Yves Behar
Discover the life and work of Yves Béhar — Swiss-born designer, founder of fuseproject, pioneer in sustainable and social design. Learn his philosophy, major projects, and memorable quotes.
Introduction
Yves Béhar is a visionary industrial designer and entrepreneur whose work spans technology, social impact, product design, and brand experiences. Born in Switzerland in 1967, Béhar founded the design firm fuseproject in 1999 and has since become a leading voice in melding aesthetics, innovation, and responsibility. His creations—from the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project to smart home products—reflect a philosophy that design should be humanistic, sustainable, and forward-thinking.
Early Life and Family
Yves Béhar was born on May 9, 1967 in Lausanne, Switzerland.
“Advertising is the price companies pay for being unoriginal.”
“I wanted to be a writer as a teen… so storytelling was my first love. … design became an obsession … our slogan became ‘design brings stories to life.’”
“Designers have a responsibility to show the future as they want it to be — or at least as it can be, not just the way an industry wants it to be.”
“The role of designers and product makers is to … become much better editors. Remove all the extraneous stuff.”
Lessons from Yves Béhar
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Design with purpose
Aesthetic beauty is important—but lasting impact comes when design is ethical, sustainable, and rooted in human need. -
Iterate, fail, evolve
Even ideas that don’t succeed initially may return in new form. Resilience in design thinking is essential. -
Embrace multidisciplinary thinking
Bridging brand, technology, product, interface, and business leads to richer, more cohesive solutions. -
Take ownership & risk
By aligning with ventures rather than being a vendor, designers commit deeply—with greater potential reward. -
Sustainability is not optional
In the 21st century, responsibility to the planet must be part of design, not an add-on. -
Tell stories through objects
Every product can carry narrative, meaning, and emotional resonance beyond just function.
Conclusion
Yves Béhar exemplifies what modern design can be: deeply aesthetic, technologically ingenious, socially aware, and ethically grounded. From his Swiss roots to his influence in Silicon Valley, he has reshaped how we think about what objects do—not just how they look, but how they live in our lives and shape our futures.
If you’d like, I can prepare a visual timeline of his major projects or a poster of his top quotes. Would you like me to do that?