How does someone become a designer? It used to happen like this: design school to trade show to design studio to (for the lucky ones) having work picked-up by a manufacturer and thereby joining the cabal of known names within design. The pools we fished from as scouts, manufacturers, buyers and media were shallow. We could list ten design schools of pedigree, five ‘emerging talent’ sections at fairs, and a handful of braver manufacturers who acted as incubators; and together, we birthed the new generation of design talent into the industry. It was all very safe and chummy. Everyone wanted to be Philippe Starck.
