3 QUESTIONS WITH KENWOOD
Are you an emerging designer looking for guidance from leading brands in the design industry?
We have on hand the brilliant, Seán Sweeney, Senior Industrial Designer, Kenwood, to provide career changing advice. Discover what advice this professional would give themselves at the start of their career, how they remain positive and why ND is important to him and his brand.
Looking back to the start of your career, what advice would you love to give yourself?
Expect a lot of change throughout your career. At the start of your career you may have a preconceived idea of what Design is. The reality is that every place you work for will do things differently from the last. Expect to have to adapt to new ways of working, learn new tools and techniques and communicate to a whole range of personalities. Eventually your role in 20 years time could look very different to the path you set out on.
What does resilience mean to you?
Acceptance. A designer’s vision is just one part of the bigger picture. It’s rare for that initial vision to make it through to the final solution. Expect that vision to be eroded by numerous influences such as cost, production, business decisions and market forces. Resilience is understanding that this is inevitable and that while the original idea may not be possible, every design decision you make afterwards can have a positive impact on the eventual product and influence other areas of the business.
Why is New Designers important to you and your brand?
New Designers has always had the reputation for launching the best UK design talent into the industry. We feel it’s important to support this and give the next generation as much help as they can get. Aside from sponsoring an Award, at the event we offer as much advice as we can to the graduates while discussing their work. We also learn so much from them. New ways of thinking, fresh ideas, giving us a better perspective on designing for the future.