Professor Simon Fraser – Associate Director

Simon’s professional career as an Industrial Designer includes four years at Fisher & Paykel where he contributed to the development of home appliances, as well as their first healthcare products in the then newly established Healthcare Division. This was followed by over twenty years in Europe at the highly regarded Porsche Design Studio, where he designed a wide range of consumer and capital products for major international clients. He was appointed Assistant Design Director at Porsche Design in 1997.

In 2001 Simon was appointed founding Programme Director of Industrial Design at the VUW School of Design. He took over as Head of School in December 2006 and was recently appointed Associate Dean (Research & Innovation) for the Faculty of Architecture and Design.

In 2002/4 Simon participated in the Government’s 12 member NZTE Design Industry Taskforce to develop strategies to raise the global competitiveness of New Zealand businesses ‘by design’. He was subsequently appointed to the Better by Design Advisory Board. More recently he has participated in international review committees to evaluate and advise on design research performance. Current activities focus on integrating design research into the commercialisation of new technologies, with a focus on additive manufacturing, via the NZ Product Accelerator.

Research themes and flagship projects:

• Platform 4: Design and Manufacturing