Stephan Copeland

Stephan Copeland is an industrial designer known for crafting mobility. “I’m looking for new products that free up people’s physical aspirations and enable intuitive expression…constructions that gel with the amazing human body and celebrate agility.”

Born in 1960 in Montreal, Copeland’s kinetic approach to design began as a child making toys and bicycles. Today his professional work is defined by an interactive quality, the way toys are defined by the play they inspire.

With a client list of elite manufacturers in the U.S. and Europe, Copeland has won several of the industry’s top awards and has been widely published and exhibited for design innovation. Best known for a groundbreaking collection of lighting with Flos, Steelcase, Knoll, and Luxo, Copeland has built a reputation for creative problem-solving that led to collaborations with NASA and M.I.T, and to work with the Rhode Island School of Design and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has also pioneered new levels of performance in computer ergonomics and disabled cycling.

Inspired by exploration and adventure, he has travelled extensively in an international career that has included studios in Montreal, Los Angeles, Milan, New York, and a six-year tour as a professional seaman.

An avid motorcyclist and athlete, Copeland cites open water swimming to represent his personal mobility and design vision. “I do believe people aspire to move fluidly through their physical landscape, and when a product flows with its organic forces, interface fades and aspiration takes flight.”