Tag Archives: Bernhardt Design

Life after ICFF: Q&A with Environmental Design alum Chris Adamick

 

Chris Adamick

Chris Adamick

Chris Adamick (BA 07 Environmental Design) is the manager of Global Marketing, Store Design at Gap’s New York headquarters. He is an award-winning designer whose multidisciplinary, large- and small-scale work includes commercial, civic, educational and residential design. Adamick maintains his own studio, Chris Adamick Design, for independent projects, and has collaborated with Bernhardt Design, among others. Bernhardt honored Adamick in 2011 by featuring his Audio chair in a retrospective at ICFF of its ongoing interdisciplinary studio with Art Center College of Design, which educates students in the process of designing products for production in the commercial market. Today Adamick’s client list includes Bed Bath and Beyond, W Hotels, Disney and Haworth and he has held prominent positions at Pentagram, Rios Clementi Hale Studios, ByLissoni, Studio Gaia and other high-profile companies.

The Dotted Line: What drew you to Art Center?

Chris Adamick: Jorge Pardo [the noted sculptor and an Art Center graduate], one of my professors at UCLA, opened my mind to art existing in the world beyond fine art—in architecture, in product design. He suggested Art Center. I looked at the Fine Art program first and it was stellar, just stellar, but when I saw the design work going on there [at the College], I instantly knew that was what I wanted to do.

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Art Center Takes Manhattan During 25th Annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair

As design industry professionals converge in New York this week, Art Center College of Design is prominently featured as part of the 25th annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), taking place May 18–21. Attracting more than 26,000 professionals from the worlds of interior design, architecture, retail, manufacturing, distribution and development, ICFF is considered North America’s premier showcase for contemporary design.

Leading the College’s presence at this influential summit is David Mocarski, chair of graduate and undergraduate Environmental Design.

Art Center’s Booth 3016 at the show’s main venue, the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, features an exhibition of work by eight students in the College’s Environmental Design program, and presents visitors an opportunity to mingle with the design community and learn more about the undergraduate and graduate programs.

Alumnus Brandon Kim and his work, Solace, will be featured in Booth 1073 at ICFF this year.

Alumnus Brandon Kim and his work, Solace, will be featured in Booth 1073 at ICFF this year.

Additionally, several alumni are represented in the prestigious ICFF Studio, which serves as a platform to match selected designers and their products with potential manufacturers.

It all takes place during NYCxDesign, a city-wide design celebration continuing through May 21 and packed with events and showcases.

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Meet Environmental Design alumna Zorine Pooladian

Designer Zorine Pooladian ENVL '12.

Sometimes finding your true calling can feel like flipping on a light switch. Just ask designer Zorine Pooladian ENVL ’12.

The Environmental Design alum was first turned on to the world of lighting design in an Art Center at Night (ACN) course; these days she’s working on a lighting project she plans to unveil at New York Design Week next year.

We sat down recently with Pooladian to ask her about her ACN experience, and here’s what she told us:

“I have always loved art and architecture. I grew up in a 300-year-old house in Iran that had high ceilings and walls covered in paintings. As a child, I remember being amazed that somebody could leave something behind that would last for centuries.” Continue reading

In Case You Missed It

As you know, there’s always something going on when it comes to Art Center alumni, students and faculty.

  • Cardwell Jimmerson show of work by Art Center alum and former faculty member Vincent Robbins—on display through Sept. 3— is another of the gallery’s great exercises in expansionist art history. L.A. Times Culture Monster

    Work by Vincent Robbins

  • Late Art Center alum and faculty member John Altoon will have works on display at Garboushian Gallery exhibit celebrating Armenian contemporary artists. Asbarez Post
  • Transportation Design alumnus Gabriel Wartofsky begins Kickstarter campaign for folding e-bike. Sustainable Business Oregon
  • Art Center partner, Bernhardt Design president Jerry Helling, talks about working with Art Center students to design furniture. New York Times
  • Alumna and faculty member Diana Thater’s Peonies, a nine-monitor videowall, now on view at the Wexner Center. Artdaily.org
  • Art Center’s “Visionary in Residence” Bruce Sterling creates his own augmented reality. Wired

Art Center Students Display at ICFF


At last week’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York, 25 designers from Art Center were honored in a retrospective celebrating the completion of a series of five innovative interdisciplinary studios sponsored by Bernhardt Design.

Personally championed by Bernhardt Design President Jerry Helling and Environmental Design Chair David Mocarski, the course was created to educate students in the process of designing products ultimately viable for production. At the conclusion of each studio, Bernhardt Design selected products for introduction in the commercial market. Since its inception, the design-through-production studio concept has served as a model for other similar educational programs.

Bernhardt Design’s partnership with Art Center came about from the school’s strong relationship with industry as well as its reputation as a leading art and design institution for more than 80 years. The studio course, hosted by the Environmental Design Department, has successfully trained students over the past seven years to design products that are visually stunning, appropriate for the commissioning manufacturer, fiscally feasible and suitable within the constraints of mass production. The products developed from the Bernhardt Design studios have not only been award winning, but commercially successful around the world.

Former Art Center students have embarked on successful careers, from designing for Marcel Wanders in Amsterdam to starting their own creative studios to working with top-tier manufacturers worldwide. Furthermore, the work of 20 designers from the program are currently in production with Bernhardt Design including the Red Dot Award-winning Loft chair by Shelly Shelly, the Audio chair by Chris Adamick, and Linc tables by Chase Wills.

Check out more of the work at the Designing Experience website.

Archibong Named Student Designer of the Year

Ini Archibong

Environmental Design student Ini Archibong has been named Student Designer of the Year by Stylus and Bernhardt Design. The Stylus + Bernhardt Design American Design Honors are a new annual awards program developed to support the future of American product design. The American Design Honors will provide young designers with both exposure and financial support. Archibong will be honored by Stylus and Bernhardt at the 2010 International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York next week.

“A few minutes after meeting Ini, you realize you are in the presence of someone destined to achieve great things,” says President of Bernhardt Design Jerry Helling. “His personal charisma complements his natural design talent—he has the drive, passion and commitment to sustain a long and successful career.”

Born and raised in Pasadena, Archibong began his studies at USC’s Marshall School of Business. He soon realized that he could not ignore his creative passion, opting to focus on fine art and architectural design. He worked for two years at George Architecture in South Pasadena, where he learned the essential skills of the trade and strengthened his application portfolio for Art Center. In 2007, he was accepted into the College’s Environmental Design program, and received both an Edwards Entrance Scholarship and an Art Center Outreach Grant.

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