An Interview with Nathan Gates

Nathan Gates is a senior industrial design student at Appalachian State University. His punny design earned him a place among our 39th Annual Design Competition Winners. With his “Stop” doorstop, Gates created an eye-catching and unique piece that playfully blends form and function.

What is your background in design? What led you to our Annual Design Competition?

My name is Nathan Gates. I'm a senior year industrial design student at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. I first heard about Mockett's Annual Design Competition through a project that we were assigned in a studio class.



Tell us about your design. What was the inspiration behind it?

What I essentially came up with was a play on words of a “doorstop.” My inspiration for the design was more playful but still following Mocketts design language. For example, one of the previous winners - their design was an exclamation point wall hook. I wanted to use that playful[ness] but also serious design principles in my designs as well.



What was the process like, and can you explain your approach? How did you envision the concept-to-part pipeline, and how did you execute it?

My process included research of the target audience that Mockett has - their design language and where in the market that they're missing out on. I noticed that, again, one design competition winner had previously done a doorstop, so I tried to use that information for my design and for the need [for] another doorstop. I then started working on conceptualizing my ideas and drawing them out, again using that idea of a playful approach but still following Mockett's design principles. Then, taking the final concept to a CAD model and being sure to be thinking about manufacturing processes.



What would your advice be for someone who's looking to submit but is hesitant about submitting?

I would say that what helped me out the most was having an understanding that I was designing for Mockett, especially, at the beginning of the project when we were assigned it. I told myself that hypothetically, I was being commissioned by Mockett to come up with a piece for their catalog. So, using the resources that Mockett has on their website and trying to tie that all in together into a missing opportunity to design for.

Gates’ vision and craftsmanship captured our attention here at Mockett, earning a well-deserved spot among our Design Competition winners. Congratulations Nathan!