10.15.2014 Interview with Wayne Hemingway MBE
What is the message you hope people take away from your presentations?
That it is possible to achieve real change through questioning, hard work, innovation and strong messaging. That there are no class, race or educational barriers to being successfully creative and entrepreneurial and that anyone can make a difference. That design matters and is a force for good.
How are your keynotes unique?
The keynotes have strong political messages, life affirming stories and wit…wonderful imagery and films!
Who or what is your biggest source of inspiration?
There are so many things in life that can be improved from simple everyday objects, to housing, cities and even festivals…and creative minds can question and help to force along improvements.
Can you explain briefly what the social design industry is all about?
Two lines from the HemingwayDesign website:
- We focus on affordable and social design, with a core philosophy of aiming to “improve things that matter in life
- We believe that design is for the common good and that design thinking can help to solve most challenges that society faces.
What advice would you give young people hoping to enter the design industry?
There are many talented young designers out there but talent alone is not enough. The best designers are driven, have an ability to really work very hard indeed, always strive for perfection on every project, can achieve “closure” on a project, know when to accept failure and move on and above all are decent human beings, team players who can get along with manufacturers, suppliers, retailers…the team that gets the idea to market.
What is your favorite thing about your job?
That it doesn’t feel like a job…its life…the end of day work bell will only sound when I am too old to work.