In this article, we are looking at the top 30 famous industrial designers & product developers in the world. Finding world-class industrial designers and design engineers has always been a challenge for product innovators. Unlike many commoditized industries, creating a successful new product prototype using 3D modeling or CAD services is not only about utility, but also about design aesthetics.
Firstly, the beauty of a new product’s design will allow companies to charge a premium price when a consumer buys their product. Secondly, when a designer also prioritizes engineering for large-volume manufacturing, profit margins are boosted with reduced product manufacturing costs. For example: when a new product design is strategically designed for mass-manufacturing, then it’s production costs are often lowered by 70% or more. The combination of these two key elements of design is why freelance industrial designers and freelance engineers can command exceptionally high premiums for their services.
In this article, we’ve assembled a list of well-known industrial design service experts available for hire. Even though the average business avoids mentioning their competition; we find that it’s one of our most persuasive forms of marketing. When a prospect requests a cost-estimate from these famous designers and compares it with our quotes (ie. our price + our portfolio + fast delivery time), they realize the value of our design service. Here are the top 30 most famous designers around the world (in no particular order).
Ingo Maurer put his stamp on interior design with his unique lamps and light fixtures, dating back to 1960. He still takes on commission work for individual lights, as well as lighting systems and plans.
This designer has his hands in several pots. He has worked on projects ranging from apartment and hotel interior design to creating designs for headphones and mobiles. For the past several years, Touguet has worked in collaboration with another designer on this list, Philippe Starck. Touguet believes in taking projects from the design stage through to prototyping and creation.
Lotta Jansdotter takes inspiration from her Scandinavian roots in her textile design. She aims to create things with a simple beauty in order to bring relief to the harshness of urban landscapes while offering the functionality needed for the fast-paced, practicality of modern life.
An architect, an industrial designer, an urban planner, and a teacher, Gaetano Pesce has had more careers in the design industry in his 50+ years as a part of it than most ever get. He has held innumerable exhibitions in museums all over the world. One of his most famous works is the Organic Building in Osaka, Japan.
Milton Glaser is one of the most revered graphic designers in the U.S. and was the first to win the National Medal of the Arts award, in addition to his lifetime achievement award from the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum. Glaser acts as a spokesperson for ethical design.
Claudia Owen is a multi-faceted designer who specializes in fashion, homeware, and stationery design from her home in Australia. Her skill with print and pattern design can be seen throughout her work and is applied to each new product she creates.
Steven Holl is an American architect who has designed buildings and structures that can be seen around the world. His most famous works include the Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum in Helsinki and the Simmons Hall residence building at MIT, which critics remain divided on.
Zoa Martinez applies her design and branding skills to the entertainment industry. Having worked with the Emmys, Graphic Design USA, and the New York Film Festival, she’s received more than 150 awards for her design contributions.
Erik Spiekermann is a renowned typeface designer. He is the creator of FF Meta and ITC Oficina, among others.
Marc Newson is a jack of all trades in the design world. He has worked across sectors, designing products in the manufacturing, transportation, technology, luxury retail, and fashion industries. He was previously named one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.
This designer is known for his “human” approach to design, rather than his preference for shape or pattern. He works for international brands as an industrial designer and for restaurants, retailers, and individuals as a designer of unique objects. He’s created handbags, furniture, and even unique kitchenware.
Although one of the younger designers on this list, Karim Rashid has completed over 3,000 design projects and received over 300 awards for his work. He is seen as one of the most prolific designers of his generation. He’s an industrial designer and interior architect and has worked in luxury goods, furniture, lighting, surface design, brand identity, and packaging.
One of the world’s leading multi-disciplinary designers, Marcel Wanders, and his team have completed nearly 2,000 projects across industries. He’s worked with brands including Alessi, Baccarat, Bisazza, Christofle, Kosé Corporation, Flos, KLM, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Louis Vuitton, Morgans Hotel Group, Puma, and Swarovski.
Farid Nanou is an experienced UX/UI (user experience/user interface) designer. Specializing in designing apps, websites, web apps, and other digital products, Nanou guarantees to not just make a program aesthetically pleasing, but also to increase conversions, sales, and product usability in the process.
Ever have someone tell you to major in basket weaving in college? Well, she doesn’t weave baskets, but Aleksandra Gaca is infamous for her woven textile designs. Her work is used in interior design, fashion, architecture, and art installations. She is the pioneer of 3D woven textile design.
