Philips Clayton - Jan Huyboom

The Philips Centre for Industrial Design in the suburb of Clayton in Melbourne Australia was one of many studios established by Philips worldwide. The Centre was established in the 1960s soon after Philips purchased from Pye, the factory of the Australian television and radio manufacturer Radio Corporation. Radio Corporation was famous for the iconic Australian Astor brand of radios, televisions and whitegoods. The factory had the capacity to manufacture black and white television picture tubes.

Jan Huyboom, a Dutch industrial designer came to Melbourne as manager for the Centre for Industrial Design during the 1970s. The centre soon became a major employer of the industrial design graduates from programs at RMIT, Gordon and Prahran. Design management at Philips, a global design leader, has been well researched and documented and the establishment and success of this centre in Melbourne has in my view had a major influence on industrial design practice in Victoria. 

The current exhibition 'a design life 17-71' demonstrates the influence of the Philips design management on one young industrial designer, Ian Edgar, and also the influence on the many talented staff that Ian would go on to manage at the Centre for Industrial Design.

Jan Huyboom and industrial designer Ian Edgar pictured at the Philips Centre for Industrial Design in Clayton, Victoria, Australia.