The Martin Architecture and Design Workshop (MADWORKSHOP) is pleased to announce Karen Hofmann, Product Designer and Director at ArtCenter College of Design has joined its Advisory Board.
“Karen Hofmann’s work as Chair of Product Design at Art Center, one of the most exciting institutions in the world, consistently raises the bar. The energy she puts into design and education makes her a natural and valuable addition to the board. We are thrilled to have her,” said David C. Martin, FAIA (MADWORKSHOP Founder and Board Member).
Karen Hofmann, who has been an instructor at ArtCenter College of Design since 2001, has served as the Chair of Product Design at the College since 2010. Over the last decade, she has been instrumental in introducing new design research processes, curriculum and vision-casting projects with numerous sponsors including Honda, HP, HTC, Microsoft, Nestle, Nike, Panasonic, Samsung, and Vodafone. She also co-leads the innovative study abroad program with INSEAD International Business School where designers collaborate with MBA students to develop new ideas for products and services, and continues to develop and launch innovative educational models such as DesignStorms® (3-day creative immersions with ArtCenter faculty and students) collaborating with partners like Adidas, Avery Dennison, Disney Consumer Products, Research in Motion, Unilever, and Volkswagen and have introduced new ways of partnering with sponsors to explore future market opportunities and emerging technologies.
“It is a great honor to be serving on the board of a foundation that has such a passion and deep commitment for supporting young designers and innovators that can truly change the world with their ideas,” said Karen Hofmann.
Hofmann is also currently the Director of the Color, Materials and Trends Exploration Laboratory (CMTEL). For the last six years, she has been responsible for creating the strategy and developing this resource at ArtCenter, working collaboratively with the former Nokia design leadership team. She developed unique educational programs around material exploration and trend monitoring. She launched the new “Wearables + Soft Goods” concentration in the product design program.
Karen Hofmann joins existing MADWORKSHOP board members, founders, David and Mary Martin, and members of the design, education and nancial industries, including Edie Cohen (Deputy Editor at Interior Design Magazine), Barbara Heizer (Writer, Editor and Entrepreneur), Jerry Katzman (Financial Advisor), Carl Magnusson (Designer) and R. Scott Mitchell (Educator – Digital Fabrication and Design).
About MADWORKSHOP
The MADWORKSHOP Foundation (501c3), based in Santa Monica, CA, was founded by David C. Martin and Mary Klaus Martin in 2015 to identify and support the next generation of inventors and designers with a focus on technological craftsmanship. The foundation serves as an incubator to foster innovative design with an underlying social value. Merging a contemporary aesthetic agenda, ambitious fabrication techniques, and the mentorship of MADWORKSHOP’s experienced Board of Directors, the foundation offers emerging designers at college level and beyond the opportunity to take their ideas from concept to reality. Through thriving fellowship and education programs, the foundation nurtures young talent who will make radical, sustainable, and impactful contributions to the design discourse and society at large.
With vital partnerships at leading academic institutions including the University of Southern California and ArtCenter College of Design, MADWORKSHOP sponsors one studio course per year focused on design and fabrication. Fellows are chosen from these courses and through open calls for proposals announced at the beginning of each year. Spanning from smaller scale furniture, product, and fashion design to space making and architectural investigations, MADWORKSHOP projects bring education and artistic innovation to the forefront of the creative design process.
For more information about the MADWORKSHOP please visit www.madworkshop.org.