E03: How to design furniture for the digital age - Adam Harrigan of Koala
Some questions I ask:
- When did you realise you wanted to be a designer? (01:00)
- How did you discover your passion for furniture design? (06:34)
- What was the first thing you designed and made yourself? (07:33)
- How did you get your start in furniture design? (08:58)
- What are some of the ways you might build and test your designs? (13:17)
- How did you approach working with more senior designers? (15:00)
- What is your favourite failure from the early part of your career? (17:06)
- What was it about Koala's story that most appealed to you? (27:53)
- How did you approach the Koala bed base design given the constraints? (30:15)
- When did you realise you had something that was Koala's aesthetic? (37:26)
- What was the biggest challenge of designing the Koala bed base? (45:13)
- How does sustainability factor into design decisions at Koala? (46:55)
- What is the detail of the Koala bed base that you're most proud of? (49:38)
- If you were to design the Koala bed base again, what might you change? (53:12)
- What have you learned that you're applying to new Koala designs? (55:40)
- What qualities are important for furniture designers to have? (1:02:30)
- What advice would you give to anyone just starting out in furniture design? (1:04:57)
In this episode, you'll learn:
- What Adam's grandfather helped him realise (04:08)
- Adam's biggest inspiration as a designer (10:39)
- The key lessons Adam learned by shadowing his mentor (12:04)
- What prototyping looks like in the early stages of furniture design (13:27)
- The importance of communication in design (14:00)
- Why visual communication works best (16:10)
- Why the unwillingness to pivot can take you in the wrong direction (17:29)
- The unconscious practice we've both had instilled in us (20:29)
- How creating a minimum viable product removes perfection from your process (27:16)
- The problem Koala's bed base design was made to solve (29:06)
- How Adam prototyped the design for the Koala bed base (34:46)
- Why keeping the Koala bed base honest was so important (35:16)
- What showed up in the early test assemblies (37:50)
- What fear Adam had about his design for the Koala bed base (38:26)
- Why women were a key part of the brief for the Koala bed base (39:20)
- How customer insights and research improved the assembly experience (40:55)
- How throwing pillows on the floor led to one of Koala's best received features (43:50)
- Why looking at your designs in retrospect makes such a difference (54:57)
- How Koala's "canvas" philosphy contributed to the new tv unit design (59:30)
- How good mentors contribute value to you over a lifetime (1:06:25)
