Meet Ricardo Rodrigues: Brazilian Architect & Product Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ricardo Rodrigues and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ricardo, what are you most proud of in terms of your business?
What makes me most proud of my business is the ability it has to help people achieve their dreams.

What should our readers know about your business?
My office is among the top 10 design offices in Brazil and the only one in the United States since 2016. I am an overcomer, and I found a way to succeed in my career by founding my first company at the age of 16. My understanding, after many challenges, that is my business is people and their desires. I used design as a tool to care for others and bring beauty to their lives. Customers recognize me as the architect / designer who achieves the impossible, both by meeting high expectations and by my commitment to the outcome. My professional fingerprint remains creative, efficient, and profitable projects designed for each client. Twice my company received awards for my designs, at the Salão Design and Museu da Casa Brasileira. Over 25 years, I have signed 42 projects with 755 housing units built across Brazil and the United States while working on three fronts: humanized architecture projects, design segment, and North American virtual market and furniture. On this front 300 pieces of furniture have been designed and marketed in 7 countries. Annually, my business generates jobs for 154 families with 305 children and 32 dogs in 3 countries: Mexico, Brazil, and the United States. Since 2018, NDT Design’s signature and I have brought Brazilian talent to Barcelona, Paris, New York, Milan, Miami, Berlin, Stockholm, London, and Tokyo. The years have passed, and the architect is increasingly connecting with new technologies – but my hand drawing remains my signature. It maintains my essence: that countryside boy who quietly drew and never even imagined crossing the continent. In 2010, the introduction of my business into the American market began. As an architect, I began to participate in fairs and exhibitions in the U.S. gradually opening the market. In 2016, my family and I moved to Fort Lauderdale and became fully dedicated to the launch of NDT into the international market. The creative process, whether in architecture or design, reflects my Brazilian origins. Things like a comfortable living, welcoming people, and caring about people, are all common characteristics in Brazil that make my business unique with a strong personal touch. Thinking about the design’s connection to how it can be useful in people’s daily lives has enabled my business growth in the American market. This year we would present at the ICFF New York a new collection of products for kitchens and tables with new materials, finishes, and colors. All products were developed for our online market, the public at large; but they maintain our essential essence, individual people. However, with the Covid-19 pandemic, all events were canceled; our launch together with the exhibition has been extending to the next year.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Spending a day in Fort Lauderdale in a city tour to the canals and have dinner in Las Olas. In Miami go to Wynwood, ICA Museum in Design District. Relaxing at Vizcaya’s gardens, eating on Coconut Grove. Drive along the Overseas Highway (US Highway 1) to Key West and maybe spend a day or two over there will be great too.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to dedicate my Shoutout to my family, to my USA and Brazilian team, and Raiz Project – a team of Brazilian product designers of which I am a part.