German industrial designer and former chief of design for Braun, Dieter Rams, has been a significant influence on my work. His "Ten Principles for Good Design" have challenged every designer, whether interaction or industrial to consider aethetics, environment, usefulness, obtrusiveness, honesty - the essential qualities of a product. Rams once explained his design approach in the phrase "Weniger, aber besser" which translates as "Less, but better". Rams is credited with being a significant influence on Jonathan Ive, SVP of Industrial Design for Apple Inc. and countless others.
Bill Moggridge is the co-founder of design firm IDEO and the current director of the Smithsonian Institution's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York. He designed the first laptop computer: the GRiD Compass. An influencial design guru and an advocate for user-centered design process in product development and also responsible for popularizing the art of interaction design as a mainstream discipline. Regardless of whether designers consider Bill's work a direct influence or not, he has shaped the industry with his passion for design.
Responsible for invigorating Apple with a bold, visionary approach to industrial design - Jonathan Ive was perhaps Steve Jobs most important hire during Apple's near-death experience in the mid-90's. Ive brought a passion for reductionist values in his product designs - carrying the torch of Dieter Rams "less is more" philosophy back to mainstream product design... and to consumer-focused computing experiences that have reshaped the industry and how consumers interact with computers, cellphones, media players, and more.
Japanese video game designer and producer, Shigeru Miyamoto, is one of the most widely recognized game designers in the industry, and responsible for the unlikely success of Nintendo - even saving the company from financial disaster numerous times with his creative vision, beginning with a game called Donkey Kong, followed by the Mario Bros and Legend of Zelda franchises. 