| British designer, author and teacher, inventor of the world's first laptop Date of Birth: 25.06.1943 Country: Great Britain |
Bill Moggridge, a pioneering British designer, author, and educator, was born in 1943 in London. From 1962 to 1965, he studied industrial design at Central St Martins College of Art and Design.
In 1965, Moggridge moved to the United States and began his career as a designer at American Sterilizer Co., where he designed medical equipment. In 1969, he returned to London to pursue studies in typography and communication.
In 1969, Moggridge founded Moggridge Associates, his first design firm. The company gained recognition for its innovative designs, including a toaster for Hoover UK (1970) and a heater for Hoover UK (1973). Moggridge's work on a minicomputer for Computer Technology Ltd. in 1972 marked his foray into computer design.
In 1979, Moggridge returned to the United States and founded ID Two, a design firm based in Palo Alto, California. One of his most significant contributions was the design of the GRiD Compass (1981), widely regarded as the first laptop computer. This portable device featured a flip-up display and became a patented design for GRiD Systems.
In 1991, Moggridge co-founded IDEO with David Kelley and Mike Nuttall, merging their respective design companies. At IDEO, he championed human-centered design and is credited with coining the term "interaction design."
In 2010, Moggridge became the director of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City. He was the first non-curator to hold this position, marking a shift in the museum's leadership.
Moggridge was a visiting professor at Stanford University from 1983 to 2010. His contributions to design earned him numerous accolades, including the Prince Philip Designers Prize and the Cooper Hewitt Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2012, he received a doctorate from the California College of Arts in San Francisco.
Bill Moggridge's pioneering work in human-centered design transformed the way products are designed and interacted with. His legacy as a designer, educator, and advocate for user-centric solutions continues to inspire generations of designers and engineers.