In 2013, Dr. Gien was elected as the President of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID), the world organisation for Industrial Design. He is the first Australian to hold this position in the organisation’s 55 year history.

ICSID is a non-profit organisation that protects and promotes the interests of the profession of Industrial Design. It has members in over 50 countries and represents the interests of some 200,000 designers worldwide.

Prior to founding Good Design Australia, Dr. Gien was General Manager of Design Strategy and Head of Corporate Services at Standards Australia, recognised by the Government as Australia’s peak Standards body.

Through his work on the ICSID Executive Board, he has been instrumental in creating the World Design Impact Prize, a new prize to honour Industrial Design driven projects that make a positive impact on our social, economic, cultural and environmental quality of life.

Dr. Gien studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Newcastle where he later graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Design. He holds a PhD in Environmental Design from the University of Canberra’s School of Design and Architecture.

Dr. Gien is a Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia (DIA) and a professional member of the Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA). He sits on the Advisory Board of the Design Research Institute of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) where he chairs the Design Challenge program.

Dr. Gien was made a Design Ambassador to Japan, an international design advocacy role organised by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JDP).