John Maeda

John Maeda is a popular contemporary American designer of Japanese origin. Besides he is also a renowned author, computer scientist and academic scholar.

The Laws of Simplicity is considered to be a landmark in graphic designing. In his work he explored design, technology and leadership and pinpointed the area where they all come together.

I come from Seattle, Washington. I was born and raised there. My parents were a typical blue collar, working class, immigrant family.

They made tofu for a living, and so I grew up in a world where soybeans were everywhere. We sold the tofu to two kinds of customers: regular folks like teachers or gardeners, or to businesses like restaurants. And it was very hard work, working all the time, waking up early in the morning two o'clock in the morning working to six at night.

It was pretty intense, but I learned how to work.

Career {selected...}

- Automattic 2016 - Present

- Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers 2014 - 2016

- eBay Inc. 2014 - 2015

- Google | Technical Board Member 2013 - Present

- Rhode Island School of Design 2008 - 2014

- TED | BrainTrust Member 2007 - 2014

- Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum 2002 - Present

- MIT Media Labs 1996 - 2008

PHILOSOPHY

"The arts are the science of enjoying life."