The Department of Design is pleased to host the annual Butter Goeller Design Affair lecture, this year’s featured guest is internationally recognized French designer Kim Helmbold.
Join us at Ohio State for a public lecture exploring inclusive design and social innovation. Kim Helmbold will share his insights with students, faculty, and the broader community, offering an opportunity to engage with innovative work and ideas.
The lecture is free and open to all. We hope you’ll join us!
About Kim Helmbold
Kim Helmbold is a design and innovation leader with international experience across Europe, the United States, and Asia. Trained as an industrial designer at ENSCI–Les Ateliers in Paris, he has held senior leadership positions at Philips and Groupe SEB, building and leading global design teams and multidisciplinary innovation capabilities across sectors ranging from personal care and consumer goods to healthcare and mobility.
Throughout his career, he has brought design, anthropology, consumer insights, and foresight together to better understand how people live, anticipate change, and translate insights into meaningful innovation. He is particularly interested in how design can move beyond products and markets to challenge established perspectives, address overlooked needs, and create value for both people and business. Inclusive design and social innovation are among the areas he continues to explore, driven by a curiosity about people and the diversity of their lives.
About the Butter Goeller Design Affair
The Department’s endowed fund, The Annual Reinhart Butter and Heike Goeller Design Affair Fund, supports distinguished experts to come to Ohio State where they engage in a multi-day series of activities including hands-on workshops for Ohio State DESIGN students and public lectures for the larger Columbus design community.
Established by Professors Emeriti Reinhart Butter and Heike Goeller the fund aims to advance both the theory and practice of design through participatory and thought-provoking events.
