Since the 1990s, award-winning British designer Michael Young has been committed to exploiting material innovations and classical design principles to create an array of industrial design products for global design brands. In recent years, his portfolio has expanded to include a handful of limited-edition collections for international galleries and design events. Even so, his work consistently expresses his passion for the industrial arts.
Born in 1966 in Sunderland, a small industrial city in northern England, Young studied Industrial Design at Kingston University, graduating in 1992 and then working for a time at Space, a design studio run by Tom Dixon. Around 1994, he launched Michael Young Studio in London, with the aim of providing exclusive, quality design services, from interiors to technology. By 1997, legendary design tastemaker Sir Terence Conran had declared him to be "the most inspirational British designer" of the day.
In the years surrounding the turn of the millennium, Young globetrotted quite a bit, setting up shop in Reykjavík and Brussels while also exploring Asia. In 2006, Young settled in Hong Kong, attracted by the industrial facilities and production potential.
Notable designs from Young’s career include the Smartie Collection for Cappellini (1996), Magis Dog House for Magis (2001), Writing Desk for Established & Sons (2005), Zipzi Folded Paper Table for Established & Sons (2007), Cityspeed Bicycle for Giant (2007/9), Joseph Pendants for EOQ (2013), a special edition car for Moke International (2013), and Roxanne Chair for Gufram (2017). Standout interiors include his famous Astro Bar nightclub in Reykjavik and the Mandarina Duck store in Berlin.
Young has collaborated with a wide range of international brands, like Artemide, Cathay Pacific, Chivas, Coca-Cola, Danese, Emeco, George Jensen, Lacoste, Ostbahn, Sawaya & Moroni, Swedese , Rosenthal, Trussardi, and more. Young’s limited-edition work has been produced by Paris’s Galerie Kreo, Brussels’ Veerle Verbakel Gallery, and San Francisco’s Hedge Gallery.
Young’s designs can be found in the permanent collections of the Centre Pompidou, the Louvre, Die Neue Sammlung Museum, and London’s Design Museum. He’s received numerous Red Dot Awards, alongside honors from Wallpaper, NeoCon, Eurobike, the Kortrijk Design Biennale, and others.
