Tucker Viemeister
Encyclopedia
Tucker L. Viemeister is an American
industrial designer who is currently Chief of the Lab at the Rockwell Group. Tucker helped found many important design businesses: frogdesign NY, Razorfish, Smart Design
, and Springtime USA. He helped design the influential and award-winning Oxo
"Good Grips" kitchen tools. He holds 32 US utility patents.
Vice President of the Architectural League of New York
, Viemeister is also a Fellow of the Industrial Designers Society of America
. His work is represented in the permanent collections of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
, Smithsonian Institution
, New York; the Museum of Modern Art
, New York; Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco; and the Staatliches Museum, Berlin
, Germany
. His numerous awards include 11 selections in the Annual Design Review of ID Magazine, and the first Presidential Design Award in 1984.
as the oldest of four children, Tucker Viemeister was named for a car his father was designing at the time. Read Viemeister (1923-1993) was an industrial designer, FIDSA, and founded Vie Design Studios with Budd Steinhilber. His mother Beverly Lipsett Viemeister (1927-2005) made many contributions to the Yellow Springs community before completing her degree in secondary education at Antioch College in 1965 and earning her master's in social work in 1968. After that she worked in social services. They had four children: Tucker, Kris, Heidi and Roslyn.
With his brother Kris, Tucker opened a jewelry shop called "Ohio Silver". They designed, crafted and sold fine jewelry, stained glass, leather work, and anything else they could make. He went to the Antioch School and Yellow Springs High School. He studied for two years at Shimer College
, including a year in Oxford, England.
Viemeister graduated from Pratt Institute
in 1974 with a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design (BID). He helped his classmate Ted Muehling start his jewelry career.
, Inc. Their most successful products are the award-winning Oxo "Good Grips" universal kitchen tools, the advanced technology Serengeti sunglasses and their packages and catalogs, Black & Decker
's best-selling Metropolitan toaster, the ergonomic/psychonomic Home Phones for Cicena, the breakthrough Tea Brewer for Cuisinart
, and wacky Joe Boxer watches with Nick Graham
for Timex
. Their emphasis has been on comfortable, practical, fun stuff.
In 1997, Hartmut Esslinger
asked him to open a "frogdesign" studio in New York City. "Genius Watch" in BusinessWeek said: "Two of the most famous and mercurial figures in the product-design world are linking up." From 1999 to 2001, Viemeister carried a new dimension to the digital giant, Razorfish. As Executive Vice President, Research & Development, he built the physical industrial design capabilities and helped direct Razorfish on a global level. He created internal programs like "Flying Fish," "School of Fish" and "science projects." In 2001, Tucker became President of Springtime-USA. He opened the American branch of the Dutch design firm, Springtime, a global strategic consultancy for clients such as Heineken
, Nike
, Toyota, and PTTPost (the Dutch postal service).
Viemeister has been working with architect David Rockwell since 2001. They founded the multi-disciplinary collaborative "Studio Red", dedicated to innovation for Coca-Cola
. Tucker is now Lab Chief, heading research and development at the Rockwell Group. The Lab encompasses digital interaction design, the material and image library, modeling and prototyping resources. the Lab focus is to explore the human relationship with technology, and its effect on experience. This activity includes: science and technology consultation, in-house design and creation of interactive environments / objects, and maintaining networks of technology solution providers.
The designer was called “Guru” by BusinessWeek (8/97), a “scruffy brand-meister” by the Architect’s Newspaper (2/06), and "Industrial Design’s Elder Wunderkind" when ID included him in America's hottest 40. In 2007 New York magazine recognized him as a “Living Design Innovator”
Together with the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), her family and associates established a new annual literary award in her name. It was awarded for the first time in May 2011 to the writer Emily Rubin, for her work, including her debut novel Stalina (2011).
He has taught at Yale
, Pratt Institute, Parsons School of Design, California Institute of the Arts
, the University of Cincinnati
, and École Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle, one of the grandes écoles
of France. He is on the faculty of New York University
's Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
industrial designer who is currently Chief of the Lab at the Rockwell Group. Tucker helped found many important design businesses: frogdesign NY, Razorfish, Smart Design
Smart Design
Smart Design is a multi-disciplinary design consultancy established in 1980 by Davin Stowell, Tom Dair, Tamara Thomsen, Dan Formosa, and Tucker Viemeister. The firm employs 120+ people in its three locations - New York, San Francisco, and Barcelona . Their approach to solving design challenges...
