Tom Edwards is Owner/Principal of Design Allegro, a design consultancy specializing in product development services for the contract furniture industry. Capabilities range from overall design strategy formulation to discrete product development. Edwards, has thirty years of industry experience in a variety of corporate and consultant capacities.
Edwards joined SunarHauserman immediately after receiving a BS degree in Industrial Design from Kent State University. At SunarHauserman, he was the principal designer of the DO III component system.
Edwards was soon offered a design position with Herman Miller, Inc. With increasing levels of project and personnel responsibility, he was named Design Unit Manager. That same year, he received a Masters of Business Administration from Western Michigan University. Major project assignments as a design manager at Miller included Action Laboratory and Ethospace.
Edwards was next given responsibility for coordinating Herman Miller’s European product design. Here he directed the development of functionally and culturally appropriate products for diverse national markets. Edwards’ final role at Miller was as Design Planning and Administration Manager. In that capacity, he participated in the development of a strategic product planning process and managed the initiation of design programs.
Edwards left Herman Miller and established Design Allegro. Clients include Teknion, Light Corp., Nucraft, Trendway, United Chair, Haworth, Wieland, Knoll, Harter, Herman Miller, and The Art Institute of Chicago.
Edwards is also the Chair of the Industrial Design program at Kendall College of Art & Design in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The September 1999 issue of Interiors & Sources Magazine featured Edwards in the cover story, and his professional work and that of his students was prominently showcased in the issue. Edwards is an active member and a past Vice Chairperson of the Michigan Chapter of IDSA.