James Irvine

James Irvine (1958-2013), born in London, graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1984 and moved to Milan the same year. He worked as a design consultant for Olivetti under Michele De Lucchi and Ettore Sottsass from 1984 to 1992. He opened his private design studio in 1988, with initial clients including Cappellini and SCP. From 1993 to 1997, he was also a partner at Sottsass Associati, leading the industrial design group. In 2004, Irvine was the guest of honour at the Interieur fair in Kortrijk and was elected Royal Designer for Industry by the Royal Society of Arts in London. He received an Honorary Doctorate in Design from Kingston University in 2007.