Tom Hardy (designer)

Education

Tom Hardy was educated in industrial design at Auburn University (1964–1970) under Eva Pfeil (German) and Walter Schaer (Swiss), former students at the Ulm School of Design in Germany. During his graduate work in the School of History and Sociology at Georgia Institute of Technology (1995-1996), he consulted with Georgia Tech to create CoLab, a unique multi-disciplinary innovation laboratory that integrated engineering, marketing and industrial design for industry-sponsored projects.

IBM Industrial Designer

Early in his career, Hardy was the industrial designer of numerous award-winning IBM products, including the original IBM Personal Computer introduced in 1981. During the 1970s, he also designed advanced industrial design concepts for 'single user computers' during the infancy of personal computing. His work included a design model in 1973 to complement the IBM engineering prototype of SCAMP, dubbed by PC Magazine as "the world's first personal computer".

IBM Design Program and ThinkPad

As corporate head of the IBM Design Program, Hardy directed worldwide identity operations in concert with notable designers Paul Rand and Richard Sapper As cited in numerous publications, he played a key role in development of the first IBM ThinkPad notebook computer (1992) together with a new differentiated product personality strategy which focused on providing more unique character to help revitalize IBM's brand image in the 1990s.

Design Strategist

Later an independent consultant, his work with Samsung Electronics involved integrating a comprehensive design management system and strategy into the corporate culture. These elements have been cited in business publications as strategic assets that helped elevate the company's global brand image and brand equity value.

Educator

Hardy has lectured at international venues and currently serves as Professor of Design Management and Graduate Coordinator at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).

Government

In 1992, Hardy was invited by the U.S. Presidential transition team to participate as a member of President Bill Clinton's Roundtable on Design. The purpose of the event was to create ideas on how design can contribute to America's competitiveness, sustainability and inclusiveness. Following the Roundtable on Design, he was selected to testify before the 103rd Congressional Committee on Science, Space and Technology as to the importance of design in commercialization of technologies and U.S. competitiveness. Hardy also participated in another government design initiative in 1993 as Chair of a National Endowment for the Arts' Design Program working group to propose a White House Council on Design. And in 2000 he was appointed to the Presidential Design Awards Jury for Federal Design Achievement in Graphic Design and Industrial/Product Design

Products and Management

Awards for Hardy's industrial design of IBM products include: Industrial Designers Society of America Gold IDEA - 1980, The Premio Smau Award - 1977 (Italy), iF Product Design Award - 1983 (Germany) and four I.D. Magazine Annual Design Review Awards - 1977, 1981, 1982, 1983. He holds several design patents and his work is on permanent exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC).

The 2007 anniversary issue of PC Magazine highlighted Hardy's innovative management leadership role in the original IBM ThinkPad development process and deemed him 'Innovator of the Year 1992'. Most recently, two products directly influenced by Hardy during his IBM career were selected in 2016 by Time Magazine as being among "The 50 Most Influential Gadgets of All Time". They are: (#5) the first IBM Personal Computer 5150 and (#21) the iconic IBM ThinkPad 700C. The 50 products were cited by Time as "The tech that forever changed the way we live, work and play".