John Walsh is a Product and Furniture Designer with over 20 years Industry/ Academic experience. He is Head of School and Lecturer in Product Design at TU Dublin School of Art & Design. He is founder of TU Dublin CreateLAB, an applied design research lab which supports industry and entrepreneurs in the development of new products and creation of Intellectual Property through Innovation Vouchers, Innovation Partnerships, Collaborative Research Agreements etc. John has been responsible for attracting over €500k in external and research funding and is the Principal Investigator on Craft 4.0 a €316k Erasmus+ project which will investigate how new technologies such as 3D printing can enhance the Craft Sector.

 

John has 20 years of design industry experience working primarily in the area of Product and Furniture design. He has designed multiple products which have have generated in excess of €40m in sales and his office furniture has been chosen by clients such as Google, Microsoft, British Telecom, O2, the BBC, Lloyds, British Airways for major installations. John's products have won several international design awards, including the FX Design Award 2008, Triflow Future Talents Award 2009, Lotus Prize 2014 and Institute of Designers in Ireland Awards in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2014. 

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John is a Past President (2012) and Fellow of the Institute of Designers in Ireland and is a regular Juror at the iF (International Forum) Product Design Awards in Hamburg.

John’s areas of expertise and research interests include general product/ industrial design, design for manufacture, human factors/ user centred design, prototyping, workplace design, commercial furniture design. He has a degree in Materials Technology, a Masters in Design and a Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Design Innovation.

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Awards:
Design Industry Awards
Institute of Designers in Ireland (IDI) Design Awards, Finalist 2021

Institute of Designers in Ireland (IDI) Design Awards, Finalist 2021
Lotus Design Prize (China): Bronze Award 2015

FX International Design Awards (UK) Finalist 2011 (Product: E2A)

Institute of Designers in Ireland (IDI) Design Awards, Category Winner 2011

Institute of Designers in Ireland (IDI) Design Awards, Category Winner 2010

Institute of Designers in Ireland (IDI) Design Awards, Category Winner 2009

Institute of Designers in Ireland (IDI) Design Awards, Highly commended 2009

Triflow Future Talents Design Award (UK) Winner 2009

FX International Design Awards (UK) Category Winner 2008 (Product: Jack)

FX International Design Awards (UK) Finalist 2008 (Product: Form)

Institute of Designers in Ireland (IDI) Design Awards, Category Winner 2007

Institute of Designers in Ireland (IDI) Design Awards, Highly commended 2007

FX International Design Awards (UK) Finalist 2004 (Product: 80:80)

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Research/ Innovation Awards

Craft 4.0, Erasmus+ Project, 2019: €316,000

Enterprise Ireland Innovation Projects 2015-2020, €120,000
EI Capital Call 2020, €172,000

InterTradeIreland Fusion Project, 2014, €20,000