A week in the life ... what do designers do all day?

Catherine Murray is the Design Director of Bute Fabrics, an upholstery fabric specialist based on an island in Scotland where work starts at the crack of dawn. 'The island has a variety of beautiful scenery. It inspires me. I don’t feel I miss out not being in London.'

Hai Tran spends a lot of time out of the office talking to customers, visiting production lines and travelling overseas for his work as a packaging designer at SiebertHead. 'It’s a buzz, a real passion.'

John Fogarty is Director of Design at Bisley, Europe's leading steel furniture manufacturer. He's a real supporter of the need for an in-house design team. 'In-house will always get there quicker and - we would argue - just as elegantly as the glory boys in external design consultancies.'

Matthew Hilton has designed furniture for companies including SCP, Driade, Authentics and Habitat. Last year he established his own company to produce his own wooden furniture designs. 'I always have to be creating something. I get depressed and cross otherwise'. 

Nat Hunter has worked in a bank, a chemistry lab and a sandwich shop. Now she's Managing Director of Airside graphic, illustration, digital and real world interaction design agency. 'Design is about problem solving and communication, rather than aesthetics.'

Sophie Thomas has founded two design groups [thomas.matthews and Three Trees Don't Make a Forest] has two children and reckons you need two things to be a good designer. Talent, yes, but sustainability too. 'It’s possible to reconcile good design and sustainability. It’s not just about doing ‘hairy jumper' design'.

Vyshali Sardesi is an associate at BDG workfutures, an international design consultancy focusing on strategy and design for working environments. Her typical day starts at 8am and often requires a hard hat. 'It’s about getting dirt under your fingernails.' Find out what else Vyshali Sardesi does for her job.