Designers

Gernot Oberfell i Jan Wertel: designers

Gernot Oberfell, born 1975, and Jan Wertel, 1976, met at the State Academy of Arts in Stuttgart, both studying the very Ulmer Schule influenced Product Design course.
Sharing a strong interest in new technologies and processes, they soon discovered the possibilities of computer aided design and prototyping, resulting in moving more and more of the workshop based experiments in form and function to the screen, whilst staying true to the interdisciplinary spirit of the Bauhaus.
Professional work experiences comprise the Fraunhofer Institute, Industrial, DesignSeven (all in Suttgart), Moehn&Baumann (Rotterdam) and Ross Lovegrove (London), and included projects for Bosch, Artemide, Yamagiwa, Moroso, Knoll, Vitra,…
In late 2006 they established their own design practice, Platform, based in London, a stage for research and interdisciplinary thinking. Projects range from furniture and lighting to consumer electronics.

Marek Gawlik, designer

Associated with IKER from the day it was established.
The company's focus on creating its own unique furniture style allowed him for unhindered approach to design and putting form and function before structure. It was him who prepared complete project documentation and who carefully monitored making prototypes, having in this way full control over the entire production process and its final result.
Such an approach towards designing sofas brought him recognition among jurors of "Dobry Wzór 96" competition which resulted in rewarding him with "Wzór Roku" prize for DUDEK sofa for its original form, sleep function and excellent quality. The IBIS set won "Dobry Wzór" title in the same edition of the competition.
Co-operation with Jerzy Schultek, a German master of detail, resulted in two products referring to the Bauhaus style: GIL chaise longue and FLAMING set rewarded in the "Dobry Wzór" competition.
TEMPEST is a 2003 design – a reflection of the inclination towards strongly geometrized forms with visible influence of minimalism.
El Nino and Combo, designed in 2005, combine the aesthetics of a classic sofa with a sleep function. During the day, they add grace and style to a living room, and at night they turn it into a bedroom.

Robert Majkut, designer

Robert Majkut, a designer for 11 years, has had his own design studio called Robert Majkut Design. He is the creator of unique furniture collections and industrial design collections such as the Mrs. President desk, HERMAMA and Herdoter lamps, and Proton speakers for the Tonsil company, just to name a few. He has designed for some of the largest financial companies, entertainment centers, and phone companies in Poland. He has introduced new brands to the markets and has created their brand image. He has created interior design for such firms as: Noble Bank, Only Glass, Open Finance, Expander, and also for Multikino –ITI Group.
Design as performed by Robert Majkut is characterized by natural softness of lines, which refers to the movement of the human body and its smoothness. It is a distinctive motif in his works. The Projects produced by Robert Majkut are not only practical. They present humanistic depths, which is a trademark of the artist. For him the design is a mission to create the world around us in such a way as to make it comfortable and to make the designed objects positively influence our emotions.

Krystian Kowalski, projektant

Krystian Kowalski was born in 1982 in Warsaw, Poland
He studied Industrial Design at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts from 2002 to 2006, thanks to his garden chair project he graduated with honorable mention and received his BA. In the same year he started his cooperation with Designer Tomek Rygalik, working in his studio on furniture projects and at their exhibition at "100% East" during the London Design Festival in 2006. He then travelled to Milan, where he spent some time as an intern in Bellini Studios till 2007. He worked on furniture for Flou, Knoll, De Sede, Ivars and kitchen dishes for Barazzoni.
In 2007 he returned to Warsaw to work for Towarzystwo Projektowe design consultancy in Warsaw and complete a post-graduate course at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. He received an MA with honors in Product Design In 2008 he went to work for a luxury car retailer to gain some experience in marketing and retail environments, however he also continued to work as a freelance designer, most notably cooperating with IKER on a furniture range. He came to London at the end of 2008, where he is currently studying at Royal College of Art's Design Products Dept.

