HomeMADE designer
Last month UniSA interior design graduate Matthew Simpson was among the contestants battling it out on Channel Nine’s national renovation program ‘homeMADE’.
Simpson’s passion to design saw him give up his day-job as an administrative assistant more than 10 years ago and enrol as a mature age student at UniSA. He graduated with a Bachelor of Interior Design in 2001, finishing with the highest score in his final year design studio class.
Simpson (pictured) continues his association with UniSA as a part-time tutor with its Louis Laybourne Smith School of Architecture and Design.
He also runs his own design company, Matthew Travis Simpson Pty Ltd in Port Adelaide.
He says his motivation for going on the show was to give himself a great challenge, to have the chance to earn $100,000 in eight weeks and to help highlight that there’s a lot more to interior design than decorating.
"I’ve noticed that in the past, interior design has been portrayed in mainstream media as a very craft-based profession," he said.
"I was keen to be involved with a project that showed skilled interior designers are often involved in major structural modifications as well as surface details."