Tom Hardy

Tom Hardy is a Professor and Graduate Coordinator in Design Management at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), where he has held these roles since 2011. He also serves as a Guest Faculty at Fachhochschule Köln, University of Applied Sciences, Germany. His professional experience spans over four decades, including roles as Corporate Design Program Director at IBM (1970–1993), where he led product design and brand identity for iconic products like the first IBM Personal Computer and ThinkPad. Since 1993, he has been a Design Strategist and advisor to companies such as Samsung, Ford, Microsoft, and Porsche, focusing on brand transformation and strategic design initiatives.

Hardy holds a B.I.D. in Industrial Design from Auburn University (exact year not stated), graduate coursework in the History of Technology from Georgia Institute of Technology, and a Master of Strategic Branding from DeTao Masters Academy in Shanghai (2015–present). His research interests center on brand-design strategy, design language, perception analysis, and corporate innovation infrastructure. He has conducted international workshops on design thinking and scenario planning.

His contributions have been recognized with prestigious awards like the Premio Smau Design Award (1977), multiple I.D. Annual Design Review Awards, and the IDSA Gold IDEA (1980). He was a key figure in elevating IBM’s brand through design and later transformed Samsung’s global brand equity. Hardy has served on multiple boards, including the SCAD School of Design, Design Management Institute, and Worldesign Foundation, advocating for inclusive design practices and strategic alliances.