, and Springtime USA. He helped design the influential and award-winning Oxo
Oxo
OXO was the first digital graphical computer game, a version of Tic-tac-toe.It is also the first puzzler game; As seen on Ginuess World Records 2010 Gamer's Edition.OXO Was first released in 1951, That makes it one of the oldest games standing....
"Good Grips" kitchen tools. He holds 32 US utility patents.
Vice President of the Architectural League of New York
Architectural League of New York
The Architectural League of New York is a non-profit organization "for creative and intellectual work in architecture, urbanism, and related disciplines"....
, Viemeister is also a Fellow of the Industrial Designers Society of America
Industrial Designers Society of America
Industrial Designers Society of America is an organization of professional industrial designers primarily in the United States. Recently IDSA has started chapters in Canada and in China...
. His work is represented in the permanent collections of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
Cooper–Hewitt, National Design Museum, a subsidiary of the Smithsonian Institution, is the United States' national museum of design history and contemporary design and the only museum in the U.S. whose collection is solely focused on contemporary and historic design...
, Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
, New York; the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
, New York; Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco; and the Staatliches Museum, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. His numerous awards include 11 selections in the Annual Design Review of ID Magazine, and the first Presidential Design Award in 1984.
Early life and education
Born in Yellow Springs, OhioYellow Springs, Ohio
Yellow Springs is a village in Greene County, Ohio, United States, and is the location of Antioch College and Antioch University Midwest. The population was 3,487 at the 2010 census...
as the oldest of four children, Tucker Viemeister was named for a car his father was designing at the time. Read Viemeister (1923-1993) was an industrial designer, FIDSA, and founded Vie Design Studios with Budd Steinhilber. His mother Beverly Lipsett Viemeister (1927-2005) made many contributions to the Yellow Springs community before completing her degree in secondary education at Antioch College in 1965 and earning her master's in social work in 1968. After that she worked in social services. They had four children: Tucker, Kris, Heidi and Roslyn.
With his brother Kris, Tucker opened a jewelry shop called "Ohio Silver". They designed, crafted and sold fine jewelry, stained glass, leather work, and anything else they could make. He went to the Antioch School and Yellow Springs High School. He studied for two years at Shimer College
Shimer College
Shimer College is a very small, private, undergraduate liberal arts college in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Founded by Frances Wood Shimer in 1853 in the frontier town of Mt. Carroll, Illinois, it was a women's school for most of its first century. It joined with the University of...
, including a year in Oxford, England.
Viemeister graduated from Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
in 1974 with a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design (BID). He helped his classmate Ted Muehling start his jewelry career.
Career
In 1979, Viemeister began working with Davin Stowell, and six years later they founded Smart DesignSmart Design
Smart Design is a multi-disciplinary design consultancy established in 1980 by Davin Stowell, Tom Dair, Tamara Thomsen, Dan Formosa, and Tucker Viemeister. The firm employs 120+ people in its three locations - New York, San Francisco, and Barcelona . Their approach to solving design challenges...
, Inc. Their most successful products are the award-winning Oxo "Good Grips" universal kitchen tools, the advanced technology Serengeti sunglasses and their packages and catalogs, Black & Decker
Black & Decker
Black & Decker Corporation is a corporation based in Towson, Maryland, United States, that designs and imports power tools and accessories, hardware and home improvement products, and technology based fastening systems...
's best-selling Metropolitan toaster, the ergonomic/psychonomic Home Phones for Cicena, the breakthrough Tea Brewer for Cuisinart
Cuisinart
Cuisinart is a brand for small kitchen appliances, especially the food processor of the same name, one of the first to become popular in the United States. It was founded by Carl Sontheimer in 1971, and became a leading brand in the United States and Canada....
, and wacky Joe Boxer watches with Nick Graham
Nick Graham
Nick Graham was an Australian rugby league player for the Wests Tigers and the Cronulla Sharks in the National Rugby League competition. He also played for the Wigan Warriors in the English Super League competition...
for Timex
Timex Group
Timex Group B.V., or Timex Group, is a Dutch holding company headquartered in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands, and the corporate parent of several watchmaking companies around the globe including Timex Group USA, Inc., TMX Philippines, Inc., and Timex Group India Ltd...
. Their emphasis has been on comfortable, practical, fun stuff.
