Julius Ferdinand Bluthner was a German piano maker who founded the very prestigious Bluthner piano company (Julius Bluthner Pianofortefabrik). He lived from 1824-1910 and was born in Germany. He started his piano manufacturing company in Leipzig, Germany in 1853. Julius Bluthner [1] Bluthner had incredible engineering prowess in addition to be an entrepreneur. His vision for his company was to make pianos that would be endorsed by the best composers and musicians. They exemplified German precision in how they were made and he even created…

Gordon Murray is an exceptional designer who has made significant contributions to the automotive industry. His design philosophy emphasizes simplicity, functionality, and efficiency, coupled with the fact that he never went for compromises whenever he could. These values are evident in his work, which ranges from Formula One cars to supercars and even city cars. Murray’s impressive career and his innovative designs have earned him a reputation as one of the greatest designers of our time. Murray began his career in the 1970s, designing Formula…

Two designers I admire are Eldy S. Vasquez and Katie Vega. Together, they developed a breadboard made out of mycelium. This project is the first I have heard of using a biomaterial for electronics applications. As more attention is brought to the global electronic waste issue, the need for sustainable alternatives increases. A majority of electrical components contain metal, plastic, and chemicals, all of which will eventually end up in a landfill. What is Mycelium? According to Fungi Ally, “Mycelium is the vegetative body for…

The designer I chose to discuss is Calvin Klein. I have been interested in the design of Calvin Klein clothes since I was a kid and always enjoyed how clean and timeless the fashon was. The style always gave me the vibe of James Bond played by Daniel Craig in the mid to late 2000’s whom I admired. Calvin Klein is known for its modern and minimalist design style, which often incorporates clean lines, simple shapes, and neutral colors. The brand’s aesthetic is characterized by…

[1] The French Dispatch (2021)   Born in Houston, Texas on May 1st, 1969, Wes Anderson has since made a name for himself as one of the most visually creative and thought provoking directors of our time. His style is defined by one word in particular: Symmetry. This serves as both a visual aid that draws the viewer’s focus, while also being used as a narrative element to emphasize conflict and emotion. The following scenes highlight Wes Anderson’s use of symmetry as a means of…

Honestly, I don’t think about who designs a lot of what we see today; cars, buildings, phones, etc.; and I think it’s because there aren’t too many unique designs nowadays. But every now and then, there is a design or two that stands out to me. Another “but”, but there is one company that does stand out to me, in terms of design: Nintendo. Specifically, there is one man that designed two of Nintendo’s most successful consoles: Kenichiro Ashida. This man is responsible for designing…

Anyone who has ventured even a little bit into the motorcycle space would know that a big chunk of the best designs has come from Italian motorcycle manufacturers. One such motorcycle that I would say is on the top of my list is MV Agusta’s Brutale series. To me, a Brutale would be an example to define the fine line between engineering and design. The design was very intriguing to me that I went ahead and did a bit of research to know how the…

The designer I admire is Hidetaka Miyazaki who is the creative director of the Darksouls videogame series. He is a Japanese creative director working for FromSoftware and has inspired a whole new genre of video games. He focuses on making hard difficulty games that do not rely on a heavy dialogue focus to tell you a story. Instead the story is slowly discovered by players through the environment or chance encounters. “Miyazaki stated that he does not dislike direct storytelling but prefers players to interpret…

I’m pretty enamored with IKEA. They make a pretty mean couch, but I get excited about their presentation, project versatility, and collaborations with other high-profile designers that I admire. The more I learn about their design process, the more my admiration grows. To read my blog post, click here!

