Industrial and mechanical design

Matter is the design office of Nicholas Brawne, founded in 1998 and located in San Francisco, California. 

After graduating from the Royal College of Art (RCA) London in the mid '80's, Nick has built a long and successful career in industrial design, mechanical design and furniture design. Previous to Matter he worked at Philips Electronics in the Netherlands, Sony in the USA and for the well known design consultancies, Frogdesign and Fitch. Nick has taught at California College of the Arts where he was an Assistant Professor, and San Jose State University.

Nick's work has been exhibited at the Design Museum, London and the Chicago Athenaeum, received numerous awards, and is listed on over 30 design and utility patents.

"I like to design the invisible. Products that work simply, functionally and endure."

Matter works almost exclusively with Silicon Valley based hardware companies to develop industry appropriate solutions. Often this requires "designing the engineering". 

Projects have ranged in size, from an Automated Materials Handling System (that covers thousands of square feet in a silicon wafer fabrication plant) to hand-held test and measurement devices. 

Nick works collaboratively with marketing teams, as well as electrical and mechanical engineers to provide a full range of services, from initial white-boarding, to the delivery of fully-engineered CAD models suitable for production tooling. 

"I design furniture that supports and enhances the technology we all have in our homes and offices."

Matter's simple, modernist tables, desks and carts are designed to accommodate and complement the use of everyday technology, such as computers and home entertainment systems.

Nick creates elegant solutions that consider each component, how and where they will be used, as well as ergonomic and technical requirements such as cables and ventilation. The technology and supporting furniture work together to create an integrated system.