Charles Austen Angell

Charles Austen Angell is Founder and President of Modern Edge, Inc. based in Portland Oregon. He directs projects for corporate clients in: health & wellness, mobility, home products, and experiential environments. He is responsible for all aspects of design management at Modern Edge, Inc. including design quality, program management, client contact, human factors and ethnographic research, product positioning and service design.

A native Australian, Mr. Angell has traveled extensively through Europe, the Americas, Africa, China, South East Asia, and Australia examining the role of culture, politics and geography in shaping our evolving global design industry. Mr. Angell is passionate about creating new markets and designing product relationships that transcend cultural borders to enhance our shared human experience.

Experience:

Mr. Angell has worked as a senior consultant and design manager for several leading design consulting firms, and corporations and prior to founding Modern Edge as the corporate Director of Design Research & Innovation for the Intel Corporation. His teams have developed new products, new categories, and new markets for industry leaders such as: John Deere, Harley Davidson, SC Johnson Wax, BMW, Gillette, St Jude Medical, Sunbeam, and others. He is the recipient of multiple patents and awards. He has served as the Executive Vice President of the Industrial Designers Society of America (www.IDSA.org), as well as being one of the original five trustees for the Design Foundation; a public charity supporting design education through educational and social responsibility.

Education:

Mr. Angell received his BSID in Industrial Design from Purdue University and was design lead for a Purdue master’s level engineering grant to develop passive restraint systems for General Motors.

Distinctions:

Mr. Angell was a guest editor for Innovation Magazine and has been published in a variety of journals. He has lectured at multiple forums nationally and internationally, such as the Design Management Institute and The National Connected Home Conference in Melbourne Australia. He has also been a guest educator at: Purdue University, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, the University of Southern Illinois-Carbondale, and the University of Minnesota. He has taught an online continuing education class in Sustainable Product development for Minneapolis College of Art and Design. He is currently the Chairman-Elect of the IDSA National board and Chairman of the 2012 National IDSA Conference in Boston: “THE FUTURE IS…”.

Engagements & Publications:

Sustainable Product Development, 2009; Keynote Speaker, 3M Forum PDMA, Minneapolis, MN

Transforming Healthcare, 2009; Speaker, Transform and Transcend Conference, New Orleans, LA

IDSA Southern District Conference, 2009; Student Merit Awards Judge, New Orleans, LA

Corporate Design Strategy, 2007; Moderator (POD), P&G headquarters, Cincinnati, OH

There’s No Place Like Home, 2006; Speaker, HFES home health Conference, Washington, DC

Assisted living Technologies, 2006; Web article, http://www.urbanmag.com.au/articles_july_02.php, Australia

We’re better off at Home, 2006; Magazine article, Urban magazine, Australia

Connecting Home Health, 2006; Keynote speech, Connected Home Conference, Melbourne Australia

Design + Process, 2006; Speaker, Intel Internal Forum, Intel Auditorium, Dublin, Ireland

Design and a Few Dangerous Ideas, 2006; Speaker, IDSA Western District Conference, Tempe, AZ

Next Design Horizon Forum, 2005; Moderator (POD), Crown Equipment Headquarters, New Bremen, OH

Global Economic and IP Forum, 2004; Speaker, Society of Plastics – Industry Conference, Charlotte NC

Conference Opening Remarks, 2004; IDSA Mid-east District Conference, Pittsburgh PA

Asian Cultural Narratives Revisited, Winter 2004; Invited letter, Innovation Magazine

Asian Cultural Narratives, Spring 2004; Invited Letter, Innovation Magazine

Horizon 10, 2004; Delegate, Invitation Only – Microsoft Future Design Tech Summit, Scimitar Ridge, WA

Conference Opening Remarks, 2004; IDSA Southern District Conference Charlotte NC

Role of Design in Manufacturing, 2003; Presenter, Plastics News Executive Forum, Tempe, AZ

Design Alignment Forum, 2003; Moderator (POD), Nissan Design Headquarters, San Diego, CA

Going Public with Design, 2003; Interviewed for article in Residential Architect magazine

Conference Opening Remarks, 2003; IDSA Western District Conference, Pasadena, CA

Sustainable Futures Lecture Series, 2002; Presenter, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Mpls MN

Consumer Programmable Interfaces, 2002; Presenter, International Housewares Show, Chicago, IL

Designing Product Relationships, 2002; Presenter, IDSA Midwest District Conference, Minneapolis, MN

Social Capital within Design Organizations, 2001; Presenter, Design Management Institute’s 23rd Annual Conference, Chatham MA

Role of Social Capital in Design, 2001; Article, International Council of Industrial Design Societies quarterly publication

Role of Social Capital in Innovation, 2001; Presenter, International Council of Industrial Design Societies, North American Conference, Montreal, Canada

User Centered Design Strategies, 2001; Presenter, Technology, Media, and Design Conference, Madison,

The Gateway: Learn and Grow or Fade Away, 2000; Conference Chair, IDSA Midwest District Conference, St. Louis, MO

Sustainable Design Strategies, 1999; Presenter, International Housewares Show, Chicago, IL

The Creative Culture,1999; Conference Chair, IDSA Midwest District 2000, Madison, WI

Design Strategy Issue, summer 2000; Guest Editor, Innovation Magazine

Redesigning the Design Brief, 2000; Presenter, SC Johnson Wax Innovation Conference (internal), Racine, WI

The Five Minute Mentor, Spring 2000; Article, Innovation Magazine

Teaching Experience

Portland Institute of Art and Design, 2009; Senior Portfolio Review, Class of 2009

Minneapolis College of Art and Design, 2009; On-line educator, Product Design, Natural Inspiration for Sustainable Products

Minneapolis College of Art and Design, 2006; On-line educator, Product Design, Natural Inspiration for Sustainable Products

University of Minnesota, 2002; Guest Lecture, User Centered Design Forum

Minneapolis College of Art and Design, 2001; Guest Lecture, User Research and Design, Minneapolis, MN

Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, 2001; Guest Lecture, User Innovation and Utility, Milwaukee, WI

Purdue University, 1998; Guest Lecture, Design and You, West Lafayette, IN

ESL English teacher, 1991-1992; Volunteer English Teacher, Korean Community, Chicago, IL

Purdue University, 1988; Volunteer Teacher, Product Development – Super Saturday Program for gifted children, Purdue University, West Lafayette IN

Purdue University, 1987; Volunteer Teacher, Astrophysics & Cosmology – Super Saturday Program for gifted children, Purdue University, West Lafayette IN