Rhode Island School of Design Names New President

The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) has a new president and it's John Maeda of MIT's Media Lab. Phenomenal news for our Rhode Island community! John is a juggernaut in the design world and a world-renowned leader in digital design concepts. He's written extensively about the need to balance sophisticated technical concerns together with meaningful humanistic concerns. He's pioneered the use of the computer for people of all ages and skills to create art, and is a pioneering voice for "simplicity" in the digital age. (His most recent book is The Laws of Simplicity.)

In 1999 Maeda was included in Esquire magazine's list of the 21 most important people for the twenty-first century. He is also the recipient of the highest career honors for design in the USA (2001, National Design Award), Japan (2002, Mainichi Design Prize), and Germany (2005, Raymond Loewy Foundation Prize).

The Business Innovation Factory has a strong bond with the Rhode Island School of Design. Mickey Ackerman, who heads their Industrial Design Department, is one of our research advisors, and Roger Mandle, the school's current president, is a former summit storyteller who also hosts our annual storyteller dinner.

Congratulations to John Maeda and my best wishes go out to Roger Mandel who I'm sure is moving on to another grand adventure.

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Learn more about John Maeda - Head to his blog Simplicity

Posted December 21, 2007 01:45 PM by Chris Flanagan | Permalink