An interview with Kevin Doherty of Gazel design studio

IS IT surprising that someone who enjoyed inventing things as a child should end up designing, or in some cases reinventing, everyday household objects?

For Kevin Doherty, co-founder of Dublin-based design studio Gazel, and an engineering graduate who worked for several years in gas and oil and pharmaceutical industries, it came about when he took the life changing decision of returning to college.

There he met his business partner Ronan Murphy who had taken a similar decision and left a career in film-making and carpentry.

“We were both studying product design at the National College of Art and Design,” says Kevin. “We started work with Enterprise Ireland as design researchers, doing consumer and user experience analysis.”

During this period they developed what later became an award-winning product, the Gazel clothes hanger. This knacky reinvention of an everyday household object resulted in a hanger that slips in and out of tops, dresses and even buttoned-up shirts.

“We tried to bring a flicker of joy to an action that’s often seen as mundane,” says Kevin. “It balances perfectly on the rail when carrying clothes and tilts slightly to tell you it’s free.”

It’s also an object designed with the less dexterous of us in mind, allowing the user to maintain a static hand position while attaching a garment, which was recognised when they won the Institute of Designers’ design award for 2014.

“It’s easier to use than conventional hangers and it’s built to last,” Kevin explains.

“Unlike lots of wooden hangers, it can be recycled 100% but the idea is you keep it for life and pass it on.”

Last year, Kevin and Ronan branched out from NCAD and launched the Gazel studio.

“We both had a desire to be creative ,” says Kevin. “Inherently we’re problem solvers. Engineering hadn’t satisfied that desire in me.”

Sating that desire has since led to the design of three more products, two of which have now gone to market — the Hook and Light Valet.

The Hook is a solution to the problem many of us experience where we arrive home and drop car and door keys and mobile phones at the first, or maybe several, convenient spots, and then search for them frantically when running out the door again.

Hook is an inviting design; it’s compact, practical and eye-catching with space for depositing phone, keys and even loose pocket change. It also has a hook for hanging a hat or scarf.

Another solution for the same problem but a completely different approach is the Light Valet which is a stylish storage dish with an unexpected additional function.

“The beauty of this is its de-cluttering effect,” says Kevin. “But at night it transforms into a light that is strong enough to use as a reading lamp.”

LED technology has been integral to the design’s success, using a bulb that stays cool so there’s no risk of phones and electronics placed in the dish overheating.

Their fourth product is the Gazel knife which has reinvented this kitchen staple’s traditional design.

“Rarely is there an attempt to change the shape of a knife,” says Kevin. “There are some perpendicular ones for people with dexterity problems but no style.

The Gazel version has three blades consisting of one serrated, a chef’s blade, and a power tip for cutting into very hard vegetables like butternut squash, but without the effort required with a traditional kitchen knife.

It launched in February at Ambiente in Frankfurt, one of the biggest consumer goods shows in the world. It has also picked up Kitchen Innovation Of The Year 2015 and the Make It 2014 awards.

Now selling in 15 countries, Gazel keeps leaping forward to graze on new pastures. The next step is to move towards licensing of designs that will allow their products to reach a wider audience, according to Kevin.

”We’ll keep designing products but will release them in partnership with big brands.”

Who these big brands are, Kevin is staying silent about for the present, but as a design studio that lives by the motto ‘rethink the everyday’, we can certainly expect more innovation.

Next week: UCC honours three Irish contributors to design and art.