Designer Spotlight

Ron Rezek
Designer, Modern Fan

What are some of your influences?
I was an undergrad at UCLA in the early '70s studying industrial design under such powerhouses as the pragmatic, prolific Henry Dreyfuss - the man who made vacuum cleaners, telephones, tractors and even thermostats sexy. I was recruited by a professor as "student labor" to work in a studio shared by Deborah Sussman, Gerri Kavanaugh and Frank Gehry. I was passed around to Charles Eames and Don Chadwick, where I was able to work on furniture projects. I followed Bucky Fuller around the country for two summers trying to fully comprehend his message. There was plenty of inspiration for a young designer.

Also, I traveled Europe for six months before graduate school and fell in love with the formal qualities of Gaudi and Sottsass in the south and the work of the young English and German architects farther north. The great museums also inspired me to learn more about the early movement of the Bauhaus, Successionist and Art Deco periods in Europe.

Through these influences, I have developed a design approach that tends to seek simplification and depends on solid geometries for inspiration. I disparage style, but work to allow the function to generate forms. My goal in this regard is to develop products that are not "period" but always modern.

How do you stay passionate about design?
Design is not a profession that allows one any days off. The love of design is not work but an on-going, problem-solving pleasure. I can't wait for the next challenge. If I'm not working on a problem for a new product, I'm choosing a new couch for my home or attending a trade show in Frankfurt or Shanghai. Design never sleeps; it's always there when I wake up.

The 13" Cirrus Hugger ceiling fan is designed specifically for low-ceiling applications.

The Ball fan is a perfect sphere, providing visual simplicity while housing all components required for exceptional air movement.

The Pharos is a larger-scale fan with advanced design principles to provide outstanding air distribution and useful light.

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