KEN OKUYAMA DESIGN(奥山清行)

Background

Ken Kiyoyuki Okuyama (奥山 清行) is a Japanese industrial designer, born in Yamagata in 1959. He graduated from ArtCenter in Pasadena, California, in 1986 and was a visiting professor at Tohoku University of Art and Design for three years. Part-time teaching at ArtCenter resumed in 1991, and he chaired the school's Transportation Design Department from 2000 to 2004.

Career

He worked for General Motors, where he was part of the Advanced Concepts Center in California and the team behind the fourth-generation Chevrolet Camaro, and for Porsche, helping design the 996-generation 911 and the 986 Boxster. In 2004 he became Creative Director at Pininfarina, where he supervised the Enzo Ferrari and oversaw projects including the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano and the Maserati Quattroporte V. He now leads Ken Okuyama Design, based in Yamagata, Tokyo and Los Angeles, which produces the K.O. 7 Spider and Kode 57 cars as well as eyewear and interior products.

Work with Tendo Mokko

His furniture for Tendo Mokko includes the Albero coat hanger, two chairs (T-3205MP) and a stacking chair (T-3245MP). The Albero coat hanger comes from a collaboration between his design project, which draws on Japanese technology and tradition, and Tendo Mokko.