Co-founder, investor, and board member/advisor in more than two dozen companies including; LoanGifting, GameVice, D&A Guitar Gear, RKS Guitars, FloWater, FreshRealm and KOR Water
Upon graduating, Sawhney joined Xerox’s Advanced Development Group at Xerox Parc. He was part of a team of 220 employees that developed a touch-screen interface.[6][non-primary source needed]
RKS Design
RKS Design Logo
In 1980, Ravi Sawhney went on to found RKS Design, a design firm and consultancy.[citation needed]
Since the founding of RKS, Ravi Sawhney has been named on over 500 patents and has won over 200 design awards globally including numerous IDEA, Core77, NDA, Edison, and Spark awards.[7] Sawhney has also been named as a Fellow by IDSA in 2009,[8] as a Distinguished Alumni by CSUN in 2013,[9] as well as awarded an honorary PhD in Philosophy by Academy of Art in 2010.[10]
Notable projects
Teddy Ruxpin - Ravi Sawhney and RKS Design came to national attention shortly after the firm's founding in 1985 by developing the production design of the animated Teddy Ruxpin, one of the best-selling toys in the history of the toy industry. Sawhney and the team at RKS Design were responsible for the aesthetics and functional design aspects of the toy. RKS worked on the details of Teddy's features, such as his facial expressions, movements, and the material used to construct him. Worlds of Wonder Inc., was a fledgling toy company with limited resources, tasked RKS Design with the urgent development of a working prototype for their new product, Teddy Ruxpin. Despite a tight timeline, RKS delivered, and by the end of that year, Teddy Ruxpin achieved phenomenal success with sales reaching $93 million. RKS Design's contribution went beyond aesthetics and engineering; their ingenuity led to a significant reduction in manufacturing costs. By redesigning the cassette tape eject mechanism, they shaved approximately $4 million off production expenses in the first year alone, demonstrating their ability to combine innovative design with cost-effective engineering solutions.[11] This project highlights RKS Design's early success in delivering impactful results even under challenging constraints. Overall, Teddy Ruxpin, captivated a generation of children, becoming a cultural phenomenon in the 1980s and paving the way for future interactive toys.[12]
MiniMed 507 - The MiniMed 507 insulin pump revolutionized diabetes treatment in the late 1990s with its groundbreaking design by RKS Design, led by Ravi Sawhney. Sawhney took an unconventional approach by having designers wear the pump themselves, this revealed that the social stigma associated with visible medical devices that hindered adoption. Sawhney and RKS designers set to transform the perception of the pump from a symbol of illness to one of professionalism. By mimicking a high-end pager, the 507 destigmatized insulin pump use and fueled widespread adoption, achieving sales of $171 million by 1998 and capturing 80% of the market by 2005. This success culminated in Medtronic's acquisition of MiniMed for over $3.6 billion. Sawhney's innovative approach contributed to the normalization of insulin pump therapy and paving the way for future advancements in diabetes management. Today, Medtronic's insulin pump sales exceed $1 billion annually, a testament to the lasting legacy of the MiniMed 507 and the design ingenuity of RKS Design.[13]
Finnita (LoanGifting pre-merger) - To address the growing issue of student loan debt, Ravi Sawhney and RKS Design developed LoanGifting, a platform that reimagines traditional gift-giving by allowing friends and family to contribute directly to loan repayment. Initially conceived as a social media-like platform where users could create campaigns and receive "loan gifts," LoanGifting evolved into a B2B solution, Finnita, recognizing the potential for employers to utilize student loan repayment as a powerful recruitment and retention tool. This strategic pivot stemmed from the realization that individual fundraising alone could not significantly impact the overwhelming burden of student debt. Finnita, now a market leader in student debt repayment, empowers companies to offer student loan assistance as part of their benefits packages, attracting and retaining top talent while addressing a pressing societal issue. This evolution highlights RKS Design's ability to adapt and refine their solutions, transforming an initial concept into a cutting-edge SaaS HR-Tech solution that benefits both employees and employers. Sawhney and RKS Design earned a Silver Edison Award for the incubation of LoanGifting in 2016.[14][15]
Psycho-Aesthetics
Over the last 40+ years, Ravi Sawhney has invented and cultivated the popular Psycho-Aesthetics advanced design-thinking methodology, which Harvard adopted for two Business School Case Study. He is a regularly featured lecturer at Harvard’s Business School, USC’s Marshall School of Business, and UCLA’s Anderson School of Business, where he teaches this powerful business-driven design tool to top business school students. Psycho-Aesthetics has been featured in many of Sawhney's publications.[16]
As a result of Sawhney's contributions to design with the creation of Psycho-Aesthetics, he was recognized with an honorary PhD in Philosophy by the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 2010.[17]
RKS Guitars
RKS Guitars was a musical instrument design and manufacturing company founded in the early 2000s by Ravi Sawhney, Dave Mason, and the team at RKS Design.[18] Inspired by his love for music and a close friendship with rock legend Dave Mason, Sawhney sought to reinvent the electric guitar with a focus on sustainability, modularity, customization, and a distinct aesthetic. RKS Guitars began as a passion project within RKS Design, where many of the designers were musicians themselves. Sawhney, a lifelong musician, had always been intrigued by the electric guitar, an instrument whose core design had remained largely unchanged for decades. He saw an opportunity to revitalize the classic instrument with a fresh perspective and innovative approach.
Ravi Sawhney and the team at RKS Guitars envisioned a modular "open architecture design platform" that would allow for unprecedented levels of personalization and adaptability. Utilizing cutting-edge technology like Autodesk AliasStudio software, they developed guitars with unique aesthetic and enhanced functionality.
The innovative designs of RKS Guitars garnered significant attention, earning features in publications like BusinessWeek and receiving two Silver Industrial Designers Society of America (IDEA) awards.[19]
Despite its initial success and critical acclaim, RKS Guitars eventually ceased production in 2012. Though short-lived, RKS Guitars left behind a legacy of bold experimentation and a unique mark on the world of musical instruments. RKS guitars have been played by leading artists including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Rick Springfield, Don Felder, and Beck.
Publications
Books
(2024) Psycho-Aesthetics 2.0, Revolutionary Design and Innovation: Unleashing Disruption with a Proven Methodology[20]
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