Thomas Düster is the new professor of industrial design

Starting in the 2026/27 winter semester, Thomas Düster will assume a professorship in industrial design at the School of Design at Pforzheim University. The designer brings more than 20 years of professional experience in Europe, Asia, and the U.S., including stints at Philips, Huawei, and Amazon. His areas of expertise include sustainable and innovative product design, design strategy, and leading interdisciplinary teams.

International Design Experience and Roots in Craftsmanship

From 2006 to 2012, Düster worked at Philips Design in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Hong Kong, where he developed lighting solutions and created innovative future scenarios as part of the “Design Probes” team. He then led an international design team at Huawei in China before heading up industrial design at Amazon Go in Seattle from 2014 to 2018.

Since 2018, Düster has run his own design studio, formfuture, in Seattle, which supports companies and organizations in developing products, design strategies, and innovations. Together with partners, he also founded the company Juno Baby. Its sustainably designed, foldable baby cradle with a carrying case was named one of the 100 best inventions of the year by TIME Magazine in 2021.

Düster began his design career with an apprenticeship as a carpenter. In 2000, he completed his master craftsman’s examination and worked for a year as a workshop instructor at a woodworking technical school. He then studied industrial and product design at the Saar College of Fine Arts and at the Design Academy Eindhoven, where he earned his degree in 2006.

Developing New Solutions with Curiosity and Courage

Sustainability and technological innovation are among the focal points of Düster’s work. In his approach, he relies on a spirit of experimentation and the courage to pursue unconventional ideas and challenge existing ways of thinking. Equally important to him is interdisciplinary collaboration, a principle that already shaped his work at Amazon Go, where he brought together design, technology, and Product Development. As a visiting lecturer and mentor at the University of Washington in Seattle, Düster also worked across disciplines, leading workshops at the Foster School of Business, among other activities.

He aims to bring this interdisciplinary approach to his teaching as well. In addition, Düster places great emphasis on skills that go beyond technical expertise: students should learn to communicate their ideas persuasively and win others over to their concepts.

He views interaction with students as a mutual learning process. He wants to share his experiences from international design practice while also discovering new perspectives and having his own work critically examined. He is particularly drawn to the opportunity to address current challenges in teaching and industrial design with new ideas and approaches.

“I believe that we are more important today than ever before. New technologies are fundamentally changing our profession. I see this as a great opportunity to break new ground together with the students and ask: What do people really need? And how can we make their lives better?” says Düster.