Martin Linder has worked as an industrial designer and educator for over two decades. He initially received national prominence for his award-winning designs during his graduate studies at the Cranbrook Academy of Art.
Martin’s new creative works include the Liberty Series of Political Art Sculptures. Liberty Executed has been featured at the Defining the Art of Change exhibit at the Center For Contemporary Political Art in Washington DC. and Zeitgeist an exhibition at the Converge Gallery in Pennsylvania. His emerging sculptures, Spirit Boards, can be viewed by appointment at his San Francisco California studio.
Martin focused his professional design work in two areas: The creation of human machine interfaces that enhance airport, rail, and automotive security and health care furniture design. At both InVision Technologies, Reveal Imaging, and SAIC, Martin developed explosive detection interface systems currently used throughout the world. Business Week Magazine honored Martin's achievements with an Industrial Design Excellence Award for innovations in explosive detection industrial design. His furniture designs have also received awards and been continually exhibited throughout for the entirety of his career, most notably at Knoll/Design America, Steelcase's Metro Furniture, and Herman Miller Health Care Group. Martin won the Nightingale Health Care Product Innovation Award for his Florabella collection for Herman Miller.
Recent professional activity includes the research, human factors, industrial and interface design for the following transportation explosive detection systems: SAIC Duel Energy Mobile Detection System Industrial and Interface Design, January 2013 to present, SAIC 6500 Rail and Trailer Scanning System User Interface Design, January to October 2012, SAIC XPL Vehicle Scanning System, January to October 2011, Reveal Imaging Check Point Security Technology and Configuration Design, March to July 2010, Reveal Imaging Airport Carry On EDS Configuration Design, 2005-2009 , Reveal Imaging 3-D AT Check Point Design, 2007- 2008. Also, Martin is currently involved in the design of health care furniture for the world’s leading corporation, Herman Miller. Recent projects include the research, design, and engineering of performance health care products for hospital waiting rooms and neuropsychiatric hospitals.
Martin has distinguished himself as a design educator and community actionist. After teaching at the San Francisco Academy of Art and the California College of Art, Martin joined the design faculty at Francisco State University (SFSU). In 2012 he received the prestigious Jefferson Award, a national recognition system honoring community and public service in America and the Core 77 International Education Notable Award. In 2009 Martin received the Outstanding Community Service Learning Award that acknowledges, “Exemplary Practice in Community-Based Teaching and in 2008 received the Sarlo Excellence in Teaching Faculty Award” which is given to a professor who provides “Extraordinary, Meaningful, and Lasting Contributions to Teaching”. He was also named one of the "Most Admired Design Professors" in Academia by Design Intelligence. SFSU awarded Martin Linder Full Professor status in 2012. Recently SF State honored Martin with the establishment of an endowed student scholarship in his name.
To date, Martin has created three distinct institutes at SFSU: (1) Industrial Design Outreach Organization (iDo) reaches out to public school teenagers in the Bay area who are inspired by hands-on, tactile, experiential learning. iDo’s program fosters creativity, and builds self-confidence.(2) The Resolution Optimization Institute (TROI) provides research and design solutions to companies and governmental agencies that work with advanced imaging technologies in explosive detection and medical systems. (3) The Furniture Institute of Technology and Sustainability (FITS) forges furniture design partnerships with industry in research and furniture design projects.
As an extension of his success as a design educator, his students have also excelled. They have won international research and design awards--including the Industrial Design Excellence Award , multiple California State University research awards, and hold key design positions at companies including Nike, Steelcase, IDEO, Hewlett-Packard, Kodak, and the California College of Art.
A contributor to the California State University System and San Francisco State University faculty governance include membership on the CSU Academic State Senate 2010 to 2013, CSU Fiscal and Government Committee 2011 to 2013, SFSU Senate Executive Committee 2010 to 2013, SFSU Budget Committee 2011 to present, and Vice President of Finance and Administration, Provost, and Vice President of Development Search Committees 2007 to present.
Martin is an active speaker on topics including: Social Innovation, Intrapreneurialism in the Academy, Interdisciplinary in Business and Higher Education, Environments, Tools and Behaviors in Collaborative Work , Digital FDM and 3-D Printing Rapid Prototyping Technologies, Teaching for Creativity, Performance Furniture for Health Care, and Industrial and Interface Design for Explosive Detection Security Systems.