I design for research. I find practical applications for knowledge and create cutting-edge knowledge through practice. Regardless if I design new products, create new materials or develop new teaching curricula, I blend practice and theory to take advantage of emerging opportunities and meet the needs of a rapidly changing world. I am seeking new possibilities and experiences in materials and objects that speaks to the body and mind.
I have designed or co-designed over fifty projects creating innovative materials, products, furniture, exhibitions, and public installations. My work ranges in scale and complexity — from patented technology of expanding wood and therapeutic device correcting deformity of feet to musical installations presented in the most frequented places of the world.
Karol Murlak is a designer, researcher and educator specializing in design for research and science. His expertise ranges from experimental industrial and spatial design to design research and consulting.
Currently employed as a professor at Pratt Institute, New York and as an associate professor at SWPS University, Warsaw and running his independent creative consultancy he has more than 18 years of academic and business experience. He has been working with universities, institutions and companies in Europe and America, including Deutsche Bank, Boston Consulting Group, Martinelli Luce, the Museum of Food and Drink and The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
He has designed over fifty projects creating innovative materials, products, furniture, exhibitions, and public installations. His work ranges in scale and complexity — from patented technology of expanding wood and devices bringing relief for patients with spine and foot conditions to musical installations showcased in the world’s busiest locations.
His projects have been presented at exhibitions in New York; Washington, DC; London; Milan; Berlin; Brussels, Frankfurt; Dresden; Budapest; Prague; Bucharest; Sofia; Ljubljana; Warsaw; São Paulo; Brasilia; Rio de Janeiro; and Toyama. He won recognized design awards and competitions such as the Design by… Competition, the Sanitec Koło Prize, and the Design Competition for the City of Łódź.
He graduated from the Spatial Design program in Falmouth College of Art in Great Britain. He also holds a doctoral degree in design and a master’s degree in interior architecture both from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Poland.