Tej Chauhan is a British industrial designer working between London and Helsinki. Centring on the way objects influence our feelings, his work is designed to elicit joy and engage broad audiences. He established his eponymous practice in London in 2005, exploring the potential of everyday consumer products and technology to be more sympathetic and emotionally connective. His nuanced form language combined with innovative production efficiencies, use of colour and material, and uncompromising approach to purpose and function developed into a strategic process he calls Emotive Industrial Design.

Working with a small, highly experienced team across varied sectors on industrial design and creative strategy, he creates iconic product experiences designed to generate excitement and authentic connection for the brands he works with. They range from startups to some of the world’s best known.

In 2022, Tej was a judge on Sky TV’s The Big Design Challenge, alongside Morag Myerscough and presenter Lauren Laverne

Clients have included AEG, Artifort, Blackberry, British Airways, British Telecom, Crushgrind, Dell, EE, Fiskars, Habitat, Huawei, Hudl, Ideas Denmark, INQ Mobile, Ikea, John Lewis, LG Electronics, Joseph Joseph, Lexus, Made.com, Martela, Metalarte, Motorola, Nike, Nokia, Oliver Goldsmith, Oxford Metrics Group, Panasonic, Rado, Samsung, SGW Global, Team One, Tesco, Wallpaper* Handmade

Awards and recognition include Red Dot, IDSA Gold & Silver, iF, Good Design, Grand Prix du Design Gold, D&AD, Cannes Lions, International Design Award, as well as shortlisted nominations for the Dezeen Awards, Elle Decoration British Design Awards and the Homes & Gardens Designer Awards.

Tej’s work has been broadly featured in publications such as Arena, Elle, Elle Decoration, Esquire, The Evening Standard, The Financial Times, Fortune Magazine, Future Laboratory, GQ, Homes & Gardens, ICON, I.D, i-D, Metro, The New York Times Style Section, The Observer, Shortlist, Stuff, The Sunday Telegraph, The Sunday Times Magazine, Surface, T3, Viewpoint, Vogue & Wallpaper* among others.

Biography

“Before setting up his own practice in 2005, technological whizz-kid Tej Chauhan put in several years at Nokia, creating some of the company’s most memorable models. These days, his signature aesthetic has touched everything from kitchen tools and eyewear to televisions and door handles, making one of the most wide-ranging oeuvres around.” — Wallpaper*

Tej Chauhan is an industrial designer known for his emotive visual language and cutting-edge consumer technology and homeware.

Born in London, Chauhan graduated from Central St Martins School of Art and Design in 1995 and went on to work as an independent designer and consultant for brands ranging from fashion designer Michiko Koshino to British Airways and The Body Shop.

Tej joined the Nokia Design team in 2000, where he led the design of the Nokia 7600, 7280 (listed as one of the Best 25 Products of 2004 by Fortune Magazine) and 7370 fashion products. In 2003/4, Tej was also an Associate Lecturer in Product Design on the Faculty at Central St Martins. He left Nokia in 2005 to establish his own practice, Tej Chauhan Ltd.