Yves Béhar | Design Visionary Of 2015

Inaugurated in 2014, Design Miami Design Visionary Award is a program that celebrates significant contributions made to the field of design, a designer who’s demonstrated a certain panache and flair for thinking outside of the proverbial box. Yves Béhar was chosen as this year’s out of the box thinker.

Also: The Best Of Design Miami 2015

The Swiss-American founder of design firm Fuseproject is a hybrid sort of designer. One part entrepreneur, one part digital geek, one part artist and one part dreamer. How else would a slanted surf hut come to fruition other than through the imagination of a child-like make-believe, the technical wiz of someone having paid their dues at The Art Center College of Design, the wherewithal to fund and finance the project into reality, and the cajones to visualize it?

But the surf hut is only a small glimpse into what Béhar is capable of. His idea to work with the One Laptop Per Child initiative goes beyond the scope of merely creating something fascinating to look at. He’s endeavored to build a bridge between humanitarian work and innovative design. The idea is to create a low cost laptop to put directly in the hands of children living in the developing world.

The result: countless children equipped with laptops to help them take their education to the next level. Fuseproject’s collaboration with the One Laptop Per Child Foundation has netted the pair a grocery list of awards going all the way back to 2006. And the momentum the movement has built only continues to grow by leaps and bounds.

As for Béhar himself, his clients range from British Gas to NGOs to average Joes wanting to buy custom-rendered furniture. His latest work involves an exciting collaboration with the minds at Nike, USAID and UKAID and Girl Effect that aims to provide girls in East Africa with mentors, funding and training for the business sector.

All images courtesy of Yves Béhar.