CEO, Good Design Australia

Brandon Gien

Brandon is the Founder and CEO of Good Design Australia and Chair of Australia’s annual Good Design Awards.

He has spent the last 25 years passionately advocating for the value of design to improve our social, economic, cultural and environmental quality of life. He is currently an Adjunct Professor of Design at the University of Canberra and an Adjunct Professor of Industrial Design at the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

Brandon is a President-Emeritus of the World Design Organization (WDO), the world body for Industrial Design. He was a member of the Board of Directors for three consecutive terms and elected President of the organisation from 2013 to 2015, the first Australian to hold this position.

During his term as WDO President, he led the strategic transformation of the organisation, resulting in a new name, new vision and mission and a new global definition of Industrial Design. Through his work on the WDO Executive Board, he helped establish the World Design Impact Prize and World Design Medal to honour to Industrial Designers who have made a significant contribution to the advancement of the profession.

He is the current Chair of the Selection Committee for the World Design Capital®, designated every two years by the World Design Organization to recognise cities for their effective use of design to drive economic, social, cultural, and environmental development.

Prior to founding Good Design Australia, Brandon was the Executive Director of Design Strategy at Standards Australia, recognised by the Australian Government as the nation’s peak standards body.

He studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Newcastle where he later graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Design. He holds a PhD in Environmental Design from the University of Canberra’s School of Design and Architecture.

For the last three years, Brandon has co-hosted the popular television series: Australia by Design Innovation on Network TEN and ONE.

Brandon is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, Professional Member of the Industrial Design Society of America and a Member of the United Nations Association of Australia.

He was made an Honorary Design Ambassador to Japan, an international design advocacy role organised by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JDP).