For over 20 years, I have been working across multiple design disciplines. The roles of such have changed with trends but the principles of good design remain the same. The ten principles of good design by Dieter Rams who influenced Jony Ive at Apple for decades, are as true today as ever. I started my …
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3rd July 2022How does UX design relate to furniture design?
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21st November 2017The Best Pre-Fabricated Homes and Their Benefits
The pre-fabricated homes have caused a revolution in the modern architecture market. The current housing crisis means we need to rethink the approach to architecture and housing. KODA and HebHomes are radicalising the design world, by taking inspiration from Jean Prouvé. Just like ByALEX furniture, the pre-fabricated homes can be relocated, used for multiple purposes and even …
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15th November 2017Ten Principles of Good Design: Functional Beauty
We all have different figures of inspiration in our lives that mould and influence our work. Dieter Rams has been one of the main sources of inspiration for Alex Swain. As for Rams, he found his inspiration in the unwavering values of Japanese aesthetics; purity in thought that translated into simplicity in product. Simplicity should …
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9th October 2017Serpentine Pavilion Designed by Diébédo Francis Kéré
The 2017 Serpentine Pavilion is traditionally located in the heart of Hyde Park, and designed by the award-winning architect Diébédo Francis Kéré, it is the most spectacular one yet. It combines the beauty, the purity and the effectiveness every good design should have. Let me introduce to you to the ‘Tree of Life’. In the 17 …
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8th September 2017Best Advice for Space Saving in Your Home
When life runs at the speed of a rollercoaster and you are feeling the stress of increasingly expensive property prices, learning the best advice for space saving in your home is important. Especially when living in an inner city apartment, learning how to maximise space and utilise every millimetre of your home. The solution to the reappearing …
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24th August 2017Jon Walker x ByALEX: Recycle Bin Design Collaboration
Maybe you’d like to recycle more? Maybe you’d like the piles of paper, plastic and glass to be out of sight? Maybe you’d like your bin to look as good as the rest of your kitchen? We are excited to announce a new collaboration with Jon Walker who has created the dwiss: a wood recycle …
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22nd August 2017Family Holiday in Copenhagen and Devon
Family holiday in Copenhagen August, the month of holidays for Europeans all over. So what about a family holiday in Copenhagen and Lyme Regis? This year we booked two contrasting trips: a weekend staying with friends in Denmark and a week in Devon on a farm. This is my guide to enjoying a family holiday …
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28th July 2017Natural Materials by Jord Home x ByALEX
There must be Viking blood running through my veins as my design aesthetics favour the Scandinavian approach. So I was delighted when Jord Home, a Nordic textiles brand contacted me asking if we could collaborate. Sharing an passion for natural materials and a sense of well being through relaxed interiors, we sent up some of …
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11th July 2017The Summer of Plywood – the Best Furniture Designs
Why Plywood is Great for Furniture Design 1967 was the summer of love, when 100,000 people living in San Francisco converged in the Haight-Ashbury neighbourhood. Hippies, families and groups from all walks of life campaigned for a better world. They rejected consumerist values, opposed the Vietnam War, and celebrated the arts and meditative practices. So 60 …
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29th June 2017Japanese Interior Design – The Key Features
Japanese interior design and their homes is seen as one of the greatest embodiment of minimalism in the world today. Apart from its impeccable beauty, their interior design is also known for its masterful combination of simplicity, precision, and sophistication. Their form of aesthetics is deeply rooted in spirituality (Buddhism) and philosophy and they strongly believe …
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13th April 2017Competition: Win an A Stool + SPOT Cards
This month we are happy to be collaborating with our friends at Grafik to offer readers a chance to win a White A Stool and SPOT Cards. The SPOT Cards were created to give you the freedom to create your own card design by pushing out dots on a grid. To Enter the competition, we are …
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21st March 2017Make Your Own Card with SPOT
Introducing the SPOT range, a series of graphic led greetings cards, where a minimal aesthetic meets a playful concept, with the user determining the end design. When looking for graphic cards to send family and friends, I discovered that not many allowed me to utilise my own design skills or create something bespoke. Continually driven [...] More → -
3rd March 2017Better Ergonomics in the Workplace by Always Writing On A Slope
If you’re like me, working in a well designed environment is important to my overall mood and energy. I love being surrounded by plants and natural light, coupled with inspirational objects and artwork. My studio is like a cabinet of curiosity with material samples and design books lying around my desk, prompting me to develop …
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17th December 2016Top 5 Most Influential Dutch Graphic Designers
I have been interested in graphic design ever since my childhood. I grew up in the 1980s with big hair, Michael Jackson and prog rock – not the coolest but lucky for me, my dad had a great record collection that was varied and this exposed me to hundreds of gate folded sleeves designed by the …
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1st December 2016The A–Z of Design Bloggers
With so many design critics and admirers out there, I have created an A—Z of my favourite bloggers to share with you today…my advent is typographic! These are people who really understand my approach to design and who I always turn to for inspiration, ideas and advice so please do read on and discover these …
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