Who the hell is Maria Scarabello?

We started this series to introduce you to the people who bring our studio, and our work, to life. Join us as we speak to our colleagues about who they are, where they came from and what it takes to make great work. Introducing Maria, a production assistant from Italy with an impressive knowledge of photography, architecture and star charts.

Who are you and what do you do?
Maria here! Production assistant at DixonBaxi, tiny Italian with a bag of big dreams and nice dresses, eager to make every project into a wondrous adventure. If you need more – Aries sun, Sagi moon, Capricorn rising.

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What’s your story?
In life I’ve always been walking sideways, never in a straight line – my background is in design, photography and art plus some architecture too (!) BUT the way it all unravelled might be a bit too long to explain here. Suffice it to say, landing at DixonBaxi is yet another example of a series of inexplicably serendipitous occurrences.

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What are you working on right now?
I am very lucky and have been able to jump on a project I always dreamt of doing (but didn’t expect it to happen so early on!) – at the intersection of broadcast and streaming.

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“Good design originates in the perfect junction between pleasurability and efficiency, it is seamless yet noticeable. Something that achieves its purpose gracefully, but also makes you aware of its very existence.”

Describe your working style in 3 words.
Energetic, passionate, perceptive.

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Tell us about some of your interests. What are you into?
Being quite eclectic the list would be long, but here are some key elements I need in order to survive: practices of meditation and more bodily activities such as SSSS (snowboarding/surfing/swimming/skating); research and books; great films and bad ones too (we all need them); my artistic practice; travelling obviously and I definitely am a deep-convos-and-lovely-people kinda girl – if I care about you I’ll always have your back! Last but not least, time alone is also a staple and, because I am a bit of a nerd, history, mangas and animes are my favourite rabbit holes to dive into.

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Do you think design can change the world? How?
It’s simple really: design can change the world because people can change the world – and designers have that potential at hand to explore. Even if it is just uncovering a different perspective on a theme we thought we knew. So maybe that’s what it really is – a tool which can help us rediscover our surroundings and allow us to tear down preconceptions.

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If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
Leave behind the stigma around mental health issues and provide everyone with serious treatment – happier people can make our world a much better place.

What’s the last song you listened to?
Wildcat by Ratatat, such a banger.

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Why do you do what you do? What motivates you?
People and creativity – facilitating creativity by people, for the people and the satisfaction I derive from it is my main driving force. We are all running on a chaos and love engine and the mystery of unravelling it – in the best way possible, to create something accessible – is what I find most fascinating.

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What’s your definition of good design?
Good design originates in the perfect junction between pleasurability and efficiency, it is seamless yet noticeable. Something that achieves its purpose gracefully, but also makes you aware of its very existence.