Shaun Jackson

Shaun Jackson, IDSA | University of Michigan

Educator, inventor, designer and entrepreneur Shaun Jackson founded his first company, Eclipse Inc., while still a student at the University of Michigan. As president and design director, he guided its growth from a small entrepreneurial venture to a multimillion-dollar corporation. Eclipse, because of Jackson’s commitment to design driven excellence, was selected as a case study for a National Endowment for the Arts research project entitled “The Competitive Edge: The Role of Design in American Business.”

Jackson holds more than 50 patents and has received national and international honors, including the prestigious IDEA® award from the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA). His designs have been featured in Time magazine, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Business Week, USA Today, Popular Science, Popular Mechanics and Wired magazine.

Jackson has a triple joint appointment at University of Michigan. He holds a professorship in The School of Art and Design, the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and in the Steven M. Ross School of Business. Additionally, he has lectured at business and design schools world wide, including Harvard University, Auburn, the University of Houston and Carleton University. In 2005, he was appointed chairman of the National Design Conference in Washington, D.C.

In addition to his teaching and speaking engagements, Jackson maintains an active design consultancy. Through his firm, Shaun Jackson Design Inc., he serves clients such as Apple Computer, General Electric Medical Systems, Herman Miller, Nike, L.L. Bean, Harley Davidson and Patagonia.

In 2000, the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum nominated Jackson for their prestigious National Design Award. In 2001, he was selected to serve as chair of the 2001 IDSA’s IDEA awards jury and, the following year, chaired the inaugural BusinessWeek Catalyst Awards jury.