Štefan Leonard Kostelničak was a Slovak artist from the first half of the twentieth century. He traveled all around the Czechoslovak Republic (Modern day Czechia, Slovakia, and part of Ukraine) studying folk ornamentation. He created much of his own ornamentation work, both on paper and ceramics, and published several booklets about ornamentation as well. Some of Kostelničak’s Ornamentation Work Kostelničak was born in 1900 in a small town called Spišská Stará Ves. He displayed artistic talent from a young age but wasn’t able to study…

James Dyson is a British born industrial designer who is famous for his revolutionary appliances. His first notable invention was the ballbarrow which he designed in 1970 while studying at the Royal College of Art in England and was featured in the BBC’s Tomorrow’s World tv program . The invention was a modified wheelbarrow with a more spherical front wheel which allowed for easier maneuverability. Dyson stuck with this idea of incorporating spherical shapes into other designs with his Trolleyball which was a new way…

Cody Borst is not a very well-known name outside of the immersive entertainment industry (think escape rooms, Meow Wolf, etc.). However, he has been incredibly involved in the designing and building of many escape rooms in the Denver area, as well as Meow Wolf Denver. I currently work as an engineer at Rabbit Hole Recreation Services, an escape room location that Cody had worked at. When I say he worked there, I mean he built all of the escape rooms from scratch pretty much by…

Georg Luger was, later in his career, a consulting designer for a German firearms and munitions company in the late 1800’s. While his design work is limited to a single project, the parabellum pistol, commonly referred to as the Luger, this project’s success was quite remarkable. After receiving criticisms of one of the company’s pistols at US military trials, Luger took the awkward Borchardt pistol’s main idea and turned it into a comfortable, ergonomic, and successful pistol that was used by several European countries leading…

One designer whose work has recently struck me is Guillermo Del Toro. Del Toro is a Mexican filmmaker whose work is heavily inspired and influenced by a “dark fairytale” aesthetic. While he may not immediately jump to mind when thinking of influential or inspirational designers, I think that he more than meets the mark. Beginning with a short biography, del Toro was born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1964. He has a rather large filmography and has expanded into writing novels as well. A…

As an engineer with weaker artistic abilities, I admire designers who design and create things that are both functional and beautiful, but functional first and foremost. Because of this, I greatly admire Adrian Newey. Adrian Newey is a legendary Formula 1 car designer and is widely regarded as the greatest F1 car designer. Adrian Newey designed 10 F1 World Constructor’ Championship winning cars for 3 different teams in 4 different regulation design eras. Adrian Newey   Each regulation era required completely new car designs with…

Sir James Dyson is an inventor and entrepreneur who has made a significant impact on the world of household appliances. From his innovative vacuum cleaners to his blade-less fans and hand dryers, Dyson has changed the way we think about everyday products. However, Dyson’s success story goes beyond just his gadgets; it is a tale of perseverance, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to his vision. Dyson was born in Norfolk, England, in 1947 and showed an early aptitude for engineering. He pursued his interest in…

There are many designers whom I admire spanning from Renaissance era, golden 90s when industrilisation and space age bloomed to that of current entrepreneurial times. Albeit, the most recent designer which caught my attention is Mathis Cosson. I always have my sight on deep tech innovations which are already or soon gonna impact the way humanity steps in the future. One of such innovate company work I was following was Lilium when they started out as TUM startup with the idea of e-VTOL concept, which…

I admire Gianna Versace for using his own creativity to bring together materials, patterns, and designs to create stunning clothes that were not seen as necessarily fashionable at the time. At the time he began designing, the world considered fashion was minimalistic. I admire Versace staying true to his style and redefining the fashion industry for his time. Gianna Versace was born in 1946 in Southern Italy. His first collection was launched in Milan Italy in 1978. His iconic fashion pulled from inspiration from the…

I chose Tyler The Creator for my blog post because it was the first designer to pop into my mind. Love him or hate him, he’s made huge contributions to music, fashion, and pop culture as a whole. I will even say that he has created his own aesthetic and style that can be easily recognized if you have seen or heard it before. At this point his clothing brand, Golf Wang, is a little bit played out and not as trendy as it once…

