Karim Rashid was awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, at the 9:30 a.m. ceremony on Thursday, June 9 “in recognition of his outstanding and internationally acclaimed contributions to the profession of industrial design and popular culture.”
With designs for water bottles, furniture, appliances, laptops, jewelry and condominiums, his work spans the fields of fashion, architecture and art to transform our daily living. He has worked with companies such as Samsung, Method, Umbra, Citibank and Veuve Clicquot.
A frequent winner of international awards, he designed the interiors of the Morimoto restaurant in Philadelphia, the Universita Metro Station in Naples and the Semiramis Hotel in Athens. More than 3,000 of his designs have been put into production and his work is on permanent display in 20 collections and galleries around the world.
Karim studied at Carleton and completed graduate studies in Milan and Naples under Ettore Sottsass and in the Rodolfo Bonetto studio. In 1993, Rashid opened his own studio in New York City and now manages offices in China.