Richard Seymour

Richard Seymour is a designer and co-founder of Seymourpowell, a design and innovation consultancy established with Dick Powell. Initially trained as a graphic designer and illustrator, Seymour transitioned through advertising and film production design before founding Seymourpowell. His career spans more than three decades across various creative disciplines, and the firm has developed a team of forecasters, designers, strategists, and makers united by the belief that effective design improves products and experiences.

Seymourpowell is recognized as a leading product and innovation design consultancy, with clients including Ford, Virgin Galactic, Tefal, Casio, Nokia, Guinness, Samsung, and Unilever. The company has contributed to the development of milestone products such as the world's first cordless kettle and pocket mobile phone. Seymourpowell's design innovation work covers consumer appliances, electronics, mobile phones, and transportation, including cars, motorcycles, trains, and planes. Notable projects include concept design for the Virgin Galactic spacecraft and "Aircruise," a large, vertical airship powered by natural energy and designed as a hotel in the sky.

Throughout his career, Seymour has advocated for design-led innovation and has received awards such as the D&AD Award for Outstanding Contribution to Design, the FX Lifetime Achievement Award, and Senior Fellowship of the Royal College of Art. He and Powell were recognized among the most influential figures in British culture by the BBC. Seymour has also received D&AD Awards for graphic and advertising design and the Smarties Innovation Award for book design. He is a past president of D&AD, has served on the UK's Design Council, was a founding board member of the DBA, and is a trustee of the Design Museum in London.

Seymour became known to television audiences through a number of series on design, including "Design on Your..." and "Better by Design." The six-part "Better by Design" series, produced by Channel 4 in conjunction with the Design Council, examined the potential benefits of reimagining everyday products such as kitchen bins, shopping trolleys, and razors. His TED talk, "How We Feel Beauty," has reached a wide online audience, and he was selected by the BBC to contribute to a series about the future alongside other leading academics and Nobel Laureates.

In his TED talk, Seymour discusses human responses to beauty and the influence of well-designed objects, a theme central to his design philosophy. He maintains that form is function, reflecting his approach to product design and creativity. Seymour is recognized for his public speaking on topics such as product innovation, the perception of beauty, and business agility, and he advises multinational companies on navigating future technologies and emergent behavior.