When a young boy at the age of 5 draws a stack of leather suitcases instead of birds and flowers, it's obvious that there's only one path in life possible. Meet Karim Rashid, the designer.
Article continues below
"My real desire is to see people live in the modus of our time, to participate in the contemporary world, and to release themselves from nostalgia, antiquated traditions, old rituals, kitsch and the meaningless." Judging by numerous awards, Karim Rashid is going in right direction.
More than 3000 designs in production, more than 300 awards - yes, you read well: 300 - and working in more than 35 countries, all that is a proof that Mr. Rashid is a legend. His award winning designs include democratic objects such as the ubiquitous Garbo waste can and Oh Chair for Umbra, interiors such as the Morimoto restaurant, Philadelphia and Semiramis hotel, Athens and exhibitions for Deutsche Bank and Audi.
Mr. Rashid has collaborated with clients to create democratic design for Method and Dirt Devil, furniture for Artemide and Magis, brand identity for Citibank and Hyundai, high tech products for LaCie and Samsung, and luxury goods for Veuve Clicquot and Swarovski, to name a few. Karim's work is featured in 20 permanent collections and he exhibits art in galleries world wide. Mr. Rashid is a winner of the Red Dot award, he won it more than once, Chicago Athenaeum Good Design award, I.D. Magazine Annual Design Review, IDSA Industrial Design Excellence award.
Mr. Rashid holds honorary doctorates from the Ontario college of Art & Design and Corcoran College of Art & Design, and is a frequent guest lecturer at universities and conferences globally disseminating the importance of design in everyday life. Karim's has been featured in magazine and books including Time, Financial Times, NY Times, Esquire, GQ and countless more. In 2009 Rizzoli released Mr. Rashid's latest monograph KarimSpace, featuring 36 of Karim's interior architecture designs. Other books include Mr. Rashid's guide to living, 'Design Your Self' (Harper Collins, 2006), 'Digipop', a digital exploration of computer graphics (Taschen, 2005), compact portfolio published by Chronicle Books (2004), as well as two monographs titled 'Evolution' (Universe, 2004) and 'I Want to Change the World' (Rizzoli, 2001). ■