About
Niklas Jacob is a Danish designer, educator, and author whose multidisciplinary practice spans industrial design, branding, art direction, graphics, packaging, and strategic design. He began his creative career in 1989 as a self-taught painter, exhibiting in several small galleries in Copenhagen between 1990 and 1992.
In 1993, he moved to Italy to study Industrial Design in Milan at The International College of Arts and Sciences and the Politecnico di Milano, where he studied from 1993 to 1997. He later continued his studies at the Royal Danish Academy’s School of Architecture, Design, and Conservation in Copenhagen.
After an early professional experience with Design Group Italia, Niklas Jacob joined MOMO DESIGN in January 1998 and became Chief Designer the following year. He later served as Design Manager at Makio Hasuike & Co. before establishing his own independent design studio.
Alongside his professional work, since 2008, Niklas Jacob has been active in design education. He taught Industrial Design at the University of Camerino’s Faculty of Architecture in Ascoli Piceno and served as a guest lecturer at Design School Kolding in Denmark from 2017 to 2019. Since 2021, he has been a Professor at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in the United States.
Throughout his career, Niklas Jacob has developed projects across a wide range of industries and disciplines, while also curating notable design exhibitions including Explicit Design (2012), IDEA – The Design Supermarket (2018), the retrospective 20 Years of Design (2019), and Funnyture (2025).
Niklas Jacob is a member of ADI (Associazione di Disegno Industriale) and IDSA (Industrial Designers Society of America).
On Design
Portfolio
For the most of his career Niklas Jacob has been involved in strategic design consulting and product innovation, from small startups to large multinational corporations.
- Selected Projects
- Exhibitions
- Books
- Schools
Reflections On Design
Selected quotes from the book: Reflections On Design
Design isn't everything, but it's the only thing that makes a difference.
The advantage of using external design expertise is that it is easier to think outside the box when you are not inside the box.
Design isn't black or white, but only shades of orange.
You have various ways to influence the world of design. Either directly as an innovative designer or indirectly as a design manager or entrepreneur or as a teacher educating the future designers of tomorrow.
As a design teacher I have learned that students are like wine, there are good years and bad years.
Designing a successful product is a ping-pong process between the designer and the industry.
In design the eye is as important as the touch.
Taste in design is determined by culture.
There is a saying that too many cooks spoil the broth for a reason. I don't believe in co-creation with end-users. I would rather eat a meal prepared by a great chef than a meal prepared by a bunch of amateurs.
When someone tries to take ownership of your designs, by copying it, it's like someone claiming parenthood of your offspring.
A designer must be able to juggle with many balls at a time.
There are three types of ideas: the good ones, the bad ones and the right ones. Design is not about getting good ideas. Anybody can get them. It's about getting the right ideas.
If designers want to improve their work conditions, they need to stand together one for all and all for one.
Design is like music. It contains different genres and in all of them you'll find quality.
A designer must be a good detective since design is to detect contexts.
The true design skill lies in the sensibility of interpretation.
Some design events are so full of hot air that you better bring a breathing device not to choke.
Design that defies time are defined as classics.
In the past designers became famous by merit while nowadays they become famous by media.
The best designs are always the most meditated.
Sometimes designers need to be more like outlaws, not always following the rules.
As a young designer I underestimated that experience is knowledge.