Notice from the Design Institute of Australia. 17 May 2024.
“It is with much sadness that we announce the passing yesterday of Robert Pataki LFDIA. He was a practicing designer and an effective contributor to the profession for over fifty years and a member of the Design Institute of Australia since 1978. In recognition of his services and commitment to the profession, Rob was awarded a Fellowship in 1985, inducted into the DIA Design Hall of Fame in 2007 and then to cap it all, was finally awarded a Life Fellowship in 2012, DIA’s highest honour.
Robert graduated in Industrial Design at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and commenced work at John Holland Constructions. His career saw him work with major industries such as Phillips (in Australia and Holland), ACI Design Centre and then as General Manager and Design Director of PA Consulting.
In 1987 Robert created The Neo Group of Companies, including NeoTechnics, the largest industrial design consultancy in Australia, with offices in Melbourne, Sydney, and Singapore and NeoProducts Pty Ltd in 1989, electronics manufacturers. He also worked extensively in many other Asian countries. His particular areas of expertise were in appliances, professional and technical equipment, home wares, packaging and graphic design. His clients were the major industrial companies including Motorola, Phillips, Black and Decker, Vulcan, Varian, Honeywell, GE, Kambrook, and Fisher & Paykel. Robert served on the Victorian State Council of the Institute and was active on the course advisory committee of the Industrial Design programs at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and Chairman of the Course Advisory Committee at Monash University. Over the decades Robert undertook numerous roles within the DIA including his participation in Industrial Design Practice Groups, DIA Treasurer and DIA Company Secretary.
Published by Design Institute of Australia
17 May 2024
ROBERT PATAKI OAM April 13, 1948 – May 16, 2024
Robert Pataki’s recent death saw the passing of a legend in the design industry. He was a practicing designer for over fifty years and contributed significantly to the profession during this time, designing and overseeing the design of more than three thousand products.
Born in Hungry in 1948 his family fled the country in 1956 during the revolution and spent a year in a displaced persons camp before migrating to Australia in 1957. He attended Elwood High School and eventually graduated in Industrial Design at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 1972.
His first job was at John Holland Construction. During his career he worked with major industries such as Crown Beco Lighting, Phillips, in both Australia and later in the Nederlands, ACI Design Centre, and then as General Manager and Design Director of PA Consulting, the largest design consultancy in Australia.
In 1987 Pataki created the Neo Group of Companies, including NeoTechniques, the largest industrial company in Australia, with offices in Melbourne, Sydney and Singapore. He worked in many Asian countries and established NeoProducts Pty Ltd in 1989 to produce electronics manufacture. His area of expertise were in appliances, professional and technical equipment, home wares, packaging and graphic design. Some of his iconic designs include the Kambrook Powerboard, the world’s first multiple plug adapter, and the Britex Rainsford Safe’n Sound Baby Capsule (in conjunction with Phillip Slattery), which won an Australian Design Award and Design Council Selection in 1985, and the Prince Philip Prize for Australian Design in 1986.
Over the decades Pataki’s firms PA Consulting (1982-1987), Neo Technics (1987-1996), Neo Products (1989-1996) and Neo Design Synergy (1996-1998) have designed appliances, professional and technical equipment, homewares, packaging and graphic design for major industrial companies including Motorola, Phillips, Black & Decker, Vulcan, Varian, Honeywell, GE, Kambrook and Fischer and Paykel.
Pataki was a member of the Design Institute of Australia and served on the Victorian Council, and then National Council, as Company Secretary and then as Treasurer. He was active on the Course Advisory Committee of the Industrial Design at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and later Chairman of the Course Advisory Committee at Monash University. In recognition of his services and commitment to the profession, he was made a Fellow of the Institute in 1985 and inducted into the Design Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2012 he was made a Life Fellow, and in 2022 he received a Medal of the Order of Australia for services to design.
Obituary courtesy of Geoff Fitzpatrick OAM, LFDIA
Design Ambassador
Design Institute of Australia
- Writers:
-
Michael Bogle
- Date written:
- 2012
- Last updated:
- 2024
