As a student of product design at National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in Dublin, Laurence MacDonald was always fascinated by how things were made, and at his most comfortable working in a hands-on way. Those skills and knowledge proved invaluable when he embarked on a journey to New York in 2022 to follow his dream of working in industrial design.
Having initially secured an internship with Smart Design, where he worked on major brands, MacDonald is now the industrial designer at Light Phone, a small company committed to providing a consciously stripped-back alternative to smartphones for those seeking to be less addicted to their mobile devices.
The company launched its first phone in 2015. Its third generation, the Light Phone 3, launched earlier this year, with MacDonald having a major input into its development alongside the firm’s two co-founders, Joe Hollier and Kaiwei Tang. The Light Phone, which is sold online, is compatible with many networks across the world.
Work on this latest model involved collaboration with teams in Taiwan and China, where the phone is manufactured, with MacDonald spending time in Asia as the phone moved from design and prototype to finished product.
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“It’s a small minimalist phone that has no browser, no social media and no email, but all the basics. It has a phone, a camera, a directions function, and can play podcasts. There’s no planned obsolescence, and our phones are designed to have a long life. There are replaceable batteries, which users can change themselves, and repairable components.”
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MacDonald says there is a movement of people who want to be less on their phone, less on social media, and more present. “Some people will go all-in and use it as their main phone, while others will use it occasionally, say at weekends, or they might swap their Sim card and go light. Our tagline is, ‘Designed to be used as little as possible’,” he explains.
MacDonald’s first year in the Big Apple was hectic.
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“The reason I came to New York was to be around people who are smarter than me and who inspire me,” he says.
He immersed himself fully in life in the city initially, but now finds the need to pace himself. “I’ve been here three years, and I’ve made it work. There was a lot happening quickly and I was thriving off that – that’s how you make things happen – but I am pretty good at saying ‘no’ now and am aware of the need to recharge my batteries.
“It’s been quite the journey. I moved here on my own and rented a small apartment with very little money, and just made it happen. I live near a park in Williamsburg [Brooklyn], which is good as, living in New York, I find I need to be near nature. I cycle 10 minutes to the company office.
“I’m fortunate to have made a lot of friends and to have immersed myself in the design and engineering world. Much of my friend network is American, whereas a lot of people who come here tend to hang around with Irish people.
“This summer I bought a road bike which is one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. I can get a train from Grand Central to places in upstate New York, get off and do 100km on the bike, and then either get the train or cycle back, which is a great experience.”
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Before he moved to New York, MacDonald started a project called Coffee & Repair in Dublin. Providing a valuable service to locals and a sustainable alternative to replacing broken items, he has brought it to New York too. It’s not a commercial venture, but provides him with a lot of satisfaction.
“It’s basically a pop-up repair shop in cafes and now a cart that I bring to a park. I serve coffee, and repair items, and have conversations about repairing things with the community in New York. It’s all free, and I started it because I was tired of throwing things away that just needed a little attention.”
While MacDonald has settled well in New York, there are a few things he hankers for. “I do miss my family. I miss a good pint of Guinness and the nature, especially the barren landscapes that you get in the west coast of Ireland, which I think is one of the most beautiful places in the world.”
