Bio

Lach Tsvetanov is an accomplished industrial designer, who has received numerous international design excellence accolades, including Red Dot, IF, Japanese Good Design, IDEA and many others. Prior to joining Humanscale in 2003 - where in his last role, he lead the creative development for the company for over 5 years - Lachezar honed his skills and experience in applied aesthetics, usability, human factors and universal design at organizations such as Black & Decker, in addition to various companies in the consumer electronics and packaging sector. Lachezar is cited on many utility and design patents, and has been featured in renowned international publications, such as Washington Post, The New York Times, CBS News, Axis magazine, Abitare, Innovation magazine, as well as many others. One of his early significant design projects is on permanent display at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.. He holds continuing education certificates in Design Management and Design Leadership as well as Dale Carnegie People Relations and Communications, among others.

Design Philosophy

I'd like to think that what we do is designing experiences. We first have to imagine what that experience feels like, assume that feeling and further picture what it would be like to operate from that perspective. Once we can vividly perceive this experience, we then find our way into manifesting that experience into real-life terms through a multi-stage effort of iterations, prototypes and tests. Our criteria for success along the way are guided by some important principles and philosophies that we have formulated over the years of practice. Additionally, we lean on utilizing tools, which combined with our rigorous development process, make our products unique.

The GUIDING PRINCIPLES we use are:

UTILITY: Is the experience we are designing useful? Does it provide real, break-through value?

SIMPLICITY: How can we simplify that experience further? What can we remove, not add, so that we are left with only what is important? Everything else should recede, disappear or become automatic. How can we organize complexity to achieve that goal?

FUNCTIONALITY: Honest functionality. Nature does the best job at making functional things beautiful and no one comes close to emulating it. We strive to celebrate the functionality of our products and do not shy away from displaying it prominently.

CLARITY: Clarity of visual expression, not embellishment or decoration. Our aesthetic organization approach guides the experience we are intending by carefully selecting the composition, proportions and details in our products. We pay careful attention to the environment that our products live in and strive to be coherent and not call for undue attention.

RESPONSIBILITY: Respectful and responsible use of materials and finishes aligns with our environmental consciousness. We choose less - material, parts, finishing, assembly, and energy as a whole.

The TOOLS that help us define these experiences:

Research: whether it is through educational resources, own observation and investigation, or in-field feedback, we focus solely on the human behavior in the workplace (wherever that is).

Ergonomics: the science guides the process of bridging the human and the tools used to get work done in a safe and effective way.

Technology: following technology advancements we always look for opportunities to improve and do things better, faster and with a broader acceptability.

Applied Human Factors: purposeful and useful combination of the physical and psychological aspects of an experience into a holistic solution.

Background

  • Born in Bulgaria, 1979
  • Graduated from the National High School of Mathematics, 1998
  • Received a full-tuition academic scholarship and studied Industrial Design at the University of Bridgeport, CT, USA, 1998
  • Awarded first place at the National Design Competition for Universal Design sponsored by the IDSA and National Library of Congress, 2002
  • Worked for Black & Decker Household Devision, 2001-2003
  • Won the North Eastern District Merit Award for Industrial Design, 2003
  • Graduated with Honors as BS in Industrial Design, 2003
  • Started working as Industrial Designer at Humanscale, NYC, 2003
  • Promoted to Senior Designer for creative as well as management aptitude in projects and resources, 2005
  • Partnered in building a 20+ people strong Design Studio from different disciplines, backgrounds and nationalities, 2004-2007
  • Lead the first ICFF Humanscale solo exhibition featuring three novel workplace concepts, 2007
  • Designed an extensive monitor arm system of products for Humanscale, which changed the industry and became the largest business within the company today, 2008
  • Selected as National Housewares design competition judge, 2008
  • Appointed as Design Manager, 2009
  • Awarded the Red Dot, IF, IDEA, Focus Balance, Good Design Japan and NeoCon Gold awards for various products, 2008-2015
  • Selected as Spark Design Awards judge, 2014
  • Appointed as Humanscale's Design Director, reporting to the founder and CEO, 2012
  • Started own design practice, 2015

