Philips Design
Philips Design is a global design agency. Headquartered in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, the agency also has offices in Amsterdam, Andover, Atlanta, Gurgaon (INDIA), Hong Kong, and Singapore. The agency offers a wide range of design services, from product design, packaging design, identity design, environment design and interface and interaction design to (and increasingly) design of the total user experience, innovation design and expertise in understanding people, cultures and societies.
In 1998, Philips Design became an independent unit within the Philips Group, able to provide design services to all business divisions of Philips, as well to selected external clients. The company employs around 500 workers from a wide range of disciplines. More than 40% of employees are women, and the average age of an employee is 28 years.
History
The agency's history can be traced back to the mid-1920s, when Louis Kalff established the Advertising Section of Philips, under the patronage of Anton Philips, one of the company's founders. In the 1960s, Philips Board of Management established the Industrial Design Bureau, headed by Rein Veersema. In 1969, the competence center was renamed the Concern Industrial Design Centre (CIDC), led by Norwegian Knut Yran. In 1980, Robert Blaich was appointed as the new Director of CIDC. In 1991, he was succeeded by Stefano Marzano, current Chief Design Officer of Electrolux.
Design Legends
Over more than 80 years of its history, Philips Design has designed a number of well-known products in the area of Consumer Electronics, Domestic Appliances, Medical Systems, Lighting and Corporate identity.
Among the best-known designs are
- 1938 Philips Chapel radio
- 1959 Philishave shaver
- 1963 Compact cassette
- 1966 Philips Brandname and Logo (‘Philips’ Shield’)
- 1982 Roller radio
- 1996 Billy Blender
- 1998 Coolskin shaver
Current Project Portfolio
Philips Design offers its services to both Philips and external clients. Among the most noticeable design achievements of the recent years are:
- Libra, mobile X-ray machine (2001)
- Metal ‘Cuby’, kettle (2003)
- Wearable Key, digital camera (2003)
- City Line, vacuum cleaner (2004)
- Ambilight, flat TV (2004)
- Ambient Hospital (2004)
Philips Design also produced a range of design solutions in collaboration with such companies as Renault, Leolux, Alessi, Nike, Olivetti, Cappellini and Securitas, among many others.
Visionary Design Projects
Since the 1990s, Philips Design has conducted a range of visionary projects, exploring future landscapes of interaction between people and new technologies. Ideas and design concepts created during these exploratory projects inspired manufacturers, researchers and designers, as well as generating feedback from the general public.
Philips Design’s own research efforts are focused on cutting-edge domains, such as Ambient Intelligence, Wearable Electronics, Experience Design, Open Tools and Connected Planet. Initiatives include:
- Vision of the Future (1996)
- Vision on the Move(1996)
- LiMe – Living Memory (1997)
- Pogo (2000)
- Delphi – Exploration into Possible Futures (2001)
- MIME – Multiple Intimate Media Environments (2002)
Design Awards
Among the most recent awards are:
- iF Awards (2005)
- Good Design Awards (2005)
- I.D. Magazine Annual Design Review (2005)
- Dutch Design Prize (2005)