{"id":9808,"date":"2025-11-21T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rutha.org\/?p=9808"},"modified":"2025-11-21T12:25:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T12:25:16","slug":"twelve-top-designers-tell-us-how-they-made-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rutha.org\/index.php\/2025\/11\/21\/twelve-top-designers-tell-us-how-they-made-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Twelve top designers tell us how they made it"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Top<\/div>\n

Making it as a designer is tough. For our Performance Review<\/a> series, Dezeen asked 12 successful designers to explain candidly how they got their break, including Philippe Starck<\/a>, Inga Semp\u00e9<\/a> and Formafantasma<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

For many aspiring young designers, earning a living from their creative pursuits can feel like little more than a pipe dream.<\/p>\n

That’s why we decided to ask a dozen well-established names to recall how they made it work, urging them to be as honest as possible about what it took to climb the ladder.<\/p>\n

“Things have changed radically”<\/strong><\/p>\n

We deliberately selected designers who broke through in different periods, from Starck and Tom Dixon<\/a>, who rose to prominence in the 1980s, to more recently established figures such as Yinka Ilori<\/a> and Charlotte Taylor<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There were stories of being in the right place at the right time. Others emphasised the importance of contact-building.<\/p>\n

But the timeless importance of hard work and stamina when trying to make a living from creativity was also a running theme.<\/p>\n

“You have to be very patient in design,” acknowledged furniture designer Inga Semp\u00e9<\/a>. “It was very painful, very difficult and very often hopeless.”<\/p>\n

“I had to find ways of trying to fund my shows. And that was me working in Marks & Spencer and Jigsaw,” said Ilori<\/a>.<\/p>\n