Alfy is primarily a designer at Dovetailed but also dons the hat of resident chef on occasion! He recently held two Supper Clubs at our new office, which consisted of him cooking food for 18 people on each night, in a very ‘compact’ kitchen. Once he’d caught his breath, we sat down with him to have a chat about design and Dovetailed…
I used to make stuff with my granddad and I think that’s a huge contributing factor as to how I got into design. He was an old school toolmaker; sometimes his accuracy may have been a little too precise for an eight year old making a toy boat, but it’s still with me.
Adverts really inspire me, which is a bit of an oddity. I haven’t met many people that enjoy an advert! The thought process of both the creators (why they think that story would sell their product) and the audience (what influences them to buy a product) is interesting to me.
I wish I’d invented the plastic carrier bag, it’s an ingenious invention that often gets overlooked (and now comes with a cost!).
I very much enjoy a singsong when working; all members of the team have witnessed my ‘vocal abilities’ (or lack thereof!) and reports show there has been a rise of in headphone use when I’m in the office.
Working with people is why I love design, seeing the excitement in people when you creatively join the dots for them makes it all worth it.
Dovetailed’s design philosophy is to always ask questions… What are we making and who for? What makes someone tick? Why do they want things done that way? The more questions the merrier, questioning processes and opinions all help to take things to an exciting level.
To me, user experience means looking at every possible point in which contact can be made and how this story will influence a decision made.
I designed industrially injection-moulded products very early in my career and that’s definitely something I am proud of, it’s given me invaluable experience. Taking your own products into the ‘market’ is one of the most challenging things any designer can do.
I love to cook, but my home comfort is a very well toasted pita bread (crunchy), tuna in sunflower oil, mayo, grated carrot, jalapeños, hot sauce, cumin, lemon juice, capers and chives. You’ve got your carbs, protein, veg - all in a delicious pita pocket.
My family know when I cook, we will be eating late. I like to cook in my own time, especially after a few beers!
‘A curio’ describes our work at Dovetailed; rare, unusual and intriguing.