James Irvine with MARSOTTO

Born in London, he graduated in 1984 at the Royal College of Art. In the same year, he moved to Milan. Between 1984 and 1992, he was Olivetti product design consultant under the guidance of Michele de Lucchi and Ettore Sottsass. In 1987, within the scope of a cultural exchanged organised by Olivetti, he worked for a year at the Toshiba Design Centre in Tokyo, where he was involved in research activity for industrial products. In 1988, he opened his own studio in Milan.
His clients include: Cappellini and SCP. Between 1993 and 1997, alongside his private activity, he was also partner in charge of industrial design at the Sottsass Associati Studio. In 2000, he completed the new bus project for the City of Hanover Üstra Transport System. 131 buses were built in collaboration with Mercedes Benz. In 2004, he was the guest of honour at the “Interieur” exhibition in Kortrijk and was elected RDI (Royal Designer for Industry) by the Royal Society of Arts in London. Between 2005 and 2007, he was Professor of Industrial Design at Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe. In 2007, he was awarded an honorary degree in design by Kingston University. His studio in Milan works with numerous internationally famous companies such as Alfi, Alias, Artemide, B&B Italia, Canon, Coro, Duravit, Foscarini, LG, Magis, MDF Italia, Muji, Olivari, Olivetti, Phaidon, Ströer, Thonet, Whirlpool, WMF and Zumtobel.