Left Man walking through a corridor in Tadao Ando’s work in Naoshima, Japan
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Gavin Hughes Design director, HLW
Can you pinpoint the thought, whether yours or someone else’s, that led you to a career in design?
As far back as I can remember, I have always been obsessed with drawing. I distinctly remember primary one at school and being frustrated because the things I drew didn’t look enough like the things I saw. Saying that, the teachers seemed impressed. But maybe Mrs Falsy was just being nice!
I was only interested in art at school, so much so that the deputy head of my high school took me aside one day and asked, ‘What are you going to do for a job if you fail at art?’ It was only later in life that I realised just how lucky I was to have such a great and supportive art department, particularly Ms Jardine. She was first to plant the seed, suggesting ‘Your style is quite graphical – have you considered graphic design?’
I didn’t get accepted to the graphic design course I applied for, and I had no back-up plan. My best buddy, who I grew up drawing comics with, had been accepted to an ‘interior design’ course – whatever that was. He said I should meet the big cheese that ran the course. I did and she offered me a spot. Fast-forward almost 30 years…
In terms of the design and architecture industry, what do you consider the most radical era or pivotal moment? I think it’s much easier to assess radical eras or significant change in hindsight – although we’ll inevitably always have some ‘prophets’ pop up claiming they predicted them all along. In reality, each era explores its own ideas of what architecture and design is, building upon (or rejecting) what previous generations have done, and change can often be slow and incremental. Te Industrial Revolution and mass production has arguably had the biggest impact on modern construction and the planet – not all of which are positive.
Which radical thinkers have been inspirations to you in your career?
For me, appreciation of radical thinking didn’t happen until I was settling into my career. Like many young creative thinkers, I probably had (too much?) self-belief and confidence in exploring my own lines of inquiry. In hindsight, I don’t think this is a negative thing.
It meant I formed the foundations for my own philosophy (if you can call it that) or approach to design without trying to emulate others. It’s only later when I did start appreciating design theory by others that I realised some were parallel to my thinking, with many being explored long before I came to the table. My list of inspirations grows daily but rarely is it anyone directly in my profession. I seek out and soak up any form of creative thinking and expression. Dieter Rams’ Ten Principles for Good Design (circa. 1970s) is as good a place to start as any, for any creative professional – just swap out the word ‘product’ for your specific area, e.g. architecture, interiors etc.
Who are the radical thinkers who inspire you now? (Not necessarily forever or for a lifetime – just now!)
In no particular order: Jessica Brillhart (specialising in exploring the technology and language of the mediums of virtual reality, augmented reality, and intelligent systems), Manoush Zomorodi (journalist, podcast host and author), Lucy Easthope (expert and adviser on emergency planning and disaster recovery), Tomas Demand (artist), Charlie Porter (journalist), Claire Dederer (writer, author), Kathleen Jamie (poet, writer), Jenn Nkiru (director).
I’ve been down a bit of a rabbit hole in recent years, exploring and attempting to understand how to enable maximum creativity and ways of approaching challenges – the ideal end result being better design for people. Te people above have inspired this exploration in a variety of ways.
Who outside the industry can architects and designers learn from? An article in Wired magazine a few years back really resonated with me. It talked about diversity as a ‘super power’ – it said to ‘fill yourself with ideas from elsewhere and surround yourself with people from elsewhere; the weirder (to you) the better’. It also talked about ‘crowdsourcing knowledge’, and highlighted the (now obvious) fact that ‘you were probably taught most things you know by an individual person’, but that does not necessarily mean you were taught the best technique.
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