Let us introduce you to the bright designer Alex Harris Tell us about you and what you do? I graduated from Kingston University last year with a degree in Graphic Design and have since been working for the design agency Wani Creative. I frequently spend my evenings and weekends on my own projects. Being in the early stages of my career, I am still trying to work out exactly what it is I want to do. Working for myself whenever I can really gives me the freedom to pursue what interests me most and will help me decide which direction to go further down the line. Most of what I have done to date includes corporate identities, packaging, web and print work. Tell us about Tube Light? Tube Light is an experiment in how the need for excess packaging could be reduced by integrating it with the product. The interesting challenge in designing this was that it needed to simultaneously function well as a piece of packaging and fulfill basic product requirements like usability and aesthetic appeal. The merging of these two disciplines is something that I would like to explore further. What inspired you to make Tube Light? For this brief I would say Peter Murdoch’s ‘Chair Thing’ designed in 1968 was of particular interest to me. It retailed at less than £1 and over a period of 6 months 76,000 units were sold. Most probably directly inspiring Tube Light through the use of a material, usually associated with packaging, in this case being used to build the product that it would typically contain.     What are you working on at the moment? At Wani Creative we are currently working on a branding project for a botanical tea company due to launch later this year. In my spare time I try to broaden my creative horizons as much as possible. At the moment I am exploring ideas for new products as well as practicing my own photography and illustration. Last but not least, what are your thoughts on affordable design? Important… but just like anything – it has its place. The scope and demand for this kind of design has undoubtedly been widened by the ongoing recession. More often than not, innovative ways of cutting costs without compromising (and in some cases improving) on the integrity of the finished product can only be a positive thing. Affordability seems to be at the forefront of everyone’s mind at the moment. Whether or not the desirability of these things can compete with the status giving qualities of certain high end products remains to be seen. There would have to be major change in cultural attitudes for this to be possible – Designers have the means to help by promoting the values that affordable design encapsulates. See more of Alex Harris work here.  

POSTED BY: THE POUNDSHOP