Kevin Budelmann

Kevin Budelmann is interested in design theory and practice in the context of business, technology, and society.

Kevin is co-founder and president of Peopledesign, a strategic design firm in Michigan. He has worked with a wide variety of businesses, education, healthcare, manufacturing, finance, and consumer products, ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies. 


Kevin is a co-author of the book "Brand Identity Essentials" with Yang Kim. First published in 2010, the first edition has been translated into six languages. A revised and expanded version was published in 2019.

Kevin teaches classes and speaks on design, brand, and innovation. He is an adjunct professor at Northwestern University and has taught classes at the Institute of Design at Illinois Tech, Michigan State University, and Aquinas College. He has given talks and facilitated workshops for various clients, business clubs, colleges, and industry groups, including the University of Michigan, AIGA, PRSA, AMA, SEGD, UCDA, PDMA, ADC, and others.

Kevin has served as the president of the Global Board of Directors of IxDA (the Interaction Design Association) and President of APDF (The Association of Professional Design Firms). He has served on advisory boards for various design and innovation groups.

Kevin has a Master of Design Methods from the Institute of Design at Illinois Tech and attended executive education classes at the Harvard Business School. As an undergraduate, Kevin studied design at Carnegie Mellon University, where he was among the winners of an international design competition sponsored by Apple and the School for Design in St. Gallen, Switzerland.