30 Facts About Karim Rashid

Karim Rashid's designs include luxury goods, furniture, lighting, surface design, brand identity and packaging.

Karim Rashid is based in New York City, as well as Belgrade, Miami and India.

Karim Rashid was born in 1960 in Cairo, Egypt to an English mother and Egyptian father, who was an abstract artist.

Karim Rashid's sister is a painter and musician, Soraya Rashid.

Karim Rashid was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and had developmental delays, unable to speak until the age of four.

The family emigrated to Missisauga, Ontario, Canada when Karim Rashid was five years old.

Karim Rashid showed an interest in designed objects from a young age, sketching the luggage he saw on the ship to Canada.

Karim Rashid attended high school in Mississauga Ontario, where he further pursued his passion for design and sewed himself a pink satin suit for his graduation.

Karim Rashid received a Bachelor of Industrial Design in 1982 from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Karim Rashid pursued graduate design studies in Naples, Italy, with Ettore Sottsass.

Karim Rashid then moved to Milan for one year and worked at the Rodolfo Bonetto Studio.

In 1993 Karim Rashid opened his own private design studio in New York City.

Karim Rashid's pieces are exhibited in museums worldwide, including the MoMA, Centre Pompidou, and SFMOMA.

Karim Rashid is known for designs such as the "Garbo" waste can and "Oh Chair" for home accessories company Umbra, a concept store for Giorgio Armani, perfume bottles for Kenzo, bobble water bottle, watches and tableware for Alessi, lighting for Artemide and Martinelli Luce, and products for Veuve Clicquot.

Karim Rashid has worked with Audi, Samsung, Swarowski and Armani.

Karim Rashid has discussed his interest in the psychological power of objects and spaces, and often works with color palettes which have emotional significance to him; pink, for example, is a staple in his designs as he believes it "creates a sense of well-being, or energy, or of positive spirit," and lime green is used in kitchens as it is "conducive to dining".

Karim Rashid was the first designer to participate in the "design burger" "Design Dialogues", a series of visual interviews in which the designer is given a Copic pen and number of written prompts, and responds to these with only drawings.

In 2012, Karim Rashid had a collaboration with artist Terence Koh, for a limited edition of winter coats for the 10th anniversary of the Italian Brand Peuterey.

Karim Rashid was selected in 2014 to design several real estate developments in New York City for HAP Investments, a New York City-based International investment group.

In 2016, it was announced that Karim Rashid is designing the multimillion-dollar makeover of Temptation Resort and Spa, in Cancun Mexico.

Karim Rashid is a frequent guest lecturer at conferences, speaking about the importance of design in everyday life.

In 2012, Danish designer and manufacturer BoConcept collaborated with Karim Rashid to create the Ottawa Collection, which won the Red Dot Design Award.

Karim Rashid has won the George Nelson Award in 1999 and the Canadian Designer of the Year award in 2001.

In 2010 Karim Rashid won the Pentawards, a worldwide packaging design awards competition.

Karim Rashid is the very first designer to receive this special Pentaward for his creative excellence in packaging design.

In 2017 Karim Rashid was awarded the Lawrence Israel Prize by the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.

Karim Rashid met Lang in 1991 while Rashid was briefly teaching as an assistant professor at Rhode Island School of Design, she was an undergraduate student at the time.

In 2008, Karim Rashid married Ivana Puric, a Serbian chemical engineer.

Karim Rashid met Ivana Puric at a party in Belgrade in 2006, while working as an ambassador for the second installment of Belgrade Design Week.

Together they have one child, Kiva Karim Rashid born in 2013.