‘As slick a piece of editorial as you’re likely to see.’ That’s how a journalist at itsnicethat.com described David White’s set design for Wallpaper* magazine’s Leandro Farina shoot in our May 2104 edition. With clients that include JW Anderson, Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton, Céline and Hermès, David White has established himself as a skilled, talented and highly imaginative set designer for editors, designers and retailers.
W*: Talk us through your working day. How does it start? Where do you work?
My studio is in Dalston but the day can start anywhere, depending on what i’m working on: in a studio, on a recce, in a different country, at a car boot sale or a prop house in Acton. Although more often than not it’s spent in front of my computer ducking and diving through a barrage of emails.
W*: How much does technology impact on your creative process? How much time do you spend using pen and paper… and how much time using a computer? Do you use 3D imaging/rendering programs? 3D printing?
I often sketch by hand to get ideas down quickly, but I always supply clients with a 3D render, as it’s a more accurate representation of the set I’m creating for them. It also means I can finalise details of the build with exact measurements, realistic practical solutions and applied finishes.
W*: How did you find your HP Sprout experience? Was it easy to use?
Almost too easy! You get so used to long processes of scanning, saving and altering in one program, then saving, uploading to another, exporting. Sprout blends all of these processes super smoothly creating an impossibly easy, tactile user interface. Having two seamless workspaces also helps speed everything up, as you can be drawing on the touch pad using images displayed on the monitor, or be working on and comparing two files at the same time.
W*: How did you feel about abandoning the conventional mouse-operated interface?
It’s curiously addictive, I’m surprised not all computers have the touch screen capacity.
W*: In your line of work, how do you think Sprout would be best employed?
If the 3D files generated by Sprout were tweaked a little to be compatible with 3D drawing software it would completely change the way I design. It would allow maquettes to be easily uploaded for computer manipulation and instant transfer to suppliers.
W*: How was the instant video link facility, where you can initiate and manipulate collaborative ideas in real time?
It’s like sitting with a sketchbook in front of you and sharing it live with anyone anywhere in the world. Often the solutions to problems I'm working on are best explained with a sketch, and this enables you to draw and manipulate on top of existing files instantly.
W*: What are you working on right now?
The set for Ashley Williams’ upcoming show.
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