Frank Gehry is an award winning architect who has been redefining the norm of architecture. Gehry was born in Toronto, Canada and graduated from the University of Southern California’s School of Architecture in 1954. Despite his prevalence in the more recent years, Gehry didn’t break from the traditional styles and designs of architecture for many years. His more famous works are anything but usual. He uses nontraditional materials to create visually stunning and unorthodox geometries. The Neuer Zollhof in Dusseldorf, Germany. Photo: Nemanja Radovanovic/Alamy  …

“A product that is coherent in form requires no embellishment. It is enhanced by the purity of its form.” – Ferdinand Alexander Porsche [1] Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, aka “Butzi”, was the son of Ferry Porsche and the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, the founder of Porsche AG. While his father and grandfather were both engineers, Butzi was a designer, and contributed to the deign of many cars, one being the iconic Porsche 911. He did not consider himself a designer or artist, but a functionalist and…

Virgil Abloh was an American designer, architect, and artist. He is most famously known for his fashion design endeavors in his fashion brand Off-White, and his role as the creative director of Louis Vuitton. He was born in Illinois in 1980. He studied Civil Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He went on to start his first clothing line under the name Pyrex Vision in 2012, which saw success in the streetwear scene. Pyrex Vision Spring/Summer 2013…

A designer I admire is Massimo Vignelli. He was an Italian graphic designer and architect, known for his minimalistic and timeless designs. The thesis behind all his work is that he wanted to design things that would last for a long time and stay strong designs rather than following the latest trends or fads. He believed that truly good design would stand the test of time and would only be comprised of elements that were essential to the goal the design needed to accomplish. One…

One designer that I admire is Roxy Lo, the principal designer at Ibis Bicycles. She started out working for Pottery Barn before getting hired at Ibis bikes in 2005, where she became a fourth partner for the company. Lo was instrumental in designing Ibis’ first carbon fiber full suspension bike, the Mojo. I really admire that she is so influential in a male dominated industry. The bike industry can have a very “bro” attitude, so it’s refreshing to see someone break that mold. Another thing…

Poul Kjaerholm is a Danish furniture designer who lived through the mid century design movement. He began as a cabinetmaker’s apprentice and was educated at the Danish School of Arts and Crafts. Operating post WWII and post Bauhaus freed Kjaerholm to use steel as a noble material. Before the Bauhaus, steel was not considered an attractive material or one that should be used in furniture making. Until Marcel Breuer inspired by his steel bicycle, used plumbing supplies to prototype the Wassily Chair, elevating the material…

Frank Lloyd Wright Portrait Frank Lloyd Wright was a renowned American architect, interior designer, and educator who was one of the most influential figures in the field of architecture. His work has left an unforgettable mark on the design world, as his innovative ideas continue to influence architects and designers today. As someone fascinated by architecture and design, I have always admired Frank Lloyd Wright for several reasons. First and foremost, I admire Frank Lloyd Wright for his ability to create timeless, functional, and beautiful…

Clarence “Kelly” Johnson was the chief designer of the SR-71 Blackbird, one of the most iconic aircraft ever designed. Johnson was a legendary figure in the aviation world, known for his genius-level intellect and his ability to think outside the box. He was the founder of Lockheed Martin’s famous Skunk Works division, which was responsible for some of the most groundbreaking aircraft ever developed, including the U-2 spy plane and the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter. The SR-71 was designed in response to a request from…

In the design world there is a constant influx of influences. Your community, the news, social media, books, this list could go on and on. Sometimes I find that even though this constant stream of input is so seemingly diverse, the ideas that result from it are often lack-luster and seem obvious. It is in situations like this when I find myself searching for designers that are really doing things their own way, without caring about conventions. In my mind there is one designer in…

Frank Gehry is a Canadian American architect and designer born February 28, 1929 in Toronto Canada. Frank Gehry designs architecture that free form sculptures that goes against typical architectural design. He is famous for designing buildings such as the Vitra Furniture Museum and Factory in Germany, the American Center in Paris, and Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain. His architectural designs include many large curves and wavy shapes combined with boxy geometry. These designs are also prevalent in his house in Santa Monica, California He also…

