Nantapoom Chumpengphan

In my mid-twenties I went into higher education after finally discovering my calling in product design. Even though I got off to a late start I have always considered myself to be creative with an active interest in art and design but only later discovering exactly what branch of that profession I wanted to go down.

Design is everything; everything in life is built and formed from design.

I don't have one; they're all good for different purposes.

I usually get ideas and sparks of inspiration at inappropriate times such as whilst commuting/travelling or in the middle of the night and have to quickly sketch them down before forgetting.

When designing I periodically stop and ask myself if the design fulfils a need "will it fit in, will it be out of place?"

Generally a varying degree of optimism and anticipation generated by the act of trying to get the design on paper or screen to match up to the image already imagined in mind. Almost like waiting for a cake to rise. And if it doesn’t, then its back to the drawing board and that manic sense of optimism and anticipation kicks in again.

Usually a brief sense of relief; the calm before the storm, because after that it usually dawns upon you that designing something is one thing, whether people want it own it is totally another.

Whether or not it's fit for purpose and the standard of build quality.

I feel that designers are increasingly having to do more to impresses people because consumers are constantly being flooded with new products and it has always been heading to the point where many things will have been seen before. But designers having to work harder isn't a bad thing and with the incremental introduction of increasingly accessible digital production processes such as rapid prototyping and CNC milling the potential for creativity looks very promising.

I can't pinpoint any one source of inspiration as I draw from many areas; nature, history, science, even on occasion flippant comments made in passing conversations. I try to expose myself to different sources of inspiration and then filter out the ideas that don't go anywhere afterwards.

I don’t actually have a definitive design style, because my interests continually change and I'm constantly looking to absorb more influences. What I design for myself is different to what I design for other people. If designing for other people then a whorish outlook is best adopted because you're not trying to please yourself but the end user.

Apart from the prerequisites of ability and vision... focus and determination.

It really does depend on the individual project, the size, materials and the processes involved all influence the timescale. I try to devote as much time to a design as possible to do it justice.