A multi-faceted designer, Marc Atlan was born in France and raised in the United States. His designs include perfume bottles, packaging, ad campaigns, catalogs, logos, brand identities, magazines, store displays, events, installations, and TV commercials. He has won more than 40 awards for his works.
Piotrek Pérez is a multidisciplinary industrial designer and publicist. He is said to be at the forefront of the international marketing and design scene. His work focuses on highlighting the essential aspect and extracting the structural minimum of each product.
Lee Broom is known for his furniture and lighting designs. He is recognized as one of the U.K.’s leading product designers and his brand is sold around the world. Broom’s designs combine craft, heritage, and modernity. His history in the theatre can be seen in the drama and narrative of his collections.
Reena Ahluwalia is an award-winning jewelry designer, diamond painter, professor, speaker, and community builder. In her jewelry design, she focuses on precision, geometry, fluidity, and movement. Her work is featured on Belgium’s postage stamp and she is one of the only living jewelry designers to have earned this level of prestige in her work.
Philippe Starck has been on the scene since the 1980s, designing furniture and other objects, recognized for their simple and innovative designs. He characterizes his work as the career of 10,000 creations, existing or yet to come. He has worked on projects as basic as a lemon squeezer, to mega yachts and hotels.
David Radaelli works in product design, exhibit and interior architecture, graphic design, and communication. With a design studio based in Milan, he also focuses on Italy-based projects and events. Radaelli aims to treat each client as a partner in the business of design.
Cecilie Manz designs furniture, glass, lamps, and other homeware items. She is also known for her experimental prototypes and one-of-a-kind sculptures. She views her work as an ongoing narrative, to which each project is linked through either ideas, materials, or aesthetics.
Based out of Seattle, Andrew Bowen is a Canadian American industrial designer. He works in the consumer, commercial, and medical spheres. He brings projects through every phase of the design process, from conceptualization to final production. He now specializes in new product innovation with solid branding directions.
Tom Dixon has worked on many high profile projects, from music, contemporary lighting, furniture, and accessories. He has works serving as permanent installations in the V&A and MoMA museums. Most recently, Dixon partnered with IKEA to create a transformable platform, but has worked with innumerable international brands on recognizable projects.
Founder of his Belgium-based award-winning design studio, Alain Monnens specializes in lighting, furniture, and the creation of objects with minimal design and maximum functionality. He doesn’t believe in adding elements to a design unless they serve the form and function of the whole.
Hella Jongerius is one of the most idiosyncratic designers on this list. With an intense focus on colors, materials, and textures she fuses the contemporary and traditional and high-tech and low-tech to create unique furniture, homewares, and textiles.
Britt Laspina is a unique print and textile designer from Australia. All her designs are hand drawn or painted and have been featured in New York Fashion Week, Miami Swim Week, and Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia.
Donna Karan is a world-famous name in the fashion industry, designing for the modern woman. She characterizes her clientele as forward-thinking, confident, and self-assured. She uses her own life experience, as a woman and a mother, to inspire the new innovations of her clothing line.
An identity designer, author of a design book and magazine, branding consultant, and design lecturer, Jeff Fisher helps companies achieve their goals through creative, innovative, and affordable solutions. He is also a member of the HOW Magazine Editorial Advisory Board.
With his motto “stay curious,” Pedro Geraldes describes his skills as creative direction, creative facilitation, event direction, residential and industrial architecture, product design, and team leadership. His current projects include working as an architect at EDP, a co-organizer at TEDxPorto, and co-founder of Clínica de Arquitectura.
These designers have each made their mark in their industry and given others something to aspire to.
Here at Cad Crowd, our extensive database of vetted CAD freelancers can offer you the same variety of services as these designers, at a fraction of the cost for the same impeccable quality. If you’re not sure who to work with, hold a CAD design contest and hire the creator of the winning design. This way, you can test out the skills and ingenuity of all our freelance designers and choose the design that brings what you’ve been imagining to life.
Are you learning about the industry before developing a new commercial or consumer product? If so, we recommend 10 Tips for Good Product Design and Your Complete Guide to Industrial Design to learn about design and new industry trends. Ready for help with your new design project? Learn how it works or get a free quote on your project!
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