                   Calvin Klein is a well-known designer and company that has been around since the 1960s. The brand is famous for its minimalist design aesthetic and high-quality materials. Calvin Klein’s clothing and accessories are often characterized by their clean lines, neutral colors, and classy look. Many people appreciate Calvin Klein’s timeless designs and the brand’s ability to create versatile pieces that can be dressed up or down. Overall, Calvin Klein’s reputation as a stylish and innovative brand…

Featured: Kelly Johnson with his first project, the one that earned him his position as an aeronautical engineer. -Lockheed Martin Skunk Works Logo -Lockheed Martin Clarence “Kelly” Johnson is a legend in the aerospace community as a prolific designer and team leader. Founder of the illustrious “Skunk Works,” Kelley worked at Lockheed from 1933 to 1975 and advised long after that. His first act as an entry-level employee for Lockheed was to tell them that his former professor was incorrect about the stability of an aircraft…

Jeremy Fish is an illustrator that I learned of due to his work with 303 Boards, a local skate shop in Boulder. Born in 1974, he has been commercially active as an artist since 2007, when he created a series of 40 pieces called “Seasons of Change” representing the four seasons.               Since then, he has created many works for local businesses, particularly murals, logos, and even sculptures. His use of animal imagery in his works is part of…

A designer that I admire is Storm Thorgerson. Storm was an English graphic designer and video director known for his famous designs created for Pink Floyd and other major artists of the time. He was also the co-founder of design studio Hipgnosis. It was here where he created many iconic album covers. Here are some notable works: Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy Led Zeppelin – Presence Black Sabbath – Technical Ecstasy Pink Floyd –…

DIY Perks is a YouTube channel that is run by a guy named Matt. As you may be able to guess, he designs things that can be done at anyone’s home, for the most part. He primarily focuses on gadgets and technology. To show exactly why I admire him, here is a video of one of his desktop PC builds: Now if you can’t see a PC in the thumbnail, that’s because it’s quite literally built into the table. He created a table with room,…

Christian von Koenigsegg is one of the most renowned automotive designers in the world. His passion for engineering and innovation has led to the creation of some of the most exotic and beautiful hypercars on the planet. As a car enthusiast, especially when I was younger, my eyes were drawn to these pieces of machinery because of how cool I thought they looked and how fast they drove. Although, as I have gotten older, it becomes apparent that the technological advancements that Christian makes in…

Born on September 27, 1982, Jason Wu(吳季剛)is a Taiwanese-Canadian artist and fashion designer. He designed the dresses which Michelle Obama wore during the first and the second inauguration of American President Barack Obama. (Photo source: https://www.popsugar.com/fashion/Michelle-Obama-Best-Dresses-40919304) (Photo source: https://www.popsugar.com/fashion/photo-gallery/21361172/image/29580654/Michelle-Obama-chose-designer-Jason-Wu-again-president) (Photo from Jason Wu’s wiki page:  https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%B3%E5%AD%A3%E5%89%9B) He was born in Yunlin, Taiwan (TBH, not a prosperous city according to my living experience in Taiwan), and emigrated to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at the age of 9. His story of how he became a fashion designer…

Giovanni Battista Caproni was an Italian airplane designer who played a significant role in the development of aviation during the first half of the 20th century. Caproni was born on July 3, 1886, in Arco, a small town located in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire (now Italy). At the age of 13, Caproni built his first glider, at the age of 21, Caproni moved to Munich to study engineering at the Royal Technical University, and by 1911 he was responsible for designing and building the first Italian…

A designer that I greatly admire is Jacob Alexander from the Input Club. He is most well known for aesthetic innovations outside of the visual realm in the world of mechanical keyboards and input devices. The creation of the Halo, and Hako line of keyboard switches was one of the first examples of intentionally designed switch profiles, not just to make actuation obvious, but to make it pleasurable and ergonomic. Figure 1: Hako True switch force profile as measured in experimental tests What I really…

