Design Miami/, an annual international design show, announced yesterday that prolific industrial designer Yves Behar would be the recipient of their 2015 Design Visionary Award (following last year's inaugural winner, Peter Marino). Behar, who runs his studio fuseproject out of San Francisco, has created a varied body of work that seems like it could outfit most homes, ranging from Jambox speakers to August Smart Locks.
"Yves is not only a perfect example of what the Design Visionary Award celebrates, but also demonstrates what the industry can achieve by truly making the world a better place through design," said Rodman Primack, the organization's executive director, in a statement. "The impact of his work does not limit itself to the world of design, but resonates in every corner of the globe and we are very proud to have him as our Visionary this year."
To provide more insight into Behar's career, we've rounded up a selection of stories from Curbed and the entire Vox universe.
The Maker's Mark [Verge]
An in-depth profile of Behar's creative process and designs, which tend to be practical rather than flashy, and have a history of predicting — or dictating — mass-market trends. "The secret," he says, "is in the relationship between the person and the object."
Yves Behar on the Smart Home of the Future [Curbed]
Behar sees the August lock as part of a larger smart home ecosystem, filled with "magical interactions that are discreet" and technology that runs in the background. It's not just about running the trains on time, he says, but being sophisticated without interrupting. "Consumers now expect every experience in life to be as resolved as the products that they like," he says. "There needs to be a strong reason for a product to exist."
12 of Yves Behar's best, craziest, and most profound designs [Verge]
For all Yves Behar's success as a designer, there's no obvious Behar design signature — no figure or shape that repeats across his designs, no Designed by Yves lettering stamped into the plastic. Joseph Rosa, who curated Behar's 2004 show at SF MOMA and is now director of the University of Michigan Museum of Art, says Behar's designs are linked by "a quality of thinking."
Here is the beautiful TV Samsung designed with Yves Behar [Verge]
Samsung brought renowned Fuseproject designer Yves Behar in to help create its new S9W television, and by all accounts it was the best possible move. The curved SUHD TV is gorgeous.
First Look: New Yves Behar-Designed "Smart" Cup Knows Exactly What You're Drinking [Re/code]
Vessyl not only recognized that I was pouring in espresso, it knew that it was a Starbucks double espresso. And several seconds after I poured the Coca-Cola into a clean Vessyl, the compatible mobile app displayed "Coke" on the main page. After a few minutes of testing, I wouldn't say I was totally drinking the Vessyl Kool-Aid (get it? get it?), but I was pretty wowed.
Please Welcome Jambox: Yves Behar's Take on a Wireless Speaker [Curbed]
It's almost as if Behar has combined age-old decorative traditions like folding and tufting with a classic '80s boombox, turning out a thoroughly modern portable product. The method to the madness? "The perforated metal grills are wrapped 360 degrees around the product," explains Behar. "By being made of one single part, we minimize vibration and provide structural integrity."
Yves Behar's New SAYL Chair Descends From on High [Curbed]
Like Catholic pilgrims flocking to touch the foot of the bronze sculpture of St. Peter at The Vatican, adoring modern-furniture fans gathered 'round Yves Behar's new SAYL chair for Herman Miller at the San Francisco MoMA this week.