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Stefan Diez | |
|---|---|
| Stefan Diez in Icon Design, May 2017 | |
| Born | 1971 (age 53–54) |
| Education | State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart |
| Occupation | Industrial designer |
| Website | diezoffice |
Stefan Diez (born 1971 in Freising) is a German industrial designer whose Munich-based studio, DIEZ OFFICE, develops furniture, accessories, and exhibition designs. [1]
Diez was born in 1971 in Freising, Germany, to a family of "4th-generation carpenters". Diez grew up around carpentry and cabinetmaking, which influenced his design. [2] He was introduced to furniture design in 1991, when he worked as a cabinetmaker for three years. After spending a year working in Mumbai, and Pune, India, [3] he returned to Germany in 1996.
He matriculated at the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart, where he earned a Bachelor of Industrial Design in 2002 while studying under Richard Sapper. [2]
Diez worked for Richard Sapper then Konstantin Grcic. He founded his own design studio in January 2003. [3] Since then, he has worked in fields of design including furniture, tableware, industrial design, and exhibition design for companies like Brunner, e15, Gandiablasco, HAY, Herman Miller, Magis, Midgard, Moroso, Rosenthal, Thonet, Vibia, Wilkhahn, Wagner, and others. His "Upon Bench" debuted at imm Cologne in 2007 to critical acclaim. [4] His Model No. 404 chair was influenced by the work of Michael Thonet and is produced by Thonet. [5]
Many of his products have received international design awards, including the IF Gold Award and, for his 2024 Magis Costume modular sofa, Comapasso d'Oro. [6] [7]
Starting in 2007, he started teaching at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design, and in 2015 he joined the faculty of Lund University's School of Industrial Design in Lund, Sweden. Since 2018, he has served as the Head of Industrial Design at the University of Applied Arts Vienna.
Stefan Diez considers circular design to be a key principle of his product design philosophy, [8] [9] and his products often utilize a sustainable approach by incorporating multipurposeness and durability. [1] His AYNO lamp, designed for Midgard, received the 2021 German Sustainability Award. [10] [11]