Mark Newsom, a multi-disciplinary designer, is a designer who I greatly admire. Much of his furniture design appeals to me in its minimalistic design, often utilizing smooth, flowing lines and natural shapes. Furthermore, his color palette is interesting to me. Most of the time, he seems to focus on metallic elements of design. However, Newsom often combines pops of bright or pastel colors seamlessly in his minimalistic design. It seems that bright color and minimalism are opposite, but by using pastel tones or sparse repeated…

Steve Jobs was an extremely successful entrepreneur, inventor, and the co-founder of Apple and NeXT. While he is extremely well-known for his work on the Macintosh systems as an engineer and salesman, and his collaboration with Steve Wozniak, he can also be seen within another light; as a designer. Jobs’ whole design process revolved around a sleek and modern design. This likely came as a result of his travels though India, where he became engrossed in Buddhism, and became a practitioner in Zen Buddhism, which…

Yves Saint Laurent was a French fashion designer who rose to prominence in the 1960s to 1970s. He was a pioneer in many ways, from his innovative designs, to his attitude towards women’s fashion, and his influence on the fashion industry that can still be felt today. Born in Oran, Algeria in 1936, Saint Laurent showed an early interest in fashion and even began designing his first clothing as a teenager. After winning a competition for young fashion designers, he moved to Paris in 1953…

Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926) was a Catalan architect who is widely considered one of the most important figures in the history of modern architecture. Born in Reus, a small town in Catalonia, Gaudí developed an early interest in architecture and went on to study at the Barcelona Higher School of Architecture. He soon began to develop his own unique style, which combined elements of Gothic and Moorish architecture with his own creative vision. Gaudí’s work is characterized by its organic forms, curvilinear shapes, and intricate detailing.…

A designer who I’ve admired for a long time is the Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi. Gaudi was born in 1852 to a family of boilermakers. This awarded him with a good sense of space as he worked in his family’s workshop growing up. Around 1870, Gaudi left to Barcelona to pursue his studies in architecture. Even at his school, Gaudi had a reputation. Upon the completion of Gaudi’s studies in 1878, the Director of the school, Elies Rogent, famously said, “I do not know if…

The (two) designers I admire are the founders of the brand Patta. My fascination with the world of HypeBeast, pop culture, and sneaker releases are where the Dutch duo Edson Sabajo and Guillaume ‘Gee’ Schmidt  step in. They bonded in the 90’s in the nightlife scene; saw a gap in the market in Amsterdam and combined their love of music and sneakers to create a brand. But to limit their brand to the cool wavy air max collabs and different apparel drops would be an…

Jony Ive is a designer I’ve long been a fan of, given his unique position of influence in both hardware and software design. When designing a new laptop or phone, he focuses not only on the physical design but also the user interface. As a student in both mechanical engineering and computer science, I particularly appreciate how well both his areas of design expertise compliment each other in the technology he creates. macrumors.com/t/4iJjJnuI2LD2lOPHH6pqvIbgqJ8=/1600×0/article-new/2021/11/jony-ive-ipad-pro.jpeg Ive was born on February 27, 1967 in London, England. He studied…

A designer I admire or at least, always found interesting especially when it comes to clothing designers is Yves Saint Laurent. Truth be told, I didn’t know much about the brand or his place in fashion at first, years ago, when I first heard of this designer I initially had my interest piqued because I thought that this dude straight up had one of the sickest names ever. Like his name was actually Yves Saint Laurent. Who has Saint in their name like that? I…

James Dyson is a British designer, amongst other things. He studied furniture and interior design and then moved into engineering at the Royal College of Art, eventually switching into industrial design. He is famous for his vacuum cleaners, where he took a cyclonic separation approach so that it wouldn’t lose suction as the vacuum cleaner picked up dirt. He made over 5000 prototypes of this vacuum cleaner before releasing the actual unit in 1983. This original vacuum was rejected by all of the major manufacturers,…

