Karim Rashid

Karim Rashid is one of the most prolific and recognisable designers of his generation. Born in Cairo in 1960 to an Egyptian father and English mother, he was raised in Canada. He graduated in industrial design from Carleton University in Ottawa in 1982 and completed postgraduate studies in Italy before opening his own studio in New York in 1993. Since then he has designed thousands of products across furniture, lighting, homewares, packaging, fashion and interiors for brands including Alessi, Artemide, Kartell and Umbra, whose Garbo bin became one of the best-selling design objects of the 1990s.

Rashid’s work is defined by fluid, organic forms, vivid colour and a sense of optimism about the future. He describes his approach as “sensual minimalism”, a design language that makes everyday objects more democratic, more joyful and more human. Beyond products, his practice extends to architecture and interiors, from the Semiramis Hotel in Athens to the Università subway station in Naples. His work is held in the permanent collections of museums including MoMA in New York and SFMOMA, and he has received hundreds of international design awards.

His collaboration with Italian lighting manufacturer Axolight produced Nafir. The 2012 collection of pendants and ceiling lights takes its name and trumpet-like silhouette from a traditional horn and pays tribute to Rashid’s own heritage. Available as a single or triple-light composition and in a choice of two-tone finishes, Nafir works as a sculptural statement on its own or in groupings across hotels, restaurants and homes.

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