Philippe Starck's design reality show 'Design for Life' starts tonight on BBC 2 at 9pm.
I'll admit to being skeptical and I'm not a Starck fan, but I'll reserve judgement until I've watched the show. There's some stuff on the web, from biogs of the contestants, a Facebook page and these articles in The Guardian and the Indy. Most of the designers have web pages so helpfully, I'll copy the biogs and their links below. Let's all watch the show and then report back tomorrow morning.
Ana-Maria Stewart Pasescu
Age: 23
From: Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire
Ana-Maria's passion for design stems from when she lived in Romania and
had to make her own toys to keep herself amused. She moved to England
at the age of 10 after her parents were forced to flee the Romanian
revolution. Excitable and fanatical, she often draws the thoughts she
has in her head straight onto her bedroom wall. She is a free thinker:
doors that don't open both ways genuinely frustrate her; she'd love to
convert an old phone box into a shower; and she's dreaming up a way to
make the shopping trolley a more user-friendly object. Ana-Maria
graduated with a degree in Furniture and Product Design from De
Montford University, Leicester, and worked for a brand design company
for a year until quitting because she was not getting enough creative
freedom. The timing was perfect, however, because shortly after leaving
the job she was invited to join Starck's School of Design.
Helen Bickford
Age: 22
From: Durham
Helen recently graduated with a qualification in product
design from Lincoln University and describes herself as a fun designer.
She loves design brands such as Alessi and Ikea as well as
quintessentially British design icons, such as the red telephone box.
The lack of females in the world of product design spurs her on to make
a name for herself in the industry. She believes the experience of
working with Starck will help shape the rest of her career and life:
"The ideals I'll get from him could inspire me to start my own
business, or take those ideals to a new workplace and hopefully change
it or make it better – it's just such an amazing opportunity."
Ilsa Parry
Age: 27
From: Liverpool
Ilsa is feisty and fiercely independent. She left home when
she was 18 and has supported herself ever since. Her go-it-alone
attitude is her driving force but she's so used to doing everything for
herself that working as part of a team doesn't always come easily – she
doesn't think before she speaks and that often gets her in trouble. A
self-confessed workaholic, Ilsa's never happier than when she's busy –
she lectures in 3-D design at Liverpool Community College and she's
trying to bring a newly developed range of conceptual light products to
the market, all while studying for an MA. She loves designs that have a
twist of irony and surprise people – like her practical design for a
vertical coffin which will save space in already overcrowded
cemeteries. It caught Starck's eye – and led him to invite her to
Paris.
James Malcolm-Green
Age: 24
From: Fulham, London
James graduated last year from St Martin's College with a BA
in Product Design. Since graduating he has been looking for his big
break into design. Although James is quietly spoken and quite serious,
he is certainly not lacking in confidence – he thinks he has the
potential to be one of the best young talents in design. Ideally he
wants to go into homeware and furniture design and likes to incorporate
fun into his designs. He is worried that his drawing skills will be
found wanting by Starck, but is confident with computer-based designing
and feels his passion for the work will stand him in good stead.
Jessica Viana
Age: 25
From: Southampton
Jessica, a self-confessed introvert, is serious-minded and
desperate to make her way in the design world – although so far she has
not found it easy. After graduating in product design she was unable to
secure a job in the industry, but after three years working in retail,
she has quit her sales job and thrown herself back into design. Her
main drive is to find ways of simplifying complicated products to make
them more user-friendly and more suited to a sustainable world. She has
a flair for thinking outside the box, she loves loud colours and
dresses in a very distinctive style.
Lachlan Roberston
Age: 19
From: Inverness, Scotland
Lachlan is the youngest of the 12 students at Starck's
school of design. He has just completed the first year of a degree
course in Product Design at Dundee University in Scotland – and is
prepared to put his second year on hold to seize the opportunity with
Starck. Lachlan's father has been the main inspiration for his interest
in design – he studied architecture before becoming a surveyor and
always fostered his son's interest in building styles and form. He also
introduced Lachlan to the work of Scottish designer Charles Rennie
Mackintosh, who remains an influence on the teenager. He loves the way
Starck believes that excellent design should be for everyone and not
just for a wealthy elite.
Michael Cloke
Age: 22
From: Sevenoaks, Kent
Michael is a quietly confident young man who makes friends
easily and will have no trouble bonding with the rest of the group. He
graduated in 2008 from the University of Brighton with a degree in 3-D
Design. As a child, he used to infuriate his parents by dismantling
everything from telephones to televisions – but this apparent vandalism
betrayed a deep fascination with how things work and how they are put
together. He is eager to work with Starck because of the way he has
adapted his philosophy of design and now believes in designing less in
order to help achieve a sustainable planet.
Nebil Avas
Age: 22
From: London
At the tender age of 22, Nebil's confidence is astounding –
he compares the way he works and thinks to Salvador Dalí and Philippe
Starck. "Personally, I'd like to think I'm one of the best designers of
the future," he says. Of Turkish Cypriot descent, Nebil didn't enjoy
his childhood – as a hyperactive child he hated school, and his father
was always on his case. His only salvation was going to Cyprus during
the school holidays to help his grandfather in his cobbler's shop. At
15, Nebil saw a book of Starck's work and from that day realised he
wanted to be a designer. At school he began to visualise how 3-D
objects were made and realised this was his true calling in life. Nebil
believes it is fate that this opportunity to work with Starck has come
along for him.
Polly Firth
Age: 21
From: Middlewich, Cheshire
Polly received a First in her MA in Product Design from the
University of Leeds and believes that she was the best student in her
class. She's hugely determined and has her heart set on becoming a
renowned international designer by the time she is 40. What infuriates
her in the male-dominated design profession is the countless men who
design products for women. She is confident and believes she could
teach Starck a thing or two – she has a watch of his that drives her
insane because of how complicated it is to use. Polly is a leader in
group situations. She thinks that coming up with the ideas is her best
quality in design – and, interestingly, she doesn't see the fact that
she can't draw as a problem.
Robert Meredith
Age: 29
From: Northamptonshire
One of the older members of the group, Robert, already has a
career as a designer – he freelances, designing packaging for food
products. Robert is a quiet, focused individual who likes to work on
his own and is not a natural team player. He therefore may find it less
easy than some to mix socially with a large group of fellow students.
His first memory of design is sitting on his father's knee and helping
to fill in a big scrap book. It left him with a strong desire to work
creatively. He feels his thirst for a challenge will enable him to do
well at the school of design.
Robert Richardson
Age: 32
From: Leicester
The oldest of the 12 students, Robert has taken a real
gamble to pursue his dream of being a top designer. He had a secure job
as a sign fitter, but gave it up after five years to retrain as a
designer, enrolling in a BA in furniture design at Sheffield. His
passion in design is to create products that are functional and
appealing but that also help create a sustainable world – and he's
excited to work with Starck, whose interest in sustainability is well
known. He has no qualms about being the oldest student at the school of
design and is confident he will fit in. The idea of spending a few
months in Paris is also appealing – in the past he has gone off for
months at a time travelling to far-flung parts of the world.
Trevor Brinkman
Age: 27
From: Bournemouth
Originally from Holland, Trevor is the BFG of the group. But
beneath his gentle exterior lies a man with strong opinions, who is
prepared to do battle with Starck if he doesn't agree with what the
master has to say. Trevor came late to the design game – he has a
degree in Marine Biology – but nothing has inspired him quite like it.
Now at 27 he has gone back to the drawing board and is studying Product
Design at Bournemouth University. He may only have been studying for a
year but he knows that the rest of his life is going to be devoted to
design in one way or another.
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