Karim Rashid is one of the biggest names in the contemporary design market. Born in Egypt in 1960 and based in New York, the designer is famous for futuristic pop appeal of their creations.

Currently married with the American digital designer Megan Lang, he belongs to a generation of professionals who have made the bridge between the old notion of design (something hitherto associated with the idea of exclusive and expensive furniture) and its meaning today – a tool for creating popular products that differentiate themselves from competitors by the elegance and advantages of use. He claims that there is a niche of products on market that go unnoticed and require a minimum grace and lightness. So he began to stand out also in creations of bins, for example.

Rashid sees the design not only as an area of innovation but as an opportunity of freedom for the consumer. As bigger the variety is, the less tendentious will be consumer choice. The difference and variety of products on the market contribute to what he calls, “construction of our personality through the things we consume”. Thinking thus, Rashid said: “Our existence is determined largely by the architecture and objects around us. When transformed for the better, life evolves too.

“With this concept of dynamism, his creations are futuristic. For Karim Rashid, we are stuck in a nostalgia for the past with the kistch, the traditional and the old fashioned and if we do not change, we will not evolve. People must live their own time, forget the past. And the designers and architects are responsible to create things and places in accordance with the new today. We must be aware and in tune with the modern world. If human nature is to live in the past, change the world is to change human nature”, said the designer.

Rashid has worked as a graphic designer (creating visual identity for brands like Hyundai), interior and product design for brands like Alessi, Prada, Giorgio Armani and even the Brazilian Melissa. His creations are usually plastic and vary widely from the traditional market. He already created more than 3,000 objects and won about 300 awards in 35 countries.