Martin Thaler

Martin Thaler is a visiting associate professor at the IIT Institute of Design. He holds a master of fine arts from the Royal College of Art and a bachelor of fine arts from the Rhode Island School of Design. For the past 12 years he has led multidisciplinary teams at the IDEO Chicago office for companies in the consumer electronics, medical, and furniture industries.

His work for clients including Motorola, Lilly, Steelcase, Baxter, DaimlerChrysler, Gateway, McDonald’s, and Nanosphere have resulted in designs that successfully blend user, technology, and business needs. Prior to joining IDEO in 1985, he co-founded the award-winning consulting firm Design Logic in Chicago. His clients included Bang & Olufsen, Dictaphone, and View-Master. Martin’s work has been exhibited and been published in books and periodicals including ID, Blueprint, Casa Vogue, and Time.

Martin has taught product design and environmental design as an ID adjunct faculty member over the past 16 years. He is keenly interested in the fundamentals of design. Martin is committed to providing students with real-world opportunities in hospitals, schools, businesses, and other institutions from which they can experience how design can make a difference in people’s lives.