives every day through the packages I design,” Corsi says.
Read more about the ck Calvin Klein beauty line that Markwins International helped to design in CPC Packaging’s 2008 Editors’ Choice Awards coverage.