Carleton University today conferred a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, on Karim Rashid in recognition of his outstanding and internationally acclaimed contributions to the profession of industrial design and popular culture.
Rashid was honoured during the third day of Convocation. About 4,380 students are receiving their degrees over four days of ceremonies.
“The digital age has empowered individuality and has empowered creativity,” said Rashid. “With that said, we all have a different fingerprint and we are all creative. I always say that we are all artists, if we make change within our profession. Go out there, make change, and beautify this world in one way or another. Thank you all for your brilliant minds.”
With designs for water bottles, furniture, appliances, laptops, jewelry and condominiums, Rashid’s 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 prestigious 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.
Rashid studied at Carleton and completed graduate studies in Milan and Naples under Ettore Sottsass and in the Rodolfo Bonetto studio. In 1993, he opened his own studio in New York City with offices in China.
“Karim’s work in more than 40 countries attests to his legend of design,” said Rafik Goubran, dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Design. “He has emerged as one of the most prolific designers of his generation, emphasizing diversity in order to connect ideas, materials, behaviour and esthetics from one technology to the next, crossing boundaries and broadening consumer horizons.”
You can find Rashid’s acceptance speech along with those of this year’s other honorary doctorate recipients at: http://carleton.ca/convocation/honorary-degree-videos-spring-2016/.
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Thursday, June 9, 2016 in News Releases
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