Jan Tschichold was a calligrapher, typographer and book designer. He played a significant role in the development of graphic design in the 20th century – first, by developing and promoting principles of typographic modernism, and subsequently idealizing conservative typographic structures. His direction of the visual identity of Penguin Books in the decade following World War II served as a model for the burgeoning design practice of planning corporate identity programs. He also designed the much-admired typeface Sabon.
Industrial design is a process of design applied to products that are to be manufactured through techniques of mass production. Its key characteristic is that design is separated from manufacture: the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features takes place in advance of the physical act of making a product, which consists purely of repeated, often automated, replication. This distinguishes industrial design from craft-based design, where the form of the product is determined by the product's creator at the time of its creation.
In mathematics, homotopical algebra is a collection of concepts comprising the nonabelian aspects of homological algebra as well as possibly the abelian aspects as special cases. The homotopical nomenclature stems from the fact that a common approach to such generalizations is via abstract homotopy theory, as in nonabelian algebraic topology, and in particular the theory of closed model categories.
Critical design takes a critical theory based approach to design. This kind of design uses design fiction and speculative design proposals to challenge assumptions, conceptions about the role of objects play in everyday life. Critical design object plays a role of product design, but emphasizes on neither commercial purpose nor physical utility. It is mainly for sharing a critical perspective and carrying debate to the public, to increase awareness on social, cultural, or ethical issues by asking questions to the public. Critical design is popularized by Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby through their firm, Dunne & Raby.
Dieter Rams is a German industrial designer and retired academic closely associated with the consumer products company Braun and the functionalist school of industrial design. His unobtrusive approach and belief in "less but better" design generated a timeless quality in his products and have influenced the design of many products, which also secured Rams worldwide recognition and appreciation.
Neil Poulton is a Scottish product designer, based in Paris, France. He specialises in the design of 'deceptively simple-looking mass-produced objects' and has won numerous international design awards. Poulton is best known for his designs in the fields of technology and lighting design and is often associated with manufacturers LaCie, Artemide, and Atelier Sedap.
Peter Zec is a German design consultant as well as author and publisher. Furthermore, he is president (2005–2007) of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid), the global organisation that promotes better design around the world, and initiator of the Red Dot Design Award. In October 2006, the German business magazine “Wirtschaftswoche” elected him one of the “20 creative unconventional thinkers changing the appearance of their companies and creating completely new markets”.
Dr. Udo Weilacher is a German landscape architect, author and Professor for Landscape Architecture.
Patrick Lindon is a Swiss industrial designer best known for his Business Class seating and cabin interiors for Swiss International Air Lines. He began designing and building furniture in 1980 and opened his design office in 1983. He has been producing his own line of modular furniture since 1998. The ‘T71 System’ is sold worldwide and is part of the collection at the Museum of Design Zurich.
Wiel Arets is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist, industrial designer and the former Dean of the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, in the United States of America. Arets was previously the 'Professor of Building Planning and Design' at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK), Germany, and studied at the Technical University of Eindhoven, graduating in 1983. The same year later he founded Wiel Arets Architects, a multidisciplinary architecture and design studio, today with studios in Amsterdam, Maastricht, Munich, and Zürich. From 1995-2002 he was the Dean of the Berlage Institute in Rotterdam, where he introduced the idea of 'progressive-research' and co-founded the school's architectural journal named HUNCH.
Hans Erich Slany was a German designer considered by many to have been the first industrial designer to design plastic housings for power tools. Slany is also thought of as one of the icons of design in Germany. He founded TEAMS Design GmbH, was a Professor of Industrial Design (ID) for more than 20 years and helped found the Verband Deutscher Industrie Designer e. V. in 1959. He then helped the VDID with their entry into the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID).
Verband Deutscher Industrie Designer e.V. or VDID is a professional organization for industrial designers based in Germany that was founded by seven German designers in 1959. The VDID is an association of German designers founded to promote the exchange of knowledge, ideas, professionalism, friendship, and support to all members to assist in the everyday working environment and career of industrial designers. The VDID works as a mediator between industry and designers, as well as politics and the economy. This organization is a sister organization to the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) through the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID).
Walter Heidenfels is a German industrial designer and one of the key principles of TEAMS Design GmbH in Hamburg, Germany. He is known for his work for companies such as Schmersal and Busch-Jaeger. Heidenfels has been instrumental in extending long term relationships with companies such as Robert Bosch GmbH and Still Forklift. He specializes in 3D CAD, such as Rhinoceros 3D, Pro/Engineer, SolidWorks and Unigraphics to bring his designs to life.
Thomas Feichtner is an Austrian industrial designer.
Timothy Jacob Jensen is a Danish industrial designer. He was best known as CEO and Chief Designer of Jacob Jensen Design Studios from 1990 to 2018. Jensen was also the founder of the Scandinavian brand JACOB JENSEN™. He has created numerous well-known designs for timepieces, jewellery, communication equipment, houseware, furniture and kitchens. He has also been prominent within the automotive design, branding and value clarification fields.
ELEVEN, LLC is a product development studio with offices in Boston, Massachusetts and New York City, New York. The studio was founded in 1996 by Ben Beck, Dave Harting, Doug Marsden and Glen Walter. Since then the company has designed products and experiences across multiple categories: from consumer goods and housewares, to electronics, medical machinery, sporting goods, and furniture.
DCA Design International is one of the world’s leading product design and development consultancies and is based in Warwick, England. The company was founded in 1960 and now employs more than 130 people. DCA specialise in many areas of product design and new product development including: Design for sustainability, Industrial Design, Engineering Design, Electronics Design, Software Design, Medical Design, Scientific Design, Commercial Design and Industrial Design. DCA have been ranked as the UK's Number 1 Product Design Consultancy between 2005-2017 according to Design Week in their Top 100 Surveys.
Inès Lamunière (1954) is a Swiss architect and professor.
Shun Cutlery is a kitchen knife brand of the KAI Group, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. In the United States, Shun is sold by Kai USA in Tualatin, Oregon — alongside the Kershaw Knives and Zero Tolerance Knives brands.
