Interview with Troy Backhouse
Troy Backhouse creates a diverse range of designs, including tables, chairs, lighting and other products demonstrating a mix of technical and innovative design skills influenced from the past…
Designer of the Day Interview
3 April 2018
I have been a designer for a bit over 10 years, after receiving a degree in multi-discipline design from Monash University I jumped straight into running my own business across a broad range of disciplines. Prior to returning to University and focusing on industrial design I worked both in Australia and London as a traditional singwriter. In London I was privileged to have worked on the restoration of the British Museum’s Reading Room and The Weston Hall over a period of months. Unfortunately the signwriting industry moved away from the traditional craft of hand painting when I returned to Australia. This digital shift, meant for me, it was time to move on and so furniture and product design became my focus.
My parents had an influence on my creative endeavours, My dad was the foreman of the design and development department at GMH Holden here in Melbourne. We were able to see all the cool stuff on open day, the wind tunnels, the full size clay models of cars and full scaled renders but all the new development was under secrecy and put out of sight. My mum would also draw a lot and encouraged me to do so. So I naturally gravitated towards a creative career. From the multitude of design options I was fortunate to study during my multi-discipline degree I was drawn to 3 dimensional design and in particular having that opportunity to handle something rather than just see it on a screen. There is no substitute for the tactile sensation you experience with product design.
When I commence a new piece I do not pursue a specific style, I am influenced by a moment, this could be where I am located, a meaningful event or something that I have viewed. By working in the moment each of my designs are singular, even designs within a collection are often dissimilar although associated through some form of design element. My techniques also vary depending on the design, everything from sketching, cad modelling, scale models to full size models can be part of the process.
I think there is a sense of excitement, anticipation in the initial idea, the initial concepts when you get them to a stage that a new product can be realised and you can visualize a direction their final outcome. I believe designs tell a story, they have meaning, the materials, the small details and the form, it all seems to silently speak for the designer.
I think persistence shaped me and is still shaping me as a designer. I was a bit of a perfectionist as a young child. I am told I would draw characters while watching the cartoons directly from the tv and if I could not perfect them I would throw my pencil across the room… I am a much more relaxed person now. Persistence and the ability to multi task are skills that have helped me become a designer.
I like to remain flexible with what I design. I have been approached to design a variety of objects from industrial trade tools to combo-units for prisons. I like to think that if you are working in a creative field that you can apply your design skills across a broad range of applications. Being able to design is a gift, you have the ability to design products for people that will have a practical element that could aid them, an aesthetic significance that will make them smile or both. I aim to design objects that people have personal attachments to. A dream project would be to collaborate with Antony Gormley to come up with a hybrid design/art piece.
I would say work for somebody before jumping into doing it on your own. You will make a lot less mistakes if you work for somebody who has already been there. Don’t underestimate connections in the industry and learn how to pitch confidently.
Don’t take on too many projects you don’t enjoy. Have a balance between practical projects that run the business and projects that you are passionate about, you don’t want to turn designing into a chore and if you can avoid projects you don’t believe in.
I have no set routine, sometimes I start very early and finish in the afternoon, other times I start later and work late into the night, or when really busy or focused I’ll start early and finish late. I’ll often work through the weekend and then take a day off mid-week. I jump from project to project throughout each day, I find it very difficult to focus for a long time on one thing. Maybe I need a routine?
To some extent it is important to keep up with trends but not to necessarily follow them. You need to have an idea of what is happening in the design world if your aim is to make money in the domestic or commercial markets but it is still important to make these designs your own style and to design with passion. It is also a good idea to have one or two projects ongoing that are fulfilling to you. Designing something that you want to design not because you have to keeps you motivated. Inspiration for these designs could come from many different places.
Design is subjective, but if a design can either make you smile or emotionally feel good and has a practical worth, I believe it has succeeded.
This depends on what the outcome of the intended design is for, if it is for the consumer market feedback in invaluable. You may love the design yourself but if it does not achieve what is set out in the brief then it is probably not ready. Most of the time it means getting a design to a full-scale prototype stage, usually more than once, before it is ready. Other times you maybe designing a personal piece that can be used for exposure as a designer in competitions, in this case it is ready when you are happy with the outcome.
I have a project that I am currently working on that has been under development for about 10 years. It is actually one of my first product designs that has gone through many iterations. When you model a difficult project full size by hand the tactility of shaping that project gives you a certain attachment to it. It is an ergonomic form but is also very practical, I won’t say much more but it will be released soon.
I think this answer continually fluctuates for me. Right now I would say Patricia Urquiola is one of my favourite designers. She is great at adding the right amount of design, playful, functional emotional content to objects to make them her style and something that you want to own and use not just something to look at. I also appreciate designers like Jaime Hayon and Ron Arad who are able to design unconventionally but successfully which is no easy feat. I admire a lot of different artists and there abilities to engage us through their work In many different formats.
