ROBERT GALLACHER

I began my journey into Art and Design at an early age. I cannot remember exactly how old I was but I was still attending primary school. I must have started drawing during school lessons instinctively, for some reason it was always cars, boats and trucks. Apart form my grandad who was an architect, there was no reason for me to be so interested in the automotive world. At this point my dad enlisted the help of a local artist to improve my drawing skills, he always maintained that it would be a good skill to have under my belt later in life. Although I disliked my drawing lessons (they were on a Saturday morning when all my friends would be playing football) I became good at illustrating objects and understanding shapes and light.

I continued to study Art and Design throughout my school years, sacrificing other more traditional subjects like Science and Math’s. Although I enjoyed design the most, I was always better at art. This did not stop me applying to study design though, and after careful preparation, my portfolio gained me a place on the UK ‘s only Transport Design course in 1996. I did not know what to expect when I arrived at Coventry, I had always been ‘top of the class’ at school and hoped that university would be the same. I was wrong. I had walked into a course with sixty other people who had come to achieve one thing- to become a car designer, and most of them wanted it more than me.

At this point, I would like to say that natural talent counts for everything, but it doesn’t. Every aspect of Art and Design involves hard work, patience and understanding- three things I didn’t really have time for in my first two years at Coventry. Things began to get more serious when the third year approached and the students started to compete for industrial placements, this is also a time when your parents begin to take notice of your career and the endless funding they have given you. I was selected to spend six months at Design Research Arup (DRA). I was very fortunate looking back now, I still wonder what they saw in my portfolio, or even my personality for that matter. But DRA were a small professional consultancy who didn’t shout about what they did, perhaps we just suited each other.

For anyone who wasted the first two years at university I would suggest that you learn as much as possible from an industrial placement - the experience is invaluable. I was lucky to be shepherded by a former Transport Design graduate and work alongside some great industrial designers in an environment that was professional and expressive.

It was at DRA that I learnt to render forms and objects with an Airbrush. I didn’t just learn how to use an airbrush, I learnt why I was rendering objects in a particular way. Previously I had tried using pastels and markers but got extremely frustrated, not understanding why I was rubbing chalk over marker or putting tipex on car windscreens. It was not like painting a still life in Art class, there were certain techniques which car designers used that had to be learnt and no amount of natural talent could bypass this. I ‘m not saying that Airbrushing is better than markers and pastels, some of the best designers in the world use pastels, it s just I had found a medium that I could use and understand that suited me.

I left DRA six months later with a newfound confidence and a better rendering technique. I felt confident that if I designed a great form I could now back it up by illustrating it well. I believe that half of design is presentation and communication, annoying I know, but true.

The final year at Coventry became a bit of a battle between what I learnt at DRA and deciding how much to listen to certain lecturers, who it seemed were intent on making my design into a Rover 200. Looking back they were probably trying to challenge my understanding of engineering or consumer demographics, but it’s hard to listen to people who don’t engage you.

I managed to maintain a certain element of excitement to my final year project and was interviewed by the head of footwear design from FilaSport in Italy. I can’t remember too much about the interview or indeed my boss except that I conceded I would work for pittance and a week later a contract popped up in my inbox. Fila was based in Montebelluna, Northern Italy - a beautiful place and a fantastic place to start my professional career. I quickly forgot that I‘d studied transport design, and began drawing footwear. It had never occurred to me that footwear design could be a viable career option, but the industry is huge and like my dad said at the time, “ I guess everyone will be wearing shoes for the foreseeable future.” At this point I would advise a student who is chasing the car design dream to think twice. The first 1-2 years of any designer’s career are the most informative, and points them in a certain direction. After 5 years in the footwear industry I would find it very difficult to find a career in Transport design. I m sure I have ‘missed that boat’ so to speak, but I don’t mind because I like designing products of all sorts, and I‘ll just have to drive beautiful cars instead of sketching them.

At FilaSport I became very good with Adobe Illustrator and PhotoShop, and this has become a good asset for both presenting ideas, but also for a lot of more mundane design tasks like technical drawing and specification sheets.
In 2002 I asked to leave FilaSport in Italy and return home to England, many of my English Friends had left and although I enjoyed the Italian lifestyle, the office life had become frustrating for me. I wanted a new challenge.

Fila UK was based in Newcastle and the UK market was completely different, lots of Reebok Classics and Adidas Stan Smiths to copy. The thing I liked about working in the footwear trade in the UK was the advantage of being in a small community of people - engineers, buyers, suppliers and retailers. Spending time with Sales Reps, listening to buyers from large sports chains and meeting suppliers meant that I gained a very broad understanding of the market, from the drawing board to highstreet retail - a process that is valuable for a career in product management and development. This was a completely different world to sitting in a large design studio sketching automotive concepts.

In 2003 the Fila UK business dissolved- I had several job offers on the table but I wanted to keep living in Newcastle, this limited my choices somewhat. I could have gone to America or Europe but I firmly believe in a happy life/ work balance and not letting design dictate my life. The solution was to go freelance and I used my contacts to engineer work and projects from several large international companies. My former boss and referee advised against it due to lack of experience but I was fortunate to have support form people I ‘d met in the footwear trade and worked on great projects and brands like Paul&Shark, Boxfresh and Mitre. It is hard work being freelance, but the reward of being your own boss and supporting yourself through your own means gives you a great sense of achievement. During this time I got the opportunity to take a trip to China and work with factories where the footwear is manufactured. This was an incredible experience in life, not just design.

After 2 years of successfully trading as a freelance designer I began contract work for Berghaus who were based in Sunderland, near Newcastle. A new design director had been appointed with a very good CV and previous employment history. I thought I knew a lot about footwear design, but next to this guy, I knew nothing. Although it was a heart breaking decision I knew I had to step out of my comfort zone and re-enter the design industry in order to progress my professional development. I am currently employed by Berghaus Ltd on a permanent contract as a Senior Designer.

Last week I received a selection of portfolios from Coventry University of graduates wanting an industrial placement in footwear design - it seems there is a lot more interest in footwear now than when I was graduating. I hope that design students and artists can keep an open mind about their career possibilities and not typecast certain areas in design, sometimes you have to try them to find what you want.