Fast Company Names Stuart Karten Design Among America's Top 5 Design Factories

Stuart Karten Design (SKD) has been named one of America's top five industrial design firms in Fast Company magazine's 2008 Masters of Design issue, on newsstands now.

Fast Company's annual Masters of Design issue highlights the companies, individuals and practices that are sparking change in the marketplace.

"American industrial designers are the secret heroes of the marketplace, finessing products to make them easier to use and help them sell better," Tim McKeough writes in his article, "Design Factories," in which he lauds SKD for finding out what excites customers and grows clients' business.

SKD's recent work is showcased in a photo essay of gadgets that are shaping the world, from that the SimpleTech [re]drive, which gives customers a sustainable option for storing their digital data to the Ikan, which is simplifying online grocery shopping.

Also included are SKD's award-winning Cook-n-Serve Tongs for Zyliss, the Jobclock for Exaktime, the VG Pocket Caplet game for Performance Designed Products, the Spyder MR2 paintball market for Kingman, the SimpleDrive for Fabrik and the SP500 speakerphone for Jabra.