Awards

2002, IDSA National Universal Design Competition, First Place

2003, Best of NeoCon, M7 Monitor Arm, Gold

2003, Buildings Magazine Innovations Awards, L2 Notebook Manager, Grand Prize

2003, Good Design Award, M7 Monitor Arm

2003, IIDEX/NeoCon Canada Innovations Awards, M7 Monitor Arm, Gold

2003, IIDEX/NeoCon Canada Innovations Awards , Personal Safety Kit, Silver

2004, ID Design Review, L2 Notebook Manager, Best in Show

2004, FIRA Ergonomics Excellence, L2 Notebook Manager, Ergonomic Excellence Award

2004, FIRA Ergonomics Excellence, M7 Monitor Arm, Ergonomic Excellence Award

2004, NECE Attendees' Choice Award, L2 Notebook Manager, Attendees' Choice

2005, Buildings Magazine Innovations Awards, FM500 Footrest, Grand Prize

2005, T4 Point-of-Care Technology Cart, Grand Prize

2005, Good Design Award, FM500 Footrest

2006, Best of NeoCon, Access Rail, Gold

2006, Buildings Magazine Innovations Awards, CPU600, Citation of Excellence

2006, Good Design Award, Cinto

2006, IIDEX/NeoCon Canada Innovations Awards, Cinto, Silver

2007, appliance DESIGN's Annual Excellence in Design, Switch Mouse, Gold

2007, T5 Point-of-Care Technology Cart, Bronze

2007, Best of NeoCon, Switch Mouse, Gold

2007, Buildings Magazine Innovations Awards, Switch Mouse, Grand Prize

2007, Buildings Magazine Top 100 Products, Cinto, Editors' Choice

2007, Good Design Award, Paramount

2007, Good Design Award, Switch Mouse

2007, Good Design Japan, Cinto

2007, Good Design Award, Switch Mouse

2007, I.D. Annual Design Review, Cinto

2007, IIDEX/NeoCon Canada Innovations Awards, CPU600, Gold

2007, IIDEX/NeoCon Canada Innovations Awards, Switch Mouse, Gold

2007, International Design Awards, Cinto, First Category Winner

2007, International Design Awards, Cinto, First Prize

2007, International Design Awards, Cinto, Product Design of the Year

2007, International Design Awards, T5 Point-of-Care Technology Cart, First Category Winner

2007, International Design Awards, T5 Point-of-Care Technology Cart, First Prize

2007, Mixology, Switch Mouse, Best Ergonomic Solution

2007, Spark Design Awards, T5 Point-of-Care Technology Cart, Silver

2008, CES Innovations Awards, Switch Mouse, Honoree

2008, Design Center Stuttgart International Design Awards, Cinto, Focus in Silver

2008, Green Dot Awards, Access Rail, Honorable Mention

2008, Green Dot Awards, CPU600, Honorable Mention

2008, IF product design award, Switch Mouse

2009, Best of NeoCon, M2 Monitor Arm, Gold

2009, Buildings Magazine Innovations Awards, M2 Monitor Arm, Grand Prize

2009, Buildings Magazine Innovations Awards, ZON, Grand Prize

2009, Good Design Award, M2 Monitor Arm

2009, Design Center Stuttgart International Design Awards, M2 Monitor Arm, Focus in Silver