Tomek Rygalik, projektant

Tomek Rygalik was born in Łódź, Poland in 1976. He studied Architecture at the Technical University of Łódź, and than Industrial Design at the Pratt Institute in New York (1999 BA/Hons), earning the Pratt Circle Award for Academic Achievement in Industrial Design, Certificate of Excellence.
After his studies he worked with several design companies in New York City and the area, including Prime Studio, Arnell Group, Machineart, HFID / Refac Design and Product Genesis – consulting for companies including Kodak, Polarioid, MTV, PerkinElmer, Dentsply, Uniliver, DuPont etc.
In 2003 he came to the Royal College of Art for Post Graduate studies (2005 MA(Des.) RCA).
After graduating from the RCA, Tomek Rygalik established his own design practice in London and joined the RCA stuff as a Research Associate (InnovationRCA). His most recent work includes projects for Moroso, Artek and Heal's,
Tomek's work has been exhibited in galleries and exhibitions of London, Milan, New York, Munich, Valencia and Tokyo.
Tomek's achievements include:
Bombay Sapphire International Designer Glass Competition First Prize, 2006
British Council Design Award (two pieces), 2005
BSI Environmental Design Award, 2005
Rosenthal Design Award, 2004
Honda Concept Car Award, 1998

Wojtek Barański and Mikołaj Wierszyłłowski

Wojciech Barański
Born in Gorlice, graduated Secondary School of Arts in Zakopane and Industrial Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań. Since 2001 has been co-operating with the Wierszyłłowski & Projektanci studio as an interior designer. In 2004 established his own Oyster studio specializing in designing and production of assorted packaging. In 2007, along with Mikołaj Wierszyłłowski, he designed a set of Nel lamps for IKER.

Mikołaj Wierszyłłowski
graduated Architecture and Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań where I later worked as an assistant at the Interior Design Faculty. In 2001, together with Robert Nowakowski, I set up my own design practice. Today, along with Dorota Jaśkiewicz, Piotr Banaszek, Wojtek Barański and Małgorzata Bronikowska, I design interiors and products at the Wierszyłłowski i Projektanci studio. Our projects have been presented at numerous Polish design exhibitions as well as in architecture and design journals.

For IKER I made Bora set and furniture accompanying El Nino sofa (together with Robert Nowakowski), Plumm set and Next family.
My latest work is Nel, a lamp I designed together with Wojtek Barański.

Wojciech Mazur

Wojciech Mazur – graduate of The Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow, Graphic Design Department. Blacksmith, graphic, painter, interior and fairs’ stands designer. Co-founder of “w2m” design group, which joins together designers from many professional fields such as architecture, graphic identification and packaging. Founder of “mazurstudio” company, specialising in the area of corporate and sale places identification. Co-worker of advertising agencies in Europe and USA.

Michał Biernacki

Michał Biernacki was born in 1973, graduated from Painting Faculty of University of Silesia at its branch in Cieszyn. In 2003 he founded his own design studio Biart, designing for such Polish brands as: Zelmer, Krakowska Fabryka Armatur, AquaForm, IKER, Nowy Styl. He is also a co-founder Moho Design company.

Magdalena Witczyk-Kiwińska

Graduate from Department of Interior and Industrial Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław.
She designs commercial art, public and residential interiors also furniture. Winner of the Las Mobili contest, organized in co-operation with university in Florence. She also won 2nd prize of the 3rd edition of the same contest. Awarded at the competition organized by Scholler, Koło and Cersanit, also at the contest for the best stand's design at the Stationery Fairs in Paris.

Arkadiusz Wiśniewski

After graduation from Architecture Department at the Technical University in Wrocław he started co-operation with an architectural studio in Wrocław. After obtaining the license – since 2001 he works as a freelancer designing not only public spaces but also large format facilities and projects for individual clients. In 1999 he was a finalist of "Dom Dostępny" contest.

From 2003 Magda and Arek are working together in "Neodesign Witczyk Wiśniewski" studio. They are designing interiors, furniture and corporate identity.
In 2007 they created two collection of furniture called "Imagine". A year later they designed and implemented to the production process the sofa set called "Inchdesign." In 2010 they designed for IKER a modular furniture named M.A.G.N.E.T.I.C.