RICHARD SEYMOUR

RICHARD SEYMOUR began his young adult life as a ballet dancer and pianist before branching out into graphic design, advertising, movie production design and finally (over the last 30 years) Product Design and Innovation. Born in Scarborough, UK, he’s deliberately shifted focus in creative discipline over the years to ‘keep up with the constant mutation of what is going to happen in our daily lives’ and to get better at helping businesses see more clearly into the future. A futurist and a humanist, Richard is well known in the UK for the TV series he created with his partner in design, Dick Powell, Better by Design. The design company they founded together, Seymourpowell, is world-famous for delivering new products into the world that truly change people’s lives, from the world’s first Cordless Kettle and genuinely-pocketable mobile phone, to the interior concept and pre-visualisation of Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic passenger spaceship and Aircruise, a futuristic aerial hotel. Richard has an Honourary Doctorate from the Centre for Creative Studies in Michigan, a Lifetime Achievement Award from FX Magazine, was a Visiting Professor of Design at the Royal College of Art and has received numerous awards for his design and Innovation activities. He was made Senior Fellow of the Royal College of Art in 2005, an honour he shares with other luminaries of Art & Design including David Hockney and Ridley Scott. He is a formidable public speaker and an outspoken supporter for the integration of dynamic creative thinking into everyday business processes. His TED talk from last year: How Beauty Feels, has already received over a million viewings across the web.