The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) is thrilled to announce that Frank Tyneski, IDSA, senior director of industrial design and human factors at Kyocera, will become IDSA's new executive director on Oct. 12 -- three days before the start of the CONNECTING'07 World Design Congress. With a reputation as one of the world's premier designers and visionaries, Tyneski brings a powerful combination of professional accomplishments, personal magnetism and dedication that will appeal to ID professionals, consumers and business leaders of all ages and nationalities.
"To have gained the trust and support of the IDSA board of directors, as well as to fulfill this meaningful and historically significant role, is an honor beyond all measure," Tyneski said. "I'm truly grateful and thrilled to serve our professional design society and I intend to commit my heart and mind toward expanding the reach and scope of this already legendary organization."
A longtime IDSA member, Tyneski has accumulated more than 50 domestic and foreign patents and won numerous design awards. His involvement with the creation of the Motorola's TalkAbout SLK Two-way Radio earned IDEA awards in 1996 and 1998, culminating in the Design of the Decade Gold Award in 2000. The TalkAbout had an enormous impact on Motorola, creating a whole new product category, while elevating the role of industrial design within the company and redefining the company's entire image to open the doors to a different type of consumer. In 2000, Tyneski also won the Corporate Design Award from the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, and was a feature artist at the Museum's Design Culture Now Triennial.
"Frank's hire marks the start of an exciting new era for IDSA and industrial design," proclaimed Michelle Berryman, IDSA, the Society's president. "We truly couldn't have found a better candidate to lead the Society -- and our profession -- into a spectacular future. Frank has the passion, commitment, dedication and design experience IDSA needs to grow in the 21st century. His design experience is an amazing complement to the competencies of our already talented and capable staff. I'm absolutely delighted to have Frank join us at the staff level, and I look forward to Frank's leadership for years to come."
As director of design integration for Canada's Research in Motion from 2002-2005, Tyneski led the design efforts on the BlackBerry 7100 series -- the first BlackBerry with the look and feel of a conventional cell phone. With an innovative hybrid keyboard comprising two letters on most keys and utilizing SureType software, the BlackBerry 7100 created a true multifunction device offering style and portability without sacrificing any of the core features that made its predecessors so popular with business leaders, politicians and celebrities. Most recently, Tyneski designed Kyocera's E5000 series handset, noted for its innovative "S" hinge, featuring impressive technical capabilities, beauty, and balance between style and usability. Observers have identified the E5000 as a "must have" device for consumers interested in entertainment, pop culture, fashion, audio quality and multimedia usage.
Tyneski brings to IDSA an international sensibility developed through extensive professional engagement with designers, educators and students around the world. In his work at Kyocera, he learned the Japanese management style of founder Dr. Kazuo Inamori, while building out and staffing design centers in California and India. He has also taught design at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, Design and Architecture High School in Miami, Florida and the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale.
His appointment marks the culmination of an intensive search led by Berryman, along with Executive Vice President Eric Anderson, IDSA; Board Chair Ron Kemnitzer, FIDSA and Interim Executive Director Cooper Woodring, FIDSA, on behalf of the entire Board of Directors. During the search process, the board also enlisted the services of Tom Hirsch, IDSA, a search consultant specializing in design executives. Tom operates out of his mountaintop office in Aspen, Colorado. He can be visited at http://www.insearch.com.
"Frank has the credentials, the culture, the chemistry and the interest to take IDSA and the entire design profession to new heights," Woodring said. "With Frank at the helm, the Society will be able to support designers throughout the globe and across the career spectrum. We're extremely pleased to have him on board."
Tyneski will be officially introduced to IDSA's membership and the global design community at large during CONNECTING'07.
Industrial Designers create satisfied customers by designing products, interfaces and services that are desirable, accessible, comfortable, ecologically responsible, innovative, safe and easy to use. In this way, industrial designers have a quiet but profound presence in almost everything people encounter during the day.
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