Irvine James Biography
James Irvine (1958 – 2013) was born in London in 1958. He graduated in 1984 from the Royal College of Art in London. The same year he moved to Milan Italy. From 1984 to 1992 he was a design consultant for Olivetti design studio Milan, designing industrial products under the direction of Michele De Lucchi and Ettore Sottsass. In 1987, for a cultural exchange organized by Olivetti, he worked for a year at the Toshiba Design Center in Tokyo carrying out design research for industrial products. He returned to Milan in 1988 and opened his private design studio. Clients included Cappellini, CBI, BRF and SCP. From 1993 to 1999, in parallel with his private practice, he was a partner of Sottsass Associati Milan and was responsible for the industrial design group. In 2000 he completed the design of the new city bus for the Hannover Üstra transport system. 131 buses were built by Mercedes Benz. In 2004 he was guest of honor at the Interieur fair in Kortrijk and was also elected RDI (Royal Designer for Industry) by the Royal Society of Arts in London. From 2005 to 2007 he was professor of industrial design at the Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe. In 2007 he was awarded an honorary doctorate of design by Kingston University. His design studio in Milan has collaborated and collaborates with various internationally renowned companies including Alfi, Amorim, Alias, Artemide, B&B Italia, Canon, Foscarini, LG, Magis, Marsotto edizioni, MDF Italia, Muji, Olivari, Olivetti, Phaidon, Thonet, Whirlpool, Wmf and Zumtobel. After James' sudden death in 2013, the thirty-year history of his studio has evolved into a new phase, in which the three key words are precision, irony and generosity.
