Yves is a distinctive voice in the design world. He uses design to bring stories to life and create product experiences. He has become renowned for his boundary-pushing innovations in technology, furniture, sports and fashion.

Yves brings a humanistic approach to design, harnessing new technology and shaping it into products that are not just beautiful, but intuitive and pleasurable to use. His signature is poetry and pragmatism – a seamless fusion of form, function and experience.

The concept of technology for humanity is perhaps best expressed in Yves’s XO laptop. Part of Nicholas Negroponte’s One Laptop per Child initiative, this $100 laptop was developed specifically for schoolchildren in the developing world. Durability, innovation and desirability come together in a laptop that withstands environmental extremes, is super-light, easy to use and has a playful, child-friendly design.

An agent for change, Yves believes that design can shape the future. “Design is not just about making new things,” he says. “It is about showing what the future can be, challenging the status quo. I see it as a bridge of hope and possibilities.”

His interest in design as an instrument for social change and positive user experience has led him to create innovative energy-saving lights for Herman Miller, and an electric car-charging station for General Electric. Other clients include Aliph, Birkenstock, BMW Mini, Puma, Coca-Cola and Swarovski.

Yves has won over 150 awards, and his work can be found in permanent museum collections and private collections around the world. He lectures, is a member of numerous panels, and spoke at the 2009 World Economic Forum in Davos, bringing industrial design onto the economic agenda.

Awards and accreditations

2001/02/03/04/05 IDEA, Business Week Bronze, Gold and Silver Excellence Award (17)
2003/04/05/06 ID magazine Annual Design Competition
2007 INDEX award for the XO laptop
2007 TIME magazine’s 25 Visionaries
2007 Creativity magazine’s Creativity 50
2007 Fast Company Masters of Design
2008 Brit Insurance Design Award
2008/09 Red Dot Design Award
2009 GOOD Design Award
2010 IDEA Bronze, Silver-eco and Gold awards

Permanent collections

Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian National Design Museum, New York

Exhibitions

Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris
Musée de Design et d’Arts Appliqués, Lausanne
MoMA, New York
SFMOMA, San Francisco
Munich Museum of Applied Art