Following on from our Instagram Takeover today with ND Alumni Tom Knight, who is now working for Pentland Brands, we caught up with him about life after University and the amazing projects he’s been able to work on through Pentland’s Design Pool programme.
Tell us the story behind you and your design background.
I’m Tom Knights and I’m a designer currently working in Pentland Brands’ Design Pool. The Design Pool allows young designers to work on projects across a wide range of brands as well as trying out different design disciplines that you might not have ever thought about doing. My background is in industrial design but I’ve always had a love for graphics and quite a restless need to try out new areas of design to use a combination of skills – which is why this kind of programme is perfect for someone who wants to explore their creativity and isn’t completely sure of what to do with it.
How did you become interested in design?
I think it originally came from a love for music and album covers, artwork, videos and posters – how music and design are connected. But to be honest it was also an interest that stemmed from being the one thing I was best at and enjoyed most in school so I just kept with it.
Where did you study and what was the most useful thing you learnt from / best things about your course?
I studied Creative Product Design Bsc at Bristol’s’ University of the West of England, and I guess one of the most valuable things I learnt there was that you can always improve – whether it’s by improving your competency at a certain skill, by trying something different, or by improving whatever it is you’re designing.
How do you think your internship/ placement will contribute to your career pathway? / What are the 3 learnings from your placement?
The wide range of projects I’ve been lucky enough to have the chance of working on here have opened up many different possibilities for me, from Art Directing part of a Lacoste photoshoot to showcasing an immersive installation at Somerset House for London Design Festival. I’ve had the chance to work on exciting 3D projects for international rugby teams and even try my hand at modelling – this being the strangest experience to date and probably something I won’t be taking any further! But I guess my 3 learnings are to keep an open mind to trying out new skills, that it helps to be adaptable, and that working well within an energetic, motivated team of people makes a huge difference compared to the experience of taking on an individual project.
What inspired you to start your career pathway?
Programmes like this can provide great insight into what’s out there as well as inform you of your own capabilities. New Designers and similar design shows are a great opportunity to see peoples’ honest reaction which can instil confidence to try something you might have originally found quite scary.
Give us an insight into your thought process to design your work – where does your inspiration come from? Who are your design mentors and why?
I guess, depending on the project inspiration can come from anywhere. From websites like dezeen, booooooom, lemanoosh and even Pinterest or Instagram – but restricting yourself to a screen is always limiting so I also like to get out to exhibitions to find inspiration that you can look at in the flesh.
What one technique, material or tool could you not live without?
For most designers everything starts on paper, so I think the ability to communicate ideas through sketching is something that is vital. It’s experimental, simple and one of the most powerful methods of explaining a concept.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? / What piece of advice would you give to future graduates or those thinking of studying design?
The best advice I’ve been given is probably when I’ve been stressed about having 1000 things to do and not knowing where to start. Simply write down a list of the different tasks, then write a number order of priority, simply focus on one task at a time as everyone is bad at multi-tasking.
Persistence is important, make sure someone can put a face to a name and make sure you follow people up on that one-minute conversation you may have had in passing, as you don’t have anything to lose.
Is there a particular social cause or need that you would like your design to respond to?
I’ve always been impressed in products and systems that can work well whilst helping the environment or society in some way, I’d like to work on more projects that work towards this mind-set.
How do you think other brands like the one you’ve had your placement at can help nurture design and creative talent in the future?
One thing I think that can be improved for young creative talent is the awareness of what’s available out there, there seems to be a bit of a disconnection between a lot of creative undergraduate courses and the kind of placements and jobs that they can go into. Events like New Designers and the companies that work in partnership with these are great for this, but there are a lot of students that don’t get the exposure they deserve so more events like these should be available and talked about.