One of my favorite designers is arguably not an artist in most contexts of the word. His name is Cliffe Tan, and he practices Feng shui, and promotes his work mainly through TikTok where people will request that he rearrange a room in the most energy efficient way. Typically, submissions are of oddly shaped spaces that no one really knows what to do with, such as the room in the example below.  Before: After: Another way Cliffe uses his talents is by arranging very small…

The designer that I admire is Virgil Abloh. He made “history as the first African American to take the helm at industry giant Louis Vuitton.” Virgil has an understanding of design and creativity that goes well beyond his fashion.  Virgil started off as an architect. He got a civil engineering degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and earned his Master of Architecture from IIT. He loved the Post-Modern style of Deconstructivism. This can be seen in his clothes.  Inspired by his mother, Chicago street culture,…

One designer that has always stood out to me is Frank Lloyd Wright. Frank Lloyd was an American architect, designer, and educator in the early 1900s. He is known for designing over 1000 structures and his focus on organic architecture later in his career. Organic architecture is the combination of man-made structures with natural features such as vegetation and water. Many of Frank’s designs use grey brick and wood to blend in with their surroundings. His use of windows and smooth rocks gives his buildings…

For my inspiring designer, I’ve chosen Louise Fili. Fili is a graphic designer, born in New Jersy in 1951 her work is heavily influenced by art deco and retro-futurism. She was ecuated and practiced in New York but her designs draw on Italian and Dutch styles and motifs.         Being a graphic designer, most of her work leans heavily upon typography, and she designed three typfaces: Mardell, an itallian futuerist font, Montecantini, and Marseille, taking on a more art-deco style. The fonts…

As the son of a general contractor, I grew up around woodworking, backyard projects, and the mentality that you can create anything if you set your mind to it. Early on, I became interested in making furniture and later became enthralled with automotive projects. Thus, the work of artist Jay Nelson caught my eye at first glance. Jay Nelson is an artist from California. Growing up in Palos Verdes, he spent his time similarly to me: building forts, making skateboard ramps, and constructing treehouses. Rather…

Like many kids, when I was growing up I was exposed to many cartoons. There was a movie that was not quite cartoons that I watched and I really enjoyed. That movie was called Spirited Away. My family was very into these films and as a result we watched almost every movie made from this studio. In fact, I enjoyed these films so much that my top 3 favorite movies of all time are all films by Hayao Miyazakil. In this post I will be…

Biography Charles and Ray Eames are far and wide the most influential power couple the design space has ever seen.  “Since uniting in 1940, these partners in life and work have been internationally recognized at the forefront of the design, architecture, filmmaking, and furniture communities.” [1] Charles and Ray Eames were both what one might consider a ‘renaissance man’ or woman or couple, varying interests in multiple fields seamlessly integrated into their shared philosophies of design. Images of Charles and Ray Eames, attribution [1] At…

My favorite designer is Hiroki Nakamura, the founder of Japanese clothing brand Visvim. Visvim focuses on handmade sustainable high quality products that are made to withstand the test of time and become better with age. Visvim makes clothing in the Japanese Americana style, which combines American western wear, traditional Japanese denim, and  vintage sporting goods. Nakamura ensures to use natural materials that are produced with quality and handled with care. Some common materials that are used in many pieces are vegetable tanned leather, indigo dyed…

As someone with an interest in military history, specifically of the 20th century, one designer I admire is John Moses Browning. Browning is responsible for some of the most major advancements of military firearms in the early 20th century. With 128 firearms patents during his life from 1855 to passing away at his work bench in 1926, he heralded new technology that gave American Soldiers a fighting edge during conflicts from the Spanish American War to today. A U.S. Solider with a Browing designed M1911…