2 min read

Sebastian Herkner felt driven by creativity from when he was just a child and enjoyed all sorts of creative activities using his hands. He studied at Offenbach University of Art and Design, gained initial practical experience during an internship with Stella McCartney, and started Studio Sebastian Herkner in 2006.

Product designer Sebastian Herkner on the development of a personal design language.

Today, Herkner is one of the highest-profile product designers and works for internationally renowned companies, from Thonet to Rosenthal, Cappellini and Zanotta. He has received countless design awards, including the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2011, and he was named Designer of the Year in 2019 by Maison & Objet. Most recently, he was honoured at the German Design Awards 2020 for his trilogy of drinking glasses for the anniversary of glassmaker Poschinger.

When did he know that he wanted to become a designer? What experiences were particularly formative for him? And what was it like for him, as someone from Offenbach, to reinterpret Thonet’s “Frankfurt Chair”? A conversation with Sebastian Herkner about his career and how artisanal craft and traditional manufacturing techniques influence his individual design language.

Please note: this podcast is in German.

In the ndion podcast, the German Design Council invites interesting people from various industries and talks to with them about design, brand and innovation. They will be asked about the current challenges in transformation, megatrends and micro-tools, lessons learned and the most important dos and don’ts.


More on ndion

Discover more articles about Design


Share this page on Social Media: