Dragomir Ivicevic

Dragomir Ivicevic pursued his interest in design from an early age, attending the High School for Industrial Design, Belgrade, in his native Yugoslavia. He studied architecture at the Academy for Applied Art in Belgrade before coming to the US for an MA in Industrial Design from Ohio State University.

Ivicevic feels that design is functional sculpture and the designer is an artist. Consistent with this view of the interrelation between art and design, he has studied art history and the work of Mozart and Dostoyevsky. He worked for several years as a photographer, graphic designer, and sculptor of three-dimensional designs.

Ivicevic's concern for the aesthetic form is evident in the Proper chair, available from Herman Miller for the Home. No fasteners or screws can be detected from any angle; and the unique corner casting that joins the arm and leg is curved gracefully, like the polished head of a walking cane. It is equally at home as guest seating in the office or as seating in a dining room.

Ivicevic, whose offices are in New York City, finds design to be an immensely satisfying pursuit, though a constant proving ground. 'First, you have to prove to yourself that you are good,' he said, 'and then you have to prove this to everyone else.'