#45 — Luca Gonnelli on tech, trends and tackling challenges
In this interview with Luca Gonnelli, the co-founder of Illo and Algo, we dive into the world of generative design and animation, exploring the evolution of Algo from a side project to a thriving business.
Luca shares his journey, emphasizing the importance of embracing client projects, even when they seem impossible, and how faking it until you make it can be a powerful approach. We discuss the impact of new technologies on the creative industry, the balance between client work and consumer products, and the challenges and opportunities of today's economic landscape.
Luca's curiosity and open-mindedness towards emerging tools and trends shine through, making this interview a valuable resource for anyone in the design and animation field.
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Glenn: So welcome to Made by Folk, Luca. Thank you very much for joining me today.
Luca: Thanks so much for having me.
Glenn: Look at you and I, we've worked together in a couple of cases, mostly through Illo, which is kind of how I got to know you. But then I think just at that time you had sort of hinted at, Oh, I'm also working on this thing called Algo. There was already a website, but it was quite vague and secretive at the time. And now you're much more out of that stealth mode and actually working with clients and doing some incredible work. So maybe for those who haven't come across Algo yet, can you give us the little elevator pitch of what Algo does?
Luca: Of course, absolutely. So yeah, Algo is the sister studio of Illo. It was born something like five, six years ago. It's difficult to point out a moment in time. Basically, yeah, we are a studio focused on data visualization and in particular in video automation. So basically, our role as designers, animators, and coders is to basically build dashboards that our client can use to produce videos in a very easy way. So we are all about data-driven and generative design and creating videos from data at scale.
Glenn: So I think for most of our listeners, generative design is definitely like a hot topic at the moment, but maybe you could give us like a quick idiot's guide to what is generative data driven design. Like it's such a nice, such a nice umbrella term. Um, but like for anybody who has slept under a rock for the past year, like maybe giving them like a quick intro would help be helpful.
Luca: Sure, absolutely. Ha ha. Sure, and it's very easy to confuse with AI and stuff. So now, what we mean as generative design or data driven is basically the fact that we build a set of design rules so that each time you have a new data or you play with the system, it generates a new unique version of animation or visual. And so, yeah, it's all about having the data that take control of the final output of the design.
Glenn: Yeah. Great. And so algo kind of like, maybe we could take a few steps back to how you initially started down this diverging path from Illo and what led to that was just like a rough idea. And then you thought I'll try it out. Or like, what was that in the initial inception of algo?
Luca: Sure. Yeah, no, it was definitely a slow and continuous process. It didn't happen overnight. But yeah, I think there were sort of four turning points moment that led us from, of course, only ELO to having two separate companies like that. One, of course, is the first project. So the first time, basically, we were already interested by this topic. We have a technological background, me and Ileana and Matteo and some early team members.
Glenn: That's probably it.
Luca: Yeah, part of Vilo and Algo at the same time. Of course, Algo was kind of one single project from time to time when we had a request. Then at some point, we were having more requests, so we had started to hire specifically for Algo. A third moment was maybe a couple of years ago when we decided to actually open a separate company for it. And also, we continue to hire more people, like our designer, Cami, and our developer, Mattia.
Glenn: Hehehe
Luca: grown-up thing. But yeah, so it's a separate company since a couple of years now. And yeah, the last moment where we actually are completely diverging is pretty recent. Ile and I decided that she would run Illo 100%. I would run Algo 100%. So yeah, now we are, of course, a separated team. There's just one person that is a bit in common, which is our R&D director, Matteo. But yeah, the teams are completely different.
Glenn: Hehehe
Glenn: Amazing. Oh, it's glad it's great that you've pulled that off. Like I think that's kind of what got us talking about Algo initially was like, you kind of made this, this one project into a bigger project presented as a, like, this is technology that could function and could work well for a client, and then you saw like, oh, like lots of other clients could technically benefit from something similar. Maybe there's something there. And then it naturally evolved into a fully formed business with.
Luca: fully independent.
Glenn: How big
is the team now?
Luca: We are 15.
Glenn: 15. That's fantastic.
Luca: That's good.
Glenn: Hehe. Fantastic. We'll get into all that. I'm kind of just looking at my notes now. And I'm like, I've got lots of questions, lots of things I want to ask you about. I think first I really want to sort of dig into is kind of like how Algo was birthed, how did you sort of go from I'm not sure how to pitch it, but I'm just going to go for it to you're now working with all these clients and all these people are doing projects for them. Like, how did that growth happen?
Luca: It's also super organic. It happened a little bit by accident.
