Sam Aylott
A very talented designer focussed on the high-end and luxury market.
Instagram - @sam.aylott
If they were to make a toy action figure of you, what would your accessory be?
A pedal bike, im obsessed with getting out, getting fresh air and challenging myself. For me it combines my love of engineering with fitness and pushing myself physically.
To what degree have you actually controlled the course your design life has taken?
Very controlled in a way, I studied furniture design and now design furniture. However the places I've worked and experience I have got has been part skill part luck, lucky of vacancies whilst looking but skill that I got the jobs. There were definite cross-roads where other role opportunities would have transformed what I would be doing day to day.
What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
Not necessarily different, but something I'm proud of is my combination of form and function. In earlier education I was fixated on becoming a fine artist, where everything is about appealing the emotive senses. Naturally I'm a very practical and hands on guy, with a love for engineering and mechanics (hence cycling). This combination allows me to consider construction and form simultaneously and not fight one with the other. However I must admit at times I have to switch off the practical side during the early design stages to avoid the obvious.
What product or event inspired you to be a designer/work in the design industry?
During my foundation degree, I wanted to be a sculptor but wanted to combine it with function and usefulness.
If you could become the designer of any existing item, what would you choose?
A difficult choice as we are surrounded by incredible design without even realising. However the Eames lounge chair un-originally springs to mind. Its an beautiful, its luxurious, its an icon.
If you could go back in time and speak to your adolescent self, what advice would you give them about the design world?
Sketch, sketch and sketch, being able to communicate your ideas to the best possible level is crucial to giving them the limelight they deserve. If after that they fail, your ideas will develop with experience. Keep leaving your comfort zone, this is when the magic happens.
Instagram - @sam.aylott
If they were to make a toy action figure of you, what would your accessory be?
A pedal bike, im obsessed with getting out, getting fresh air and challenging myself. For me it combines my love of engineering with fitness and pushing myself physically.
To what degree have you actually controlled the course your design life has taken?
Very controlled in a way, I studied furniture design and now design furniture. However the places I've worked and experience I have got has been part skill part luck, lucky of vacancies whilst looking but skill that I got the jobs. There were definite cross-roads where other role opportunities would have transformed what I would be doing day to day.
What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
Not necessarily different, but something I'm proud of is my combination of form and function. In earlier education I was fixated on becoming a fine artist, where everything is about appealing the emotive senses. Naturally I'm a very practical and hands on guy, with a love for engineering and mechanics (hence cycling). This combination allows me to consider construction and form simultaneously and not fight one with the other. However I must admit at times I have to switch off the practical side during the early design stages to avoid the obvious.
What product or event inspired you to be a designer/work in the design industry?
During my foundation degree, I wanted to be a sculptor but wanted to combine it with function and usefulness.
If you could become the designer of any existing item, what would you choose?
A difficult choice as we are surrounded by incredible design without even realising. However the Eames lounge chair un-originally springs to mind. Its an beautiful, its luxurious, its an icon.
If you could go back in time and speak to your adolescent self, what advice would you give them about the design world?
Sketch, sketch and sketch, being able to communicate your ideas to the best possible level is crucial to giving them the limelight they deserve. If after that they fail, your ideas will develop with experience. Keep leaving your comfort zone, this is when the magic happens.
