Biography
Klaus Marek studied product design at the University of Design Schwäbisch Gmünd and architecture at the University of Stuttgart. As a product designer he took part in various studies and design-on-site projects for the Design Office Produktentwicklung Roericht in Ulm and worked for the Trendbüro Hamburg under Mathias Horx researching trends and future developments. Working with various cooperations and running his own design agency, he devised, among other things, new writing tools for the pen and marker manufacturing company Stabilo or a remote control programme for the company Somfy with a focus on user interface. As an architect he worked for the Basel Architects Herzog & de Meuron on various types of projects – among others as the head of the design team for a research and laboratory building for the Swiss global health-care company Hoffman-La Roche, where various user needs and complex technical requirements has to be integrated. In 2010 he became an independent architect and designer where he follows a strong user-centered approach. He was also lecturer in Product and Process Design for the Bachelor’s degree at the University of Design Schwäbisch Gmünd. Since autumn 2015 he teaches Product Design, Service Design and Design Methods in the Master’s degree programme at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, where he also researched in the field of visualization of service processes at the Compentence Center Visual Narrative. Since 2020 he is Head of the Spatial Design Bachelor's Programme at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
Klaus Marek is founding and core team member of the Swiss Chapter of the Service Design Network (SDN).