Pip Tompkin, IDSA
Principal
Pip Tompkin Design Studio
Pip Tompkin, IDSA, is the award-winning designer and visionary responsible for creating revolutionary products and strategies for companies including Dell, Microsoft, Nokia, Vizio, Polycom, Twitter, iRobot, Toshiba, HTC, Playjam, DAQRI, Discovery Kids and Belkin that changed the face of people-centered products.
His designs, which are featured in many magazines and publications, have acquired numerous patents and awards and yielded global sales in the hundreds of millions. Tompkin’s ability to innovate through design and create products that often surpass the demand expectations of his clients make him one of the most sought-after industrial designers working today.
Tompkin graduated top of his class from Northumbria University in Newcastle and earned his master’s degree in industrial design from Royal College of Art in London, where he became the first person in seven years to receive the Special Examiners Distinction, an accolade reserved for the most exceptional graduates.
Tompkin’s love of architecture and ability to simplify complex functionality through intuitive design allowed him to develop products, infrastructure and strategy for architecture and design firms in England, Norway, Sweden, Finland, China, Korea and the Netherlands. In 2001, he moved to the United States where he helped create Dell’s most iconic and innovative products for gaming, education, consumer and enterprise markets. Between 2001 and 2005, Tompkin helped define product aesthetics, user experience and design functionality that would allow Dell become the No.1 computer company in the world.
In 2005, he accepted a specialist position at Nokia where he developed the Nokia M Series, the first truly multimedia smartphone. During his three years at Nokia, Tompkin was instrumental in brand and user interface (UI) development and designed several award-winning phones for the US, European and Asian markets, surpassing sales expectations by more than ten million units. He served on a board in Helsinki to define Nokia’s design strategies for its global portfolio.
In December 2008, Tompkin announced the launch of Pip Tompkin Design, a design firm built on his “Assume Nothing” and “Adaptive Design – designing for the unknown” philosophy, through which Tompkin encourages his team of exceptional designers to question all assumptions made by a product’s predecessors, often resulting in a disruption of the status quo and paradigm shifting innovation. Pip Tompkin Studio opened its doors to international acclaim, and quickly established itself as an incubator of progressive design solutions for forward-thinking companies around the world.
Tompkin was part of design teams that won a Silver IDEA 2016 for Polycom RealPresence Trio; a Silver IDEA 2013 for VIZIO Thin + Light Notebook; and a Bronze IDEA 2013 for Vizio All in One Touch PC.
