« Industrial design is a great tool at the service of communities and everyday life. »
BIO
A recognized industrial designer, Charles Godbout first made his mark in the world of design as an entrepreneur. He was founder and president of a company designing and manufacturing exhibition systems for interior architecture. He then specialized in furniture design and products for the habitat and living, as an industrial design consultant, creating the firm TOPO DESIGN. Among his numerous projects, several were realized in close collaboration with the architect and industrial designer Luc Plante.
Furniture design is a passion for him. It is a way to respond to the challenges raised by our current and future lifestyles in creating products that facilitate and improve our daily lives. Through his work, his main concern is to offer the most efficient solutions for the user, for the community and for the manufacturer.
The years spent at the head of an SME led him to develop a pragmatic approach to design, based on a very sharp understanding of the issues related to product development and marketing. His research into the application of innovative technologies (using aluminium, in particular) has enabled him to acquire a solid reputation. Never straying from strict considerations on the ergonomic and functional levels, his creations are also recognized for their refined aesthetics and their modernity.
He collaborates with national and international companies and he has distinguished himself by winning numerous design awards in Quebec, Canada and abroad, alone or jointly with Luc Plante. He is a member of the Association of Industrial Designers of Quebec. He has been teaching at the School of Design of the Université de Montréal since 2002.
DESIGN APPROACH
« Although the creative impulse is the basis of industrial design, it still remains in itself an economic activity. »
For Charles Godbout, industrial design has to become an integral part of the business strategy. The quest for success is the product of an encounter. It is the vision of the entrepreneur understood by the designer.
What he likes above all is to push the limits of creation as far as possible to solve the problems of his clients and allow them to stand out by taking advantage of the most advanced technologies. Design becomes a means to get there and not an end in itself. His goal is not to bring his own artistic approach to the fore. What drives it is the success of its customers. Its signature is the design of well-thought-out, attractive products that make life easier.
His ideation process is a driving force for the company. With him, no concepts without precise foundations, no ephemeral exercises in style, no dogmas or gratuitous effects. His formal research has meaning, elegance and personality. A refinement that he wants perceptible even in the technical details.
Awards
Winner – Big See Product Design Award
AIRWAVE by Altek Italia Design
Design : Charles Godbout
Good Design Award – furniture category
AIRWAVE by Altek Italia Design
Design : Charles Godbout
Finalist A+ Product Awards – contract furniture category
AIRWAVE by Altek Italia Design
Design : Charles Godbout
Winner – contract furniture and institutional category
STAMPEDE by ROSSIN Srl/GmbH – Italia
Design : Charles Godbout
Winner – contract furniture and institutional category
AIRWAVE by Altek Italia Design
Design : Charles Godbout
Design Awards – London UK
Finalist – Product of the Year, Loose Furniture category
AIRWAVE by Altek Italia Design
Design : Charles Godbout
Architecture commited to our communities, a matter of aluminium
Finalist – L'école en mouvement project
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Le beau dans l'utile exhibition
Presentation of the RAVIOLI glassware collection
Design : Charles Godbout
Acquisition in the permanent collection – Decorative Arts and Design
OPERA by Nienkämper
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Winner – office furniture category
NOMAD Interactive Workspace by Nienkämper
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Aluminium as a driver of mobility
Winner of the Grand Prize – KOMBI
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Finalist – Access Products category
SÉSAME by Interfonction/Sésame
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Winner – contract furniture category
THÉSIS by Artopex
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Winner – architectural products category
SÉSAME by Interfonction/Sésame
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
International competition – taly
Gold Award – Buildings Materials, Structure and Systems Design category
GLASSWAVE
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Award of Excellence – SÉSAME by Interfonction/Sésame
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Award of Excellence – SÉSAME by Interfonction/Sésame
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Ville de Montréal – Société de transport de Montréal (STM)
Finalist
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Aluminium innovates at home
Winner of the Grand Prize – SÉSAME by Interfonction/Sésame
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Centre de design de l'UQAM
MARGHERITA and OPERA tables presented
