Hartmut Esslinger (born 5 June 1944) is a
German-American
German Americans (, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry.
According to the United States Census Bureau's figures from 2022, German Americans make up roughly 41 million people in the US, which is approximately 12% of the pop ...
industrial designer and inventor. He is best known for founding the design consultancy
frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...
, and his work for
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Computer Co ...
in the early 1980s.
Life and career

Esslinger was born in Beuren (
Simmersfeld
Simmersfeld is a town in the district of Calw (district), Calw in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
History
The village of Aichhalden was acquired in 1345 by the County of Württemberg and was assigned to the district of Neuweiler, then to that of ...
), in Germany's
Black Forest
The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...
.
[Esslinger, Hartmut (2009). ''A Fine Line: How Design Strategies Are Shaping the Future of Business'' Jossey-Bass, ] At age 25, Esslinger finished his studies at the
Hochschule für Gestaltung Schwäbisch Gmünd in
Schwäbisch Gmünd
Schwäbisch Gmünd (, until 1934: Gmünd; Swabian: ''Gmẽẽd'' or ''Gmend'') is a city in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of around 60,000, the city is the second largest in the Ostalb district ...
. After facing vicious criticism of a
radio clock
A radio clock or radio-controlled clock (RCC), and often colloquially (and incorrectly) referred to as an "atomic clock", is a type of Quartz clock, quartz clock or watch that is automatically Synchronization, synchronized to a time code transmi ...
he designed while in school and the disapproval of his mother (who burned his sketchbooks),
[Nye, Sean]
"Hartmut Esslinger."
In Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present, vol. 5, edited by R. Daniel Wadhwani. German Historical Institute. Last modified April 29, 2015. http://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entry.php?rec=236 he started his own design agency in 1969, ''Esslinger Design'', later renamed
Frogdesign. For his first client, German
avant-garde
In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
consumer electronics company
Wega, he designed the first color TV without a wood frame and the Wega HiFi System 3000, which won him instant international fame.
In 1974, Esslinger was hired by
Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
– Sony also acquired Wega shortly after – and he was instrumental in creating a global design image for Sony, especially with the
Sony Trinitron and personal music products. The Sony-Wega Music System Concept 51K was acquired by the
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
,
New York. In 1976, Esslinger also worked for
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier SAS, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ...
.
In 1982 he entered into an exclusive $2,000,000 per year contract with
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Computer Co ...
to create a design strategy which transformed Apple from a
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...
startup into a global brand. Setting up shop in California for the first time, Esslinger and Frogdesign created the
Snow White design language, which was applied to all Apple product lines from 1984 to 1990, starting with the
Apple IIc
The Apple IIc is a personal computer introduced by Apple Inc. shortly after the launch of the Macintosh 128K, original Macintosh in 1984. It is essentially a compact and portable version of the Apple IIe. The IIc has a built-in floppy disk driv ...
and including the
Macintosh II computer. The original Apple IIc was acquired by the
Whitney Museum of Art in
New York and ''
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' voted it Design of the Year. Soon after
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman, inventor, and investor best known for co-founding the technology company Apple Inc. Jobs was also the founder of NeXT and chairman and majority shareholder o ...
' departure, Esslinger broke his own contract with Apple and followed Jobs to
NeXT
NeXT, Inc. (later NeXT Computer, Inc. and NeXT Software, Inc.) was an American technology company headquartered in Redwood City, California that specialized in computer workstations for higher education and business markets, and later develope ...
. Other major client engagements include
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), trading as the Lufthansa Group, is a German aviation group. Its major and founding subsidiary airline Lufthansa German Airlines, branded as Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. It ranks List of largest airlin ...
's global design and brand strategy,
SAP's corporate identity and software user interface,
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
branding and user interface design,
Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...
,
NEC
is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...
,
Olympus,
HP,
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois. It was founded by brothers Paul and Joseph Galvin in 1928 and had been named Motorola since 1947. Many of Motorola's products had been ...
and
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston.
Over the year ...
.
In December 1990 Esslinger was featured on the cover of ''
BusinessWeek
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...
'', the only living designer thus honored since
Raymond Loewy in 1934. The cover included the headline "Rebel with a cause," referencing his controversial personality and desire to be seen as a non-conformist within the field of design, as well as the movie
Rebel Without a Cause, which Esslinger has described as his first American movie and a cultural inspiration.
Esslinger is a founding Professor of the
Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, and since 2006 he is a Professor for convergent industrial design at the
University of Applied Arts in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
,
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
. In 1996, Esslinger was awarded an
honorary doctorate
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
of Fine Arts by the
Parsons School of Design
The Parsons School of Design is a private art and design college under The New School located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhattan art ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Since 2012 Esslinger has served as a DeTao Master of Industrial Design with
The Beijing DeTao Masters Academy (DTMA) in Shanghai, China.
In 2009 Esslinger published ''A Fine Line'' in which he explores business solutions that are environmentally sustainable and contribute to an enduring global economy.
Notable awards and accomplishments
* 1969 Bundespreis Gute Form (Federal Design Award) – German Design Council
* 1991 Lucky Strike Design Award – Raymond Loewy Foundation
* 1993 Design Team of the Year – Red Dot Design Awards
* 1996 Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts – Parsons School of Design
* 2013 Honorary Royal Designer for Industry – Royal Society of Arts
* 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award – Cooper Hewitt National Design Awards
* 2017 World Design Medal – World Design Organization
References
1. http://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2011/10/102743122-05-01-acc.pdf
Further reading
* ''Hartmut Esslinger und frogdesign.'' von Hartmut Esslinger und Uta Brandes, 1992 Steidl Verlag, Göttingen,
* ''Frog: Form Follows Emotion (Cutting Edge S.)'' von Fay Sweet, 1999 Thames and Hudson Ltd.,
* ''Frogdesign'' von Hartmut Esslinger und Volker Fischer, 2000 Edition Axel Menges,
* ''A Fine Line: How Design Strategies Are Shaping the Future of Business'' von Hartmut Esslinger, 2009 Jossey-Bass,
*
* Nye, Sean
"Hartmut Esslinger."In Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present, vol. 5, edited by R. Daniel Wadhwani. German Historical Institute. Last modified April 29, 2015. http://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entry.php?rec=236
* ''Keep It Simple: The Early Design Years of Apple.'' by: Hartmut Esslinger, January 2014, Arnoldsche Verlagsanstalt
External links
A Fine Line: How Design Strategies Are Shaping the Future of Business by Hartmut EsslingerHartmut Esslinger's Amazing Apple Mac Prototypes via ''
Fast Company
''Fast Company'' is an American business magazine published monthly in print and online, focusing on technology, business, and design. It releases six print issues annually.
History
''Fast Company'' was founded in November 1995 by Alan Webb ...
''
Presenter at Cusp Conference 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Esslinger, Hartmut
1944 births
German industrial designers
Living people
People from Calw (district)
Apple Inc. employees
Design schools in Germany
Academic staff of the University of Applied Arts Vienna
Lucky Strike Designer Award recipients