RKS Design is an American strategic design consultancy located in Thousand Oaks, CA. Founded in 1980 by Principal Ravi Sawhney, RKS specializes in the industrial design of products while emphasizing its famous “Psycho-Aesthetics Philosophy”, coined in Sawhney’s business-focused book “Predictable Magic”. The philosophy states:
“It’s not about how you feel about the design or experience; it’s how it makes you feel about yourself”
Psycho-Aesthetics is taught at Harvard Business School as part of their RKS Guitars Case Study. After graduating from CSUN, Ravi Sawhney was hired by Xerox in the Advanced Product Development Group to work at Xerox PARC as the sole industrial designer with a team of 20 cognitive and social scientists to develop the first touch screen interface. After conceptualizing and nurturing his future Psycho-Aesthetics philosophy, Sawhney followed his entrepreneurial spirit and formed his own design firm, RKS Design, which later became known as RKS. In its 32-year history, RKS has developed breakthrough products for market segments that include bio-technology, dental, consumer electronics, sporting goods, housewares, consumer products, and industrial goods. Notable RKS designs include the original Teddy Ruxpin, the Panaflex Millennium (which won an Academy Award in 2000 and an Emmy Statuette in 1999), and the RKS Guitar, which was the first design award winner’s product featured on Business Week’s cover, in their July 4, 2005 issue. The RKS studios and Voodoo Works prototyping lab are located in Southern California in the Conejo Valley. RKS clients include JBL Profesional, PepsiCo LG, HP, Zyliss USA, Sprint, Line 6, Intel, SEGA, Hamilton Medical, Wikipad, and many others. RKS has been consistently ranked among the top firms by Business Week, and is named on nearly 200 patents.