In 1997, Hartmut Esslinger
Hartmut Esslinger
Hartmut Esslinger is a German-American industrial designer and inventor. He is known for his design company Frogdesign, particularly his work for Apple Computer in the 1980s.-Life and career:...
asked him to open a "frogdesign" studio in New York City. "Genius Watch" in BusinessWeek said: "Two of the most famous and mercurial figures in the product-design world are linking up." From 1999 to 2001, Viemeister carried a new dimension to the digital giant, Razorfish. As Executive Vice President, Research & Development, he built the physical industrial design capabilities and helped direct Razorfish on a global level. He created internal programs like "Flying Fish," "School of Fish" and "science projects." In 2001, Tucker became President of Springtime-USA. He opened the American branch of the Dutch design firm, Springtime, a global strategic consultancy for clients such as Heineken
Heineken
Heineken is a Dutch beer which has been brewed by Heineken International since 1873. It is available in a 4.6% alcohol variety in countries such as Ireland. It is the flagship product of the Heineken company and is made of purified water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. In 1886 H...
, Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
, Toyota, and PTTPost (the Dutch postal service).
Viemeister has been working with architect David Rockwell since 2001. They founded the multi-disciplinary collaborative "Studio Red", dedicated to innovation for Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
. Tucker is now Lab Chief, heading research and development at the Rockwell Group. The Lab encompasses digital interaction design, the material and image library, modeling and prototyping resources. the Lab focus is to explore the human relationship with technology, and its effect on experience. This activity includes: science and technology consultation, in-house design and creation of interactive environments / objects, and maintaining networks of technology solution providers.
The designer was called “Guru” by BusinessWeek (8/97), a “scruffy brand-meister” by the Architect’s Newspaper (2/06), and "Industrial Design’s Elder Wunderkind" when ID included him in America's hottest 40. In 2007 New York magazine recognized him as a “Living Design Innovator”
Marriage and family
He married Sarah Verdone (1965-2010), a freelance writer and blogger who worked for ID magazine. They had two daughters together, Josephine and Louisa, and lived in New York. Verdone died in March 2010.Together with the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), her family and associates established a new annual literary award in her name. It was awarded for the first time in May 2011 to the writer Emily Rubin, for her work, including her debut novel Stalina (2011).
Academic and civic activities
Viemeister serves as chair of the Rowena Kostellow Fund http://rowenafund.org/, on the board of The Architectural League of New York http://archleague.org/about/board-of-directors/, was Chair of the Cooper Hewitt Museum's Professional Designers Advisory Committee and a Director of The American Center for Design (1996-2000), and a Fellow of The Industrial Designers Society of America http://www.idsa.org/content/content1/tucker-viemeister-fidsa.He has taught at Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
, Pratt Institute, Parsons School of Design, California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
, the University of Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
, and École Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle, one of the grandes écoles
Grandes écoles
The grandes écoles of France are higher education establishments outside the main framework of the French university system. The grandes écoles select students for admission based chiefly on national ranking in competitive written and oral exams...
of France. He is on the faculty of New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
's Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP).
Designs
- National Mall wayfinding system (with Wyman and Cannan)
- OXO Good Grips kitchen tools (with Smart Design)
- Serengeti sunglasses for Corning (with Smart Design)
- Joe Boxer watches for Timex (with Smart Design)
- Black & Decker Metropolitan toaster (with Smart Design)
- Pool Chair (with Steve Holt and Lisa Krohn)
- Phonebook telephone answering machine (with Lisa Krohn)
- Coke Cruiser (with Springtime and Rockwell Group)
- Red Lounge (for Coca-Cola with Rockwell Group)
- Sheraton Hotel Lobby (with Rockwell Group)
- Hall of Fragments (Venice Architecture Biennale with the Rockwell Group Lab)
- Jet Blue Terminal 5 "Market Place" (Rockwell Group)
- Cosmopolitan Casino Chandelier Bar and West Lobby (Rockwell Group)
- Jamie Oliver Food Revolution truck (Rockwell Group and TED prize)
Books
Work featured in the following:- Gail Greet Hannah, Elements of Design: Rowena Reed Kostellow and the Structure of Visual Relationships, Princeton Architectural Press, NYC
- Product Design 6, an industrial design compendium, published by PBC International
External links
- http://lab.rockwellgroup.com/
- http://blog.helen-marie.com/index.php/2009/04/hm-a-list-episode-1-tucker-viemeister/
- http://www.fastcompany.com/tag/tucker-viemeister
- http://www.scribd.com/doc/3325063/Beautility-Tucker-Viemeister
- http://shannonsouth.com/pratt/pages/viemeister_tucker.html
- http://www.core77.com/blogsquad/idsa/midwest_conference/mp3_tucker_viemeister_245.asp
- http://www.idsa.org/absolutenm/templates/?z=28&a=1781
- http://itp.tisch.nyu.edu/object/ViemeisterT.html
- http://www.rockwellgroup.com/