I live in Melbourne and as much as I love to travel and have visited many inspiring cities in the world it is always great to spend time walking the streets and lane-ways of Melbourne. Another country I have spent quite a bit of time living in is Colombia. I also love the city of Medellin and the way they are using modern architecture as a message for social change. Being a designer helps you appreciate objects that can be banal to most people and the intricacies of how and why they are designed for a specific purpose. My sustainability awareness has been enhanced immensely due to design, which now influences incremental aspects of my everyday life.
I prefer to work alone, although I do have a good network of designer friends I can bounce ideas off whenever needed. I have previously participated in group exhibitions and I am always open to collaborative work.
My philanthropic contributions thus far have not been as a designer but in a other areas. But as a designer I aim to respond to all young designers who contact me and have had quite a few visit my studio here in Melbourne. It is always good for young designers to see the environment of other designers as they can be quite varied. I'm very open to be involved in humanitarian projects or projects which encourage positive social impacts.
Design awards are an important avenue for bringing awareness about specific designs and designers to the broader community. They also give you an opportunity to focus on projects that you may want to create yourself by giving you a deadline to work towards. These projects would often not be realised without design competitions.
Design Legend Interview
24 October 2016
My skills have been brought together through the combination of a university degree (BA design) and a trade (traditional signwriting). The completion of a signwriting trade in Melbourne in 1992 was to form the basis of diverse manufacturing skills, material knowledge and fine artistic skills. In 1998 I ventured to London working on a variety of projects for clients such as Harrods, Belgos and The British Museum in the form of interior and exterior installations, traditional signwriting, and murals. A number of months were spent on restoration work at the British Museum (entrance foyer and reading room). On return to Australian I returned to University to complete a multi discipline design degree at Monash University. It is here I discovered a passion for furniture and products and focused my studies in industrial design.
Simply seeing a creation, an idea come to life is motivation to continually design. I became a designer by chance. I originally returned to study visual arts but something about creating 3d objects drew me to industrial design.
Having a natural ability to draw I was always going to follow a design or artistic path.
I predominately design furniture and lighting but would like to diversify into other areas, maybe to collaborate with a fashion designer..
I don't see myself as a design legend, first time I have heard that, sounds funny! Young designers should follow their passion and see design as a lifestyle not just a job.
I believe it is the ability to connect with people through design.
A really good design is practical, it has to work. Aesthetics are subjective just like art is. It needs to appeal to its designated market but not everybody is going to like the same design but it needs to function.
Good design should evoke emotion. If the buyer has an emotional attachment to a design they are more likely to keep it for a long period of time. Investing in good design i
I would like to have a go at designing a motorcycle. I'm not sure for who, maybe Triumph, they have awesome bikes.
I think the recipe to success in design is to be passionate about what you are doing if it becomes a chore it might be time to move onto something else.
They often change but at this moment I am inspired by Patricia Urquiola and Jaime Hayon.
I love the playfulness of the Showtime Armchair by Jaime Hayon.
My favourite design is the ESCAPsulE chair. It was one of my first designs and I know the work that went into it.
Visit lots of manufacturers get involved with them and learn from their knowledge.
I love painting so I might have tried my hand at becoming an artist.
I define design as trying to make improvements on what exists or trying to create something that does not exist if that is possible!
Designers should utilise their strengths when presenting work. If you are good at hand renderings present it that way, if you are good at 3d cad modelling or creating scaled 3d models use these methods. It is important to present your design to show it the best way you can.
My next design project is looking at the future of learning and how education is moving forward yet the furniture around this move is not really changing.
To leave objects that are useful, people appreciate and want to own.
Design educates people about not being wasteful. Good design should last so that we don't need to impact the environment as much as we do. Not all good design needs to be expensive.
From concept to finished prototype ready for manufacture usually takes around 4 - 6 months some can a be a little quicker and some can drag out for years. It all depends on the project.
I can usually visualize quite clearly in my mind what I want to achieve so my designs begin by a long process of refining it in my head before moving to sketching the idea on paper.
Enjoy what you are doing, you only live once!
I often like to see if there is a new technology to apply to concepts I have designed. Sometimes it begins with the technology other times I see whether a design can be manufactured better or more efficiently with technology.
The human hands, rhino 3d and illustrator are my predominant tools used when designing.
I always smile when I see good design it makes me think people are doing something right.
Colour - We know it's not a colour but black. Place - Outside of Melbourne, Medellin. Food - Penne amatriciana. Season - I actually like the change in Seasons, I'll lean toward Summer. Thing and brand, my Doc Martens, they have taken me all over the world.
When I was a young child I thought I was going to grow up to be Tarzan!