Karim Rashid

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Karim Rashid (born September 18, 1960) is an industrial designer. He received a Bachelor in Industrial Design from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada in 1982 and completed his postgraduate studies in Italy. Rashid has created over 2000 designs, including projects ranging from interiors, fashion, furniture, lighting, art and music to installations. Born in Cairo to Egyptian and English parents, and raised in Canada, Karim now resides in New York managing his private design studio. To date he has had some 2000 objects put into production and has successfully entered the realm of architecture and interiors, designing the Morimoto restaurant in Philadelphia and Semiramis hotel in Athens. His work is in the permanent collections of fourteen museums worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and he exhibits art in various galleries. Rashid was an associate Professor of Industrial Design for 10 years and is now a frequent guest lecturer at universities and conferences globally.

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[edit] Design Philosophy

Rashid advocates a "democratic" design sensibility, suggesting that high-quality design should be accessible to the masses; both literally, in the sense that it should not limited to expensive, limited-run objects; and figuratively, in the sense that an aspect of good design is that it should be appealing to most people. He has designed objects for major brands, including Alessi, Georg Jensen, Umbra, Kenzo, Prada, Issey Miyake, and Method. He seeks to change the aesthetics of product design, and the nature of consumer culture.

Physically, his approach to design can be described as functional and holistic, aiming for the most simple, elegant shape that will effectively and ergonomically meet the requirements of an object's purpose. His Oh Chair for Umbra was a critical success, receiving praise in InStyle and the New York Times style section. He designed the Dirt Devil Kone. In 2006, Rashid designed his first album cover art for ObliqSound's CD "The ObliqSound Remixes Vol 2" and also created a plastic handbag/carrying case for the CD, fabricated by Melissa of Brazil and which now sells in fashionable locales like the W Hotels and the MoMA Design Store. In the July 2, 2001 issue of Time, he was dubbed "the poet of plastic".

His works are in 14 different museums worldwide.

[edit] Awards and Honors

  • The Semiramis Hotel earned the Sleep05 European Hotel Design Award
  • Honorary Doctorate from the Ontario College of Art and Design, 2006
  • Honorary Doctorate from Corcoran College, 2005
  • Pratt Legends Award, 2005
  • A.D. Dunton Alumni Award of Distinction from Carleton University (his alma mater), 2004
  • Best Retail Store in the USA, 2003
  • ID Magazine Annual Design Review Best of Category, 2002

[edit] Publications

  • Design Your Self (Regan Books), a guide to living
  • Digipop (Taschen, 2005), a digital exploration of computer graphics
  • a portfolio book (Chronicle Books, 2004)
  • Evolution (Universe, 2004), a monograph
  • I Want to Change the World (Rizzoli, 2001), a monograph
  • Rashid edited the International Design Yearbook 18 (Calmann and King, 2003)
  • Two CDs on a boutique label, Neverstop

[edit] Trivia

Karim Rashid is the brother of architect Hani Rashid, principal of New York based architecture practice Asymptote.

Rashid has been credited by Bruce Sterling with coining the term "blobject", but this is disputed; others credit it to Steven Skov Holt.

[edit] External links