Chair, Graphic Design
Art Center College of Design
Nik Hafermaas has been the department chair of Graphic Design at Art Center College of Design (www.artcenter.edu/gpk) since August 2004, where he has created a new Graphic Design curriculum and co-hosted studio abroad programs in Berlin, Copenhagen and, most recently, in Tokyo. His current large-scale environmental work PowerPLANTs – a major public work awarded by the City of Pasadena – made its debut before a professional audience at the Art Center Design Conference in March 2006 at the Wind Tunnel in Pasadena.
Prior to Art Center, Mr. Hafermaas was a Professor of Integrated Design and Temporary Architecture at the University of Arts, Bremen and curator of the Berlin-based network Young Creative Industries. His clients included the Bertelsmann Media Group, World Expo 2000, Audi, Deutsche Telecom AG, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Zurich Financial Services, Expo.02.
Mr. Hafermaas is also the former co-owner and chief creative officer of the design company Triad Berlin, where he and his two partners formed an integrated professional team of over 50 employees, shaping it into one of Germany’s leading design firms specialized in the field between industry and the arts, technological innovations, new media and contemporary culture. Most recently, he founded the design company UeBERSEE, specializing in narrative spaces.
Mr. Hafermaas was recipient of the IF Design Award in 1999 and 2004, the German Design Club Award in 2000 and 2002 and the Art Directors Club Design Award in 2002. He studied Visual Communications and Architecture at the University of Arts, Berlin.
