Tom Dixon : Born in Sfax, Tunisia, Dixon moved to England aged four and spent his school years in London. He describes himself as a self-educated maverick whose only qualification is a one-day course in plastic bumper repair. He remains, perhaps, most famous for his work at Habitat. Tom will be giving away a thousand stylish lights at this year's London Design Festival.

What do you plan to do in the future?

“One day I’ll become a good designer and design something that’ll improve the world.”

What do you most wish you’d designed?

“I don’t have favourites or things I wish I’d designed. I’m always looking forward to seeing the next big thing. But I admire the great Victorian engineers, men like Isambard Kingdom Brunel who were capable of building both sewerage systems and bridges."

Where’s the best place for design at the moment?

“The UK is happening at the moment – there’s so much going on in architecture for a start. Look at Foster and the Millau bridge. There’s certainly enough design education happening - we’re producing 70,000 designers a year in differing disciplines but that’s actually too many. They need more grounding in business and maths. The government could do more to commission good design.”

Where do you get your inspiration from?

“I get inspiration from contemporary British sculptors like Anish Kapoor, Tony Cragg, Anthony Gormley. I also spend time in the Science Museum and the V&A. Contemporary science and art is inspiring, but so are factories – injection moulding springs to mind. I’m constantly interested in different materials, the structure of things and how you make them. Structural decorousness comes from the structure!"

What’s the worst designed thing you’ve come across?

“I have plenty of pet hates but Heathrow and public transport spring to mind. Bendy buses on one side, airplanes on the other. At the moment I’m jet lagged, so that’s my excuse!”

To go to Tom Dixon's website, click here

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