A 5-day design course with International award-winning designer Marc Fish.
“Good design is not simply about drawing an attractive object. It is about developing an idea, understanding why it works, solving problems and gradually refining it into something that can actually be made.”
In this course, internationally recognised designer and maker Marc Fish will take students through his approach to designing original furniture and sculptural work.
Rather than working towards a predetermined project, students will learn a design process that can be applied to their own furniture, objects and future creative practice.
The course begins by looking at where ideas come from. We will explore inspiration from nature, architecture, art, engineering, materials and everyday objects, and look at how these references can be used without simply copying what already exists.
Students will develop ideas through sketching, experimentation and model making. Marc will demonstrate how he uses quick drawings and physical models to explore proportion, form, balance and structure, and why a model can often reveal things that are difficult to understand on paper or on a computer screen.
A major part of the course will focus on design development: taking an initial idea and repeatedly questioning and refining it. Does it need to be there? Can it be simpler? Is the construction influencing the form? Are the materials appropriate? Does it look interesting from every angle? What happens when the scale changes?
We will also explore the relationship between materials, process and design. Rather than designing an object and then deciding how to make it, students will be encouraged to understand how a material behaves and allow the making process itself to influence the design.
Marc will share the development of his own work, from early sketches and experimental models through prototypes, failures and finished pieces. This will give students an insight into the considerable amount of development that can sit behind an apparently simple finished object.
Topics will include:
- Finding and recording inspiration
- Sketching as a thinking tool rather than a presentation skill
- Understanding proportion, balance and visual weight
- Designing in three dimensions
- Rapid model making and experimentation
- Exploring materials and processes
- Using limitations as a creative tool
- Developing and refining an idea
- Moving from concept to something that can actually be made
- Knowing when a design is finished
- Developing work that feels original rather than derivative
- Developing an individual design language
The emphasis throughout the course will be on thinking through making. Students do not need to be accomplished artists or good at technical drawing. Sketches can be rough, models can be crude and experiments can fail—the purpose is to communicate, test an idea and have fun.
By the end of the course, students should leave with a clearer understanding of their own design process, a collection of developed ideas and models, and, most importantly, a practical method for taking the seed of an idea and developing it into original work.
Booking
£850.00 including materials
This course is suitable for furniture makers, woodworkers, designers and craftspeople who want to move beyond following existing designs and begin developing a more individual body of work.
Instructor: Marc Fish
Next course dates: 26th – 30th October 2026.
If you have any questions about this course then do please get in touch, we’re always happy to help – Email admin@marcfish.co.uk or telephone – 01272 513611.
Please include contact details with your booking.
