Brian Graham is the founder and creative director of Graham Design, a studio specializing in contemporary furniture and related products for the workplace and healthcare markets.
With over 30 years of experience in design, Brian’s strategic approach combines planning, research, and creativity to deliver solutions that meet his manufacturing partners’ needs and expectations. His work has garnered awards and recognition from prestigious organizations such as AIA, IIDA, IDSA, IFMA, and The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture & Design. His mission is to create functional, beautiful, and sustainable products, enhancing people’s quality of life.
Brian advocates and advises the design industry, collaborating with leading manufacturers, associations, and publications to promote the value and impact of design. He actively engages with the larger design community to champion a deeper understanding of design’s significance in contemporary culture, including participating in design talks, industry panels, podcasts, and filmed media.
Building opportunities for a more diverse and representative design community is increasingly important to Brian. To this end, he serves on the board of Industrial Design Outreach, a 501(c)(3) non-profit with a mission to foster curiosity, promote creativity, and build self-confidence in youth from diverse communities through high school design education.
For his lecture at Cranbrook, Graham will draw from a deep understanding of the modern workplace and a respect for design history and share how his background in interior design shapes his approach to creating furniture.
The Knoll Lecture in Design at Cranbrook was established in 2004 by Knoll, the residential furnishings company founded by Cranbrook Academy of Art student Florence Schust and her husband Hans Knoll. Each year, the endowed Knoll Lecture Fund brings to the Cranbrook campus the world’s most distinguished and innovative designers and thinkers to speak about their practice and to work with tomorrow’s design leaders studying at the Academy. Past speakers have included Jonathan Olivares, Steven Haulenbeek, Aldo Bakker, Martino Gamper, Bertjan Pot, Lindsey Adelman, Stefano Caggiano, and many others.
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