2009, IIDEX/NeoCon Canada Innovations Awards, L6 Notebook Manager, Bronze

2009, IIDEX/NeoCon Canada Innovations Awards, M2 Monitor Arm, Bronze

2009, Interior Design Best of Year Award, M2 Monitor Arm, Best of Year

2009, Mixology, M2 Monitor Arm, Best Ergonomic Solution

2009, Spark Design Awards, M2 Monitor Arm, Bronze

2010, Australian International Design Awards, M2 Monitor Arm

2010, Best of NeoCon, ZON, Gold

2010, Buildings Magazine Innovations Awards, M8 Monitor Arm

2010, Buildings Magazine Innovations Awards, Paramount

2010, GIO Design Awards, M2 Monitor Arm

2010, GIO Design Awards, M8 Monitor Arm

2010, GIO Design Awards, Switch Mouse

2010, I.D. Annual Design Review, M2 Monitor Arm, Honorable Mention

2010, IDEA - International Design Excellence Awards, M2 Monitor Arm, Bronze

2010, IF product design award, M2 Monitor Arm

2010, IIDEX/NeoCon Canada Innovations Awards, M8 Monitor Arm, Bronze

2010, IIDEX/NeoCon Canada Innovations Awards, ZON, Bronze

2010, Interior Design Best of Year Award, Paramount, Merit Award

2010, International Design Awards, ZON, Second Prize

2010, Spark Design Awards Paramount, Gold

2011, appliance DESIGN's Annual Excellence in Design, ZON, Bronze

2011, Best of NeoCon, Float, Silver

2011, Buildings Magazine Innovations Awards, Float, Merit Award

2011, Good Design Award, ZON

2011, FIRA Ergonomics Excellence Award, M2 Monitor Arm

2011, FIRA Ergonomics Excellence Award, M8 Monitor Arm

2011, GIO Design Awards, ZON

2011, Green GOOD DESIGN Award, ZON

2011, IIDEX/NeoCon Canada Innovations Awards, Float, Bronze

2012, Architects Choice Award, Element Disc

2012, BDNY Editor's Choice Awards, Element Disc

2012, BDNY Editor's Choice Awards, Mode

2012, Buildings Magazine Innovations Awards, Element Disc, Grand Prize

2012, Buildings Magazine Innovations Awards, Mode, Grand Prize

2012, Buildings Magazine Innovations Awards, ZON Max, Merit Prize

2012, HEALTHCARE DESIGN's Most Innovative Product Designers, T7 Point-of-Care Technology Cart

2012, Houseware Executive's Innovation Awards, ZON Max, 1st Place

2012, IF product design award, Float

2012, IIDEX/NeoCon Canada Innovations Awards, Element Disc, Bronze

2012, IIDEX/NeoCon Canada Innovations Awards, M/Flex, Silver

2012, IIDEX/NeoCon Canada Innovations Awards, Mode, Silver

2012, Interior Design Best of Year Award, V6 Wall Station

2012, Nightingale Awards 2012, V6 Wall Station, Gold

2012, Spark Design Awards, Element Disc, Bronze

2013, appliance DESIGN's Annual Excellence in Design, Element Disc, Gold

2013, appliance DESIGN's Annual Excellence in Design, V6 Wall Station, Silver

2013, Architects Choice Award, Float, Winner

2013, Best of NeoCon, T7 Point-of-Care Technology Cart, Gold

2013, Bureaux Expo Award, Float

2013, IDEA - International Design Excellence Awards, Element Disc, Finalist

2013, Mixology, Element Disc

2013, PIN UP Design Awards 2013, Element Disc, Silver

2013, Red Dot Design Award, T7 Point-of-Care Technology Cart, Winner

2013, Spark Design Awards, T7 Point-of-Care Technology Cart, Silver

2014, appliance DESIGN's Annual Excellence in Design, T7 Point-of-Care Technology Cart, Silver

2014, Architectural SSL , Element Disc, Product Innovation Award

2014, Interior Design HIP Awards, QuickStand, Honoree

2014, Spark Design Awards, QuickStand, Silver

2015, Interior Design Best of Year Award, QuickStand

2015, Red Dot, QuickStand, Honorable Mention

2015, Best of NeoCon, Infini, Silver

2016, Red Dot, QuickStand Light, Best of the Best

2016, NYC x Design Awards – Interior Design, QuickStand Light, Honoree

2016, Interior Design HiP Awards, MedLink, Honoree

2016, Best of NeoCon, QuickStand Light, Gold

2016, Metropolis Magazine Awards, QuickStand Light

2016, Architectural Record Awards, QuickStand Light, Product of the Year

Exhibitions

2002, IDSA National Conference, Monterey, CA

2003 through 2015, NeoCon, Chicago, IL

2003 through 2015, IIDX/ NeoCon Canada, Toronto, Canada

2007 through 2015, ICFF, New York, NY

2008 & 2015, CES, Las Vegas, NV

2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 Salone di Mobile, Milan, Italy

2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, Orgatec Furniture Fair, Cologne, Germany

2008 through 2015, HIMMS Healthcare Show, Las Vegas, NV

Publications

Washington Post, The New York Times, CBS News, Axis magazine, Abitare, Innovation magazine, FRAME magazine, Metropolis Magazine, Mix Interiors, MMQB, ID Magazine, Interior Design Magazine