Since graduating from the University of Canberra with a PhD in environmental design in 2012, Dr Brandon Gien has gone on to impress on the global design stage.
In 2015, the Chief Executive Officer of Good Design Australia was inaugurated as a Senator of the World Design Organization (WDO), the global body for industrial design. Dr Gien was the first Australian to ever hold this position and is the recipient of the Alumni Excellence Award for Arts and Design.
Through his work on the WDO Board of Directors, Dr Gien assisted in the creation of the World Design Impact Prize, which honours design projects aimed at positively impacting on our social, economic, cultural and environmental quality of life. The award is considered as one of the most prestigious in the industry.
Closer to home, Dr Gien chairs the Australian Good Design Awards – the oldest and most prestigious design award program in Australia. He is also a globally recognised industrial designer and sits on a number of creative advisory boards, committees and panels in Australia and around the world.
Dr Gien was based in Sydney while he completed his PhD at the University. He credits the occasional commute to Canberra with helping fill his head with ideas during his studies.
“The long drives between Sydney and Canberra [helped],” Dr Gien said. “I completed my PhD over a six-year period while living and working in Sydney and had to drive down every couple of months to meet with my PhD supervisor. I actually really enjoyed the drive as it gave me the time and space to think about my research outside of my crazy work schedule.”