William Welch (designer)
William Welch | |
|---|---|
| Born | 02/04/1972 |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Royal College of Art |
| Occupation(s) | Industrial designer and CEO of Studio William Welch Ltd |
William Leonard Welch MA (RCA), FCSD, FRSA (born 2 April 1972) is an English Industrial designer. William is the son of the late post-war Industrial Designer Robert Radford Welch (21 May 1929 – 15 March 2000). In 2004 Welch became a Fellow of Chartered Society of Designs. In 2007 Welch was invited to become Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts.
Early life and training
Welch was born in Leamington Spa and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. Welch received his design education at the University of Central England (now Birmingham City University) where he completed courses in Furniture design and Silversmithing, before going on to complete his Master of Arts Degree at The Royal College of Art, London. Welch worked for Pentagram Design London as a junior designer (1995-1997), under practice partner Kenneth Grange, and later worked in the same design consultancy for Daniel Wiel (1997-1999).
Between 1999-2001, Welch completed his Master’s Degree at the Royal College of Art, London.
Through completing a research and development project, design for people with physical disabilities at The Helen Hamlyn[1] Centre for Design, Welch designed cutlery for people with physical disabilities called "Adaptable Cutlery[2]" which changed shape to accommodate a user’s best physical ability. This gained the graduating year’s top Helen Hamlyn award for design in 2001, The Lord Snowdon Award.[3] The Adaptable Cutlery was also a category award winner for the Peugeot/Oxo Design Awards 2002,[4] and overall winner of all 10 design categories with prize money of £16,000.
Between 2001-2005, Company Director at Robert Welch Designs Ltd. Employed as a Design Director.
Silversmithing
Welch worked as an apprentice at his late father’s studio and workshop, studying design and silversmithing under his father and also Silversmith and model maker John Limbery. Welch completed his Silversmithing training focusing his Master of Arts Degree towards mass-production and industrial design at The Royal College of Art, London.
Cutlery Designs
Studio William's cutlery designs are on display in permanent museum collections worldwide including the Chicago Athenaeum Museum, Chicago, and the RedDot Museum in Essen, Germany. Studio William's designs are also displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, where selected cutlery ranges accompanied the Sweet Instruments of Desire competition exhibition, set by Studio William in partnership with John Lewis. As part of the design brief students from the Royal College of Art, Sheffield Hallam University, Birmingham City University and the Edinburgh College of Art were invited to submit work that explored and challenged the traditional orthodoxy that surrounds the dessert course of a meal, with the winning design being manufactured by Studio William, and sold in John Lewis department stores across the country.
Public work and honours
Welch has produced work that has been awarded the following recognition:
- Scholarship, Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths 1997
- Silver Product Design Award, Hospitality Show, 1999
- Short-listed, Oxo/Peugeot Design Awards, 1999 & 2000
- Finalist, Bombay Sapphire Competition, 2000
- Runner up, Deutsche Bank, Pyramid Awards, 2001
- Winner, The Lord Snowdon Award, Design for Disabilities, 2001
- Winner, Borders Group/RCA Society Award, ‘skill and innovation in design’, 2001
- Highly commended, V&A/Homes & Gardens, Classic Design Awards, 2002
- Winner, Form 2002 Award, Tendence – Frankfurt International Fair, 2002
- Winner of Applied Metal Design, Oxo/Peugeot Design Awards 2002
- Overall Winner, Oxo/Peugeot Design Awards, prize money £16,000, 2002
- Nominated for ‘Products for the Home - Product Design’, D&AD (Design and Art Direction Awards) and published in the Awards Annual 2004
- Winner, Kitchen Products, d&ad awards (design and decoration awards) 2004
- Designpreis Nominee 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014
- RedDot Design Award winner 2007, 2010 & 2011, 2012
- Good Design Award 2008, 2011 & 2013
- IF Product Design Award 2012
- Studio William Welch Ltd exhibition - Victoria & Albert Museum. London 2012
- Victoria & Albert Museum acquire 7 cutlery patterns for their permanent collection as an example contemporary British design
Charity Work
- A supporter since 2008 of the ITF (International Tree Foundation), replanting and protecting Rainforests around the World
- Hilton Charity Fund
Alongside these awards, Welch’s cutlery designs are on display in permanent museum collections worldwide including the Chicago Athenaeum Museum, Chicago, and the RedDot Museum in Essen, Germany. Welch’s designs are also displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, where selected cutlery ranges accompanied the Sweet Instruments of Desire competition exhibition, set by Studio William in partnership with John Lewis. As part of the design brief students from the Royal College of Art, Sheffield Hallam University, Birmingham City University and the Edinburgh College of Art were invited to submit work that explored and challenged the traditional orthodoxy that surrounds the dessert course of a meal, with the winning design being manufactured by Studio William, and sold in John Lewis stores across the country.