The Crit #19: Adam Bates
What do designers think when they look back on their own work? Which projects fill them with pride and satisfaction, and which provoke less happy memories? The Crit, a podcast from Disegno, sets out to answer these questions and more!
Each fortnight, Disegno’s editor-in-chief Oli Stratford invites a leading designer to Kef Music Gallery to review their own work. Our guest reveals what worked best; what failed; what pushed their career to new heights; what feedback most shaped their practice; and what they feel needs to be redesigned.
At the end of each episode, to complete their crit, they’ll be asked to give themselves a grade for their career to date: fail, pass, commendation or distinction.
It’s a design-school crit, delivered every fortnight! Subscribe to the show here, or sign up wherever you get your podcasts from.
Our nineteenth guest on The Crit is Adam Bates, design director of Nothing, accompanied by show host Oli Stratford.
Episode #19: Adam Bates
Adam Bates is the design director of Nothing, a London-based technology brand whose designs for consumer electronics, often rich in transparent plastic and visible circuitry, have provided an aesthetic alternative to the same-sameness of designs produced by more established players.
Having previously worked at Dyson, leading the team that oversaw product design and user experience, Adam moved to Nothing in 2022, tasked with building the company’s design team. Under Adam’s leadership, the brand has built on its early design language established by Teenage Engineering, creating new devices such as Phone (3) and Headphone (1), both of which launched last week.
From the difficulties of innovating in the smartphone category and the perils of spec creep, to the joy of design references from the past and the importance of carving out your own niche, Adam talks us through his career to date, and shares photographic ambitions for the future.
Show Notes: Adam Bates
Best design: Headphone (1)
Worst design: A vacuum cleaner for the Japanese market
Most successful design: Dyson Supersonic and Phone (1)
Most impactful feedback: “Carve your niche” and “You look like you're having too much fun”
Dream design: A camera
This episode of The Crit was recorded at KEF Music Gallery London.
The Crit’s graphics were created by Leonhard Rothmoser.
The Crit’s music was created by Yuri Suzuki and Team Suzuki.