Glenn: Okay.
Luca: And yeah, it's also nice how you can create a business by accident. But, uh, we, of course, I've always been interested in side projects. And uh, I think side projects is where I can just, you know, have fun and try new things. That's how I met the company in the first place. And so Algo has always been a bit like a side project because when we were having Illo, all of our profits were spent in investing for our own R&D in the first place.
Glenn: Yeah.
Luca: And Algo was kind of, you know, a sort of little room where we were basically trying to figure out something with our research on design, you know, in video automation, something that we were sort of preparing to have as a product one day. We didn't know when it was the right moment, but at some point, we just thought we could do it. And so Algo was part of that preparation.
Glenn: And now you're almost full circle in that you have worked on quite a lot of client projects and you're still creating, your system is also used to create, let's say, consumer products and tools.
Luca: Yeah, yeah. It's definitely very true that it's actually super nice and pretty satisfying to be able to use your own tools for creating client work. Yeah, so we've been able to do quite a few projects like the infographic, et cetera, and you know, a lot of social media videos, something that you might imagine, you know, something that is not too sophisticated or rocket science. So you can imagine that you have this super complex system and we basically did some, something very simple like infographics.
Glenn: Great. You've got your own tools and like they're all built around kind of video production, animation, and storytelling.
Luca: Yeah.
Glenn: And they all fall under the name of Algo. Like what do they do? Like what kind of, like, where does the, I'll say the data aspect of it fit into it all.
Luca: Yeah, no, our main product is basically the system that is in charge of video production. But we also have a few small tools and are like a consumer product that is actually making a lot of sense because they come from tools that are using, in our studio.
Glenn: Cool. If I am just some designer or developer who has a bit of interest in working on something on the side, which I would imagine you would have given your background.
Luca: Yeah.
Glenn: So for people who are considering starting a side project in a similar space or something where they can apply their skills in a way that's fun and creative and could lead to a business down the road, like what advice do you have for them?
Luca: Sure. Absolutely. I would say it's definitely a process that you need to enjoy. You know, we see a lot of startups, et cetera, but we need to, you know, learn something. We need to know something, have your own little journey. It's not about the destination. It's about enjoying your own journey. So that's, that's something that is, I think very important, very key.
Glenn: And that's something that really resonates with me and I feel really strongly about it. We've spoken about it previously, like just with the same passion. It's not about the end product, it's about the journey and like all the stuff you learn along the way, all the people you meet along the way. Yeah, I completely agree with you on that one.
Luca: Absolutely.
Glenn: Where do you see like your expertise and your specialism. I'm using specialism now. I'm feeling very intellectual.
Luca: I'm a specialism guy.
Glenn: And it might be more appropriate. Where do you see it going in the future?
Luca: Of course, I see definitely data visualization taking more space in the future. It's been growing a lot. It's something that we started to look into something like three years ago. And it's a little like a fire that has been catching on. There's a lot of new technology that is making this even easier. I think the topic is starting to get a lot of interest from consumers. And I would say the same for data-driven design and data-driven video.
Glenn: Great.
Luca: I think this is something that is, you know, very future proof, but there's definitely a lot of research that we still need to do. And I can see this being a very active area of research in the next few years. So that's something that excites us. Of course, we try to keep up the research and so.
Glenn: Fantastic. And so, like looking into the future of Algo, like any big plans or aspirations or anything that you're hoping to do in the coming months or years?
Luca: Yeah, I don't know if it's big, but we definitely have a few, let's say, yeah, a few big dreams that we would like to achieve.
Glenn: Okay.
Luca: Of course, the main one is just keep growing our product. The other one is to basically get more of our tools out, you know, and, uh, they're used by, by creators in our industry. And last but not least, uh, something that we are starting to see now is that we would like to contribute more to the world of research in this topic.
Glenn: Okay.
Luca: I feel that we are still in the era where it's important to share a little bit of how our system work because I think it can help others. So this is something that is definitely on our radar. So yeah, basically growing the product, sharing a bit more, and also continuing to engage in experimentation.
Glenn: Well, that sounds fantastic. And I'm, I'm very excited to see where Algo goes next. And I think, um, you know, you guys are definitely well placed in a position to, to have a big impact on this space, as it's developing. I really appreciate your time today, Luca. And, uh, we'll be, uh, keeping an eye out on all the great work you guys are doing.
Luca: Thank
you so much, Glenn. And it was super nice to see you. Yeah. Of course, great to speak to you.
Glenn: Speak to you soon. Goodbye.
Luca: Take care. Goodbye.
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