Prof. Ron Nabarro
Designer, Strategist, Entrepreneur and Educator
INTRODUCTION
Prof. Ron Nabarro is a man of vision. The strength of his creative spirit is evident in his many activities. They are characterized by daring, entrepreneurship, innovation, and professional integrity that receive unique expression in his work.
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Is recognized as a thought leader in integrating Design thinking and innovation into business, and in the fields Age-friendly design, Design leadership and management.
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He harnessed design as a creative tool to generate change towards including the older populations’ needs into the development and design new products and services.
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He has gained international recognition and appreciation, winning awards for his work as an industrial designer working to prevent ageism in design and improving the quality of life of the elderly population through design.
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He greatly influenced the importance of understanding age-friendly design and changing paradigms in companies and organizations.
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For five decades, he acted and made a major contribution to the foundation, establishment, and promotion of industrial design in Israel and international recognition of Israeli excellence in this field.
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Israel National Museum exhibited his design work in a solo exhibition "Ron Nabarro - Design for Industry."
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Winner of the prestigious “WTN AWARD” (World Technology Network) in the field of design.
AGE-FRIENDLY DESIGN
Since 1998, he devoted his professional ability and talent to increase awareness for the importance of age-friendly design for the elderly population. He led to a breakthrough in a domain that suffered from disregard and neglect, ignoring the cognitive and emotional needs of the elderly and the difficulties they experienced when using new and technological products.
In 1999, he coordinated the design research and development in an international project within the European Community program's framework and funding. The project involved developing a smart bathroom and toilet for the elderly and disabled users to improve their independence, quality of life, and prevent falls. The project was conducted in Israel in partnership with leading research institutes and universities in Europe.
Prof. Nabarro later designed many products and advised companies on age-friendly developments and design in the fields of hospitalization, distance medicine, communications, home environment, IoT and the public space. He also researched digital literacy among older adults and developed methods to simplify the user interface of digital products and services to enhance their user experience.
Prof. Nabarro shares his professional-academic perceptions and insights and vision worldwide, as a guest lecturer at professional conferences, and as a facilitator of courses and workshops in universities, design schools, entrepreneurship and business administration schools, and was invited to lecture at TED seminars.
For his work in design for the older community and the development of curricula for the subject, Prof. Nabarro was awarded the 2009 WTN - World Technology Network – award in design. This award is given to individuals or groups whose innovative work is particularly notable in its social contribution and its importance and influence over time.
DESIGN PIONEER
In 1970, when he graduated from ״Bezalel״ Academy of Art and Design, industrial design in the country was in its infancy, Prof. Nabarro established his industrial design firm, which created a professional model and a breakthrough inspiration.
In 1990, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem recognized his skills and essential contribution to industrial design and industry and chose to present his work in a solo exhibition called "Ron Nabarro - Design for Industry.״ He is the first Israeli industrial designer whose work was exhibited in a solo exhibition at the Israel Museum.
850 PROJECTS
Prof. Nabarro is considered an original, knowledgeable, and innovative industrial designer who has designed hundreds of products in many diverse fields and was awarded for his work in Israel and worldwide. His work with industry, especially startup companies, contributed to developing these industries in Israel in the early years of the 1980s, especially their ability to break out into the international market and make Israel a “startup nation".
ACADEMIA & TEACHING
Prof. Nabarro accomplished achievements in teaching design as a worthy and inspiring teacher and mentor. He is an educator in every way and setting a personal example. He first taught in 1973, and since then, he has continually taught in various programs for design studies, entrepreneurship, and business administration in Israel and around the world.
In 1991, the Technion's Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning initiated a master's industrial design program for the first time in Israel. The committee chose Prof. Nabarro to head the founding team and develop and manage the program. The program combined advanced design studies in the program framework, including design research, design thinking, and management. Prof. Nabarro headed the program for eight years. He supervised thesis studies of graduate students in design that dealt with research and characterization of solutions for the elderly. Among them online banking systems, autonomous public transportation, home appliances design, website design, food packaging design, cellphone and computer symbols, and more.
In 1998, the school of design at HIT appointed Prof. Nabarro as dean to elevate the School of Design curriculum to full academic recognition by the Council for Higher Education. Within three years after modifications and updates of the curriculum, the school received full academic credit.
INTERNATIONAL ACITIVITIES
In 1999, Prof. Nabarro was elected as a board member for the international designers' organization ICSID (now WDO). In this role, he developed the organization's long-term educational program and developed a social design curriculum - aging and ecology. He has played a crucial role in developing the first ICSID educational conference in Korea (2001) and chaired the second conference in Germany (2003). In 2019 he was elected a board member for the International Society for Design Thinking ISDT, in which he is currently serving.
As a world-renowned designer, Prof. Nabarro is invited to judge in international design competitions such as the Red Dot and Good Design in many countries, Germany, Singapore, China, India, the Netherlands, Belgium, Mexico, Turkey, Slovenia, and more.
ACTIVITY IN CHINA
Prof. Nabarro was first invited to China to speak at a design conference in Shenzhen City in 2004. Since then, he has been invited to lecture at many professional conferences and hold seminars and lectures at leading universities in China, like Beijing Uni, Tsinghua Uni, Tongi Uni, and more. Prof. Nabarro has been appointed a Visiting Professor at several universities in China.
DETAO MASTER ACADEMY
In 2012 Prof. Nabarro was invited to join the team of the prestigious international DeTao Masters academy. DeTao promotes design studies at the highest level in China, which recruits its ranks from the world's leading masters in various fields of design to teach master classes.
WATCH DESIGN
CIGA, a Chinese company, invites international design masters to design wristwatches that bear their signatures. In 2020 the CIGA company invited Prof. Nabarro to participate in this prestigious project and design a series of wristwatches which he is currently working on.