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Karim Rashid

Karim Rashid
With an impressive array of clients from Umbra to Prada, Miyake to Method, Karim Rashid is radically changing the aesthetics of product design and the very nature of consumer culture. Mr. Rashid is best known for bringing his democratic design sensibility to the masses.
To date he has had over 2500 objects put into production and has successfully entered the realm of architecture and interiors as evidenced by the design of the Morimoto restaurant in Philadelphia and Semiramis hotel in Athens, which won a Sleep05 European Hotel Design Award.
His work is in the permanent collections of 16 museums worldwide, including MoMA and SFMoMA, and he exhibits art in various galleries, including Sandra Gering and Deitch Projects in New York. He was the recipient of the 2004 A.D. Dunton Alumni Award of Distinction from his alma mater, 2004 / 2003/ 2002 ID Magazine Annual Design Review Best of Categories, and 2003 best Retail Store in the USA, among many others.
Having worked for Rodolfo Bonetto’s studio in Milan and, following that, KAN Design in Toronto, Mr. Rashid opened his own studio in New York City in 1993 with clients such as Nambe, La Cie, Frighetto, Mikasa, Sony, Target, Davidoff, Yahoo, Alessi, Toyota, and Giorgio Armani, among others. The Karim Rashid flagship store opened in New York City in 2005 with five more international locations planned. He is currently collaborating on hotels, restaurants, and shops in London, Moscow, New York, Belgrade, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and Los Angeles. In all, he is presently working in 31 countries.
Mr. Rashid has published two monographs titled “I Want to Change the World” and “Evolution,” in addition to “Digipop,” a digital exploration of computer graphics. He recently released the book, “Design Your Self: Rethinking the Way You Live, Love, Work, and Play,” and two CD’s available on boutique label Neverstop.
Mr. Rashid holds a Bachelor of industrial design, received in Ottawa, Canada, and pursued his postgraduate studies in Italy. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of fine arts from Corcoran College of Art & Design in Washington, D.C. and a Doctorate in design from the Ontario College of Art and design, Toronto, Canada. Mr. Rashid served as an associate professor of industrial design for 10 years and is now a frequent guest lecturer at universities and conferences globally.