Q&A: Dominic Wilcox

INTERVIEWED BY Lindi Brownell Meiring

“Creative inventor” Dominic Wilcox is speaking at the 2015 Design Indaba conference. We were lucky enough to catch up with him prior to his talk.

When we think of Dominic Wilcox, we think innovation, surprise and invention. How would you describe your work in three words?

Challenging, provocative, understated.

From Honesty Stamps and GPS shoes to the Finger Nose Stylus and tea cups with cooling fans, your designs are not only creative, they’re practical too. What do you believe is the importance of practicality in design?

Design isn’t just about how something looks but also how it works. Being a good designer is a balance between being very practically minded, with lots of common sense, while also being creative. You have to be an all-rounder and have good knowledge in many different areas like manufacturing, materials, problem solving, aesthetics, ergonomics… I would say designing things that work well and are easy to use is one of the most important aspects of design.

Your book, Variations On Normal highlights the funny side to your inventions. Which one of these illustrations would you most like to create in reality?

I’d like to see a skyscraper disguised as a hill. We need more of the countryside brought into the city.

The Stained Glass Driverless Car of the Future was launched at last year’s London Design Festival. What’s your favourite thing about this creation?

I enjoyed taking the very traditional craft of stained glass making and using it to create something very futuristic and modern in terms of the driverless car. I’m happy if it succeeds in challenging expectations of what a car should look like. In the future I believe technology will allow us to combine craftsmanship and customisation within the products we use. It won’t all be slick, polished aluminium things like we see in sci-fi movies.

Are there any local South African creatives whose work has caught your eye?

I’ve never been to South Africa before so I am excited to see what things are going on creatively. I’ve heard great things about fashion, architecture and other areas of design so I’m looking forward to seeing it.

What are you most looking forward to at this year’s Design Indaba?

It will be wonderful to be part of a gathering of amazingly creative minds at Design Indaba. I’m looking forward to being inspired by the other speakers and designers and I hope to return home with a powerful boost of creative energy to set me up for the rest of the year.

Watch as Dominic talks about his GPS shoe design.

To view more of Dominic’s work, visit dominicwilcox.com. For more information about this year’s Design Indaba, click here.