Pratt Institute

Personal URL

Education

Universidad Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil, Master in Product Engineering

Biography

Ignacio Urbina is a Venezuelan Industrial Designer with over 20 years of experience specializing in the field of Bionics: he was worked on consumer products, street furniture, signage systems, exhibition design, and visual communication systems for many companies, manufacturers, institutions and government agencies. In the late eighties, Urbina worked at the prestigious Brazilian Laboratory of Industrial Design on Florianopolis Island where he had the opportunity to work in many different and diverse product design projects, as well as support his passion of surfing the waves. In 1999 while living in Caracas, he co-founded Metaplug, a multidisciplinary design firm and workshop. He has also worked as an industrial designer in the foundation of La Estancia Art Center in Venezuela and the Andean Amazon Pavilion at the Aichi World Expo 2005 in Japan.

For many years, Ignacio was an Associate Professor and Director of Prodiseño, School of Visual Communication and Design in Caracas, where he was involved in academic projects and research in minimal structures, consumer products, interface and information design, and Thesis projects. Over the course of his academic career, Urbina has been a Visiting Professor at many universities— teaching courses, dictating lectures and advising students with final projects. Co-publisher of Objetual, a website focusing on design issues in Venezuela, he has published design articles in both national newspapers and specialized magazines.

Currently, Ignacio resides in Brooklyn, New York, where he is a full-time Associate Professor in Industrial Design at Pratt Institute. In addition to his teaching, he continues to participate on projects and activities as advisor member of the Ibero-American Design Biennial in Madrid.