Josh Owen

Josh Owen was born in the United States in 1970. The son of an archaeologist, he spent the summers of his youth excavating in the Middle East, where he learned by direct observation and participation in the discovery of history through the lens of its material remains. Owen holds a BFA in Sculpture and a BA in Visual Studies from Cornell University and an MFA in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design. He also studied at Tel Aviv University and Cornell University's Rome program. Owen's studio practice is located in a small village a few miles from the Erie Canal.

Josh Owen is president of his design studio , Josh Owen LLC. He is also a full professor and chair of the industrial design department at Rochester Institute of Technology, where he teaches in both the graduate and undergraduate areas. Prior to joining the RIT faculty in 2010, Owen held the Craig R. Benson Associate Professor and Chair of Innovation at Philadelphia University, where he spent ten years teaching while maintaining a studio practice.

His client list includes such notables as Areaware, Casamania, Kikkerland, Kontextur, Loll, OTHR and Umbra. His projects have been featured in numerous design books and regularly appear on such international media platforms as Elle, Vogue, Wired, Chicago Tribune and The New York Times. Owen is himself the author of Lenses for Design.