About Ivan

“Ever since I was a child, I’ve been reworking things around me to make them look the way I wanted.”

Perhaps it was this instinct – to look at things and wonder whether they could work or look better – that first drew Ivan to design. He has been working professionally in the field for over 30 years, designing everything from small everyday objects and furniture to medical equipment and large industrial machinery. Throughout his career, he has been most interested in products that go beyond the concept stage and are actually manufactured and used.

He sometimes describes himself as “an engineer with an eye for aesthetics.” And for good reason. Before studying design at UMPRUM, he trained as a wood patternmaker and studied furniture construction. Over decades of practice, he has built up extensive knowledge of materials and manufacturing technologies – from metalworking to injection moulding and modern industrial production.

This combination of skills allows him to move comfortably between the worlds of design, engineering and manufacturing. For Ivan, design is about more than finding the right shape. A good design must work, be manufacturable and bring something extra to the table – functionally, aesthetically or, ideally, both.

Since 2007, Ivan has headed the Industrial Design Studio at UMPRUM, the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. He sees teaching as more than simply passing on his experience. Working with students challenges him to look at things from new perspectives, question his own assumptions and continue learning. This blend of experience and fresh thinking is also central to his approach at Divan Design. Some of the student projects that have impressed him most over the years are featured here, too.