Designing the Future: Three Directions for the New Millennium

November 17, 1999 - March 26, 2000

Gyro Wall Clock
c. 1999
Karim Rashid (American, b. 1960)
spun aluminum
diameter: 11"
Private collection

Designing the Future: Three Directions for the New Millennium

November 17, 1999 - March 26, 2000

To welcome the new millennium, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Collab (a group of design professionals who support the Museum's modern and contemporary design collections) showcase the work of three accomplished young designers who promise to have lasting influence on design in the 21st century.

Apple Computer's Vice President of Industrial Design, Jonathan Ive (b. 1967), revolutionized the personal computer market with his design for the iMac. Ive's designs combine a pioneering use of materials, new manufacturing techniques, and sculptural forms that are easy to understand and use.

Maya Lin (b. 1959) is perhaps best known for her award-winning design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. (1981), but has since been responsible for a diverse body of work, including commissions for private houses and libraries, environmental installations and sculpture, as well as other public monuments. In 1998, Lin designed her first line of retail furniture for the influential industry giant, Knoll, inspired, as is all her work, by the sensitive and fragile relationship between human beings and nature.

Karim Rashid (b. 1960) is an industrial designer with an international practice ranging from handbags and packaging for Issey Miyake in Japan, to furniture and housewares for Umbra of Canada. Rashid describes his design philosophy as sensual minimalism, in which objects "communicate, engage and inspire."