Jonathan Chapman

Biography

Jonathan Chapman is Professor & Director of Doctoral Studies at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Design where he leads the PhD in Transition Design—a research leadership program for designers committed to making positive change in the world.

He is the author of five books at the intersection of industrial design, human experience, and sustainability. His most recent book, Meaningful Stuff: Design that Lasts (MIT Press, 2021) calls for an “experience heavy, materials light” design sensibility that increases the quality and longevity of our relationships with products, and demonstrates why design can—and must—lead the transition to a sustainable future.

Chapman is a consultant and strategic advisor to global businesses and governmental organizations from Puma, COS, and Philips, to the House of Lords, the United Nations, and NASA. His Op-Ed for The Guardian outlining his research agenda received 1,000+ comments within hours of going live.

He is a Visiting Professor in Design at the Politecnico di Milano, and graduate student advisor at MIT, Cambridge University, Royal College of Art, and KAIST. He holds a PhD in Design (2008), MA in Design Futures (2001), and BA (Hons) in Industrial Design (1997).

At the age of 38, he became the youngest person in the UK to achieve the rank of Full Professor in Design. New Scientist described Chapman as “a mover and shaker” and a “new breed of sustainable design thinker.”

Publications:

Meaningful Stuff: Design that Lasts (MIT Press, 2021)

Routledge Handbook of Sustainable Product Design (Routledge, 2017)

Emotionally Durable Design (Expanded Second Edition) (Routledge, 2015)

Designers, Visionaries & Other Stories (Earthscan, 2007)

Emotionally Durable Design (First Edition) (Earthscan, 2005)