High Life

HIGH LIFE #11 Aug 2017 21 “Industrial and interior design have a lot of overlaps” Extending his reach from industrial to interior design, Dixon reckons that while the respective processes and attitudes are different, they are also complementary. “I think it’s quite useful for us to have the two disciplines underoneroof…itseemsoddtome thatproductcompaniesdon’t have an interior design studio, because it’s a perfect laboratory for products and it gives you very direct feedback through how things function andwhat’s missing in the interior,” he says. This is also instrumental in foregrounding ideas about which products the designers should develop. “I’m not a perfectionist” As he considers it too difficult to be a perfectionist, Dixon employs others to strive for perfection for him. “I have always been more general and chaotic,” he smiles. “Patterns often emerge from chaos.” Unlike most perfectionists, he doesn’t become obsessive if something isn’t right. “If you’re obsessed with something and make no compromises, you have to be an artist, not a designer,” he adds. “Ultimately, thewholedesignprocess is aseries of compromises that make things work and achieve the best results.” Having his own company is an advantage when Dixon wants to do something “pure”. When working with other companies, however, he respects and understands their superior expertise in their field just as he has in his own. “You can learn a lot from other parties,” he says, noting that in factories he has seen engineers, manufacturers and craftsmen making specific tools to produce unique things. “When I was with Habitat, I was doing things that were affordable and mass produced, but I really wanted things to be unique.”