Test your design IQ
MANILA, Philippines - Who is considered the Whiz Kid of the German design scene best known for award-winning products like Thomas oven-proof dishes, and the innovative Shuttle storage system?
He was born in 1971 in Freising, Germany. After completing training in architecture and carpentry, he went to India for a year, where he designed and built furniture for a company in Mumbai and Poona.
Back in Germany, he studied industrial design at the State Academy of Art and Design Stuttgart from 1996 to 2002. In 1998, he worked as an assistant to Richard Sapper, after which he worked for the legendary Konstantin Groic until 2002.
He then opened his own design studio in Munich in 2003, and his clients include such brands as Authentics, Biegel, Merten, Moroso, Schonbuch, Thonet, Flototto, and Wilkhahn.
Despite his young age, his products have frequently received awards such as the best award for the product Houdini by e15; Designpreis der Bundesnepublik Dueschland awards for Papier, Shuttle, and Kuvert; the best of the best award for the Upon bench, Red Dot awards for Chassis, Homme Couch and Genio
He has won prizes ranging from the Design Report Award in 2002 to the Interior Innovation Award of the International Furniture Fair in Cologne to the Federal Republic of Germany’s Silver Award for oven proof dishes for Thomas and his innoative Shuttle storage system.
The persuasive functionality, elegant simplicity, and well crafted accuracy of his works reflect the virtues of what could be tagged as the German School of Design. He seamlessly combines strong conceptual designs and elementary craftsmanship that take shape as chairs, tables, tableware, products and objects that are sustainable visually in nature and in substance.
Working intensively with materials and passionately fathoming out their limitations, he develops products that are minimalist in their formal language and that always have fresh charm. Above all, though they always meet human needs, his products are always coherent and diverse in the best sense of the word — a quality to be found with few designers, especially those with younger generations.
His work has been exhibited by major museums and he has long since acquired a reputation as one of the most innovative internationally successful German designers.
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Last week’s question: Who designed the Flatiron Building in New York City?
Answer: Daniel Burnham
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