Harald Belker


Harald Georg Belker (born May 27, 1961, Krefeld) is a German automotive/product designer best known for his vehicle designs in films such as Batman & Robin and Minority Report. His designs range from Kaenon Sunglasses to electric bikes and Hot Wheels for Mattel.

He was educated at the Art Center College of Design in Automotive Design after graduating from Georgia Southern University in Industrial Technology. Recently he received an honorary doctor's degree from Art Center.[1]

Career

Belker’s career started in 1991 at Mercedes Benz Advanced Design in Irvine, California. As part of the team responsible for the Smart Car design, he went on to work independently, eventually ending up in entertainment design. Here he had his most significant success. He also explored furniture design, his Maxelle chair winning the excellent award, and he is responsible for the design of the line of sunglasses for Kaenon Polarized, a Newport Beach, California–based company, that focuses on fashionable but active lifestyle. He has published a couple of design books, Pulse, explaining his future vision for high-speed vehicle racing, and Ride, which showcases the design of a futuristic electric motorcycle. Since late 2012 he has been working for Anki, a robotics and artificial intelligence startup company whose headquarters is in San Francisco.

Lee Iacocca recruited him to design the e-bike.

Filmography

Other works
  • ANKI - Head Consumer Product Designer.
  • Oblong – design for a gloveless hand devise for the g-speak interface.
  • Shell – Hydrofuel station design proposal.
  • Kaenon Polarized – design for the complete line of sunglasses.
  • Solar Monkey, electric car design.
  • Lee Iacocca – e-bike, first full electric bicycle.
  • Studio Roundhouse – Hydrapak, hydration backpack line.
  • Mattel Toys – Hot Wheels
  • Gnomon workshop – five design tutorials, from concept to finished art work for automotive design.
  • Digital Anvil – designs for all the ships of the Freelancer computer game.
  • Nissan Design International - design consultant for Quest show car.
  • Mercedes Benz Advanced Design – worked on designs for the Smart car, M-class and S-class.
  • Porsche Design Germany – design entry for the model 996.

Personal life

He resides in the coastal community of Marina del Rey, outside Los Angeles with his wife Thanda Belker, an EVP at Sony Pictures Entertainment and their daughter, Skye. In his free time he enjoys kitesurfing and snowboarding as well as spending time with his family.

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-09-04. Retrieved 2010-04-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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