Have you ever used a piece of furniture and appreciated how comfy and stylish it is? Have you ever used an object and thought it was very innovative? Well, the stylishness and innovativeness of these mass-produced goods are the work of industrial designers. Industrial design combines creativity and usefulness to create a product that is efficient and improves the users’ quality of life.
An industrial designer is best at observing and understanding their environment with social, cultural, and historical sensitivity to transform a concept into a real object. Basically, industrial designers bridge art and utility. In terms of art, New York City has always been on the cutting edge. The city magnifies all forms of art styles and art movements, from contemporary to modern art. Here are New York-based industrial designers you can check out.
Andrew Zolty
Since graduating from the Visual Communications Department at the University of Delaware, Andrew has worked for more than 15 companies and has worked with 60 brands.
A creative director for Poke London from 2008 to 2009, he was the one behind a lot of projects. He was behind BakerTweet, the bakery-proof box that tweets when freshly baked goodies are ready. He was also behind the online game Balloonacy which is the world’s first internet balloon race. One of his most significant projects is the Points, the most advanced wayfinding system on Earth. Also, the Points Sign which is a dynamic digital sign with 360o rotating arms with advanced LED displays. It is intended to usher cities and companies into the future by utilizing most advanced technologies.
Andrew Zolty
Sofia von Hauske
A graduate of Design and Technology and Product Design at Parsons School for Design, Sofia von Hauske started her career in the ATLASON studio as an intern.
After that was a designer for JCB Haus, Glo Science, and Tangible Creative. She has also won awards for her personal projects. Her project called Aura, received a NewStar Award for the C-Idea Design Award in 2021 and an Honorable Mention Award in the Loop Design Awards 2022. It is a nightlight that functions as a security item for children at night. She also received an Honorable Mention award for her project Pulso at the London International Creative Competition 2019. She also competed in the Walt Disney Imagineering Competition in 2019, finishing as a semifinalist.
Currently, Sofia is an industrial designer at Friends of. Working at the firm, they had CAMP as one of their biggest clients. The toy store had a collaboration with Disney in which Sofia had to design and develop items for CAMP x Disney. She made a magical candle for the Encanto experience. Transponders, microchips, a shrink ray, and shrink ray bags for the Mickey & Friends experience. For the Star Trek: Prodigy experience and the Cosmic CAMP experience, she made silicone bracelets with coin-collecting sensors.
Sofia von Hauske
Stuart Harvey Lee
After graduating from Industrial Design Engineering at the Royal College of Art in London, Stuart was a senior designer for Smart Design. Currently, he is the creative director of Prime Studio, a Product + Brand Design consultancy, which is a firm he co-founded. It has been running since 1998 and they have worked on thoughtful design solutions for some of the world’s best brands like Axe, Dove, Harry’s, IKEA, MoMA, Oneida, Rubbermaid, Saveur, Tend, Tumi, Welly and Wusthof. One of their first projects was a shower gadget for Axe & Dove for Unilever. Unilever commissioned Stuart’s team to improve the design of their Axe Detailer, which has sold over 28 million units to date.
Stuart Harvey Lee
Simon Yan
Simon began his work as a senior designer with Lonczak Design after graduating from Pratt Institute with a degree in Industrial Design. He worked there for eight years. Simon’s most recent project was the NUSAN High Traffic Hand Sanitizer Station. NUSAN is a high-capacity automated hand sanitizer system designed for high-traffic areas. It has four nozzles and two convenient dispensing heights for adults and toddlers alike. NUSAN is intended for usage in a variety of settings, including retail malls, amusement parks, stadiums, and large corporations.
Jordan Diatlo
After earning his Industrial Design degree from Carnegie Mellon University in 2007, Jordan worked as an intern at Machineart Industrial Design. He then worked as a footwear designer for Jimlar and Steve & Barry’s. Following that, he worked as an Industrial Designer at Pollen Design Inc, quirky.com, Johnson & Johnson, and Sols Systems.
In 2016, he and his wife, Jessica, founded Leadoff Studio. Jordan is the company’s Design Director, while Jessica is the Product Development Director. The company collaborates with businesses to design product experiences from the inside out. Using a user-centric design approach, they seek to produce innovative designs for clients. They have also worked with well-known brands such as Chobani, Google, iHop, Unilever, the United States Postal Service, and Verizon.
Jordan Diatlo
Industrial designers Andrew Zolty, Sofia von Hauske, Stuart Harvey Lee, Simon Yan, and Jordan Diatlo inspire us to be better at our craft. There is no doubt that their names will remain well known in the industry in a city like New York. As artists, it is essential to keep honing our skills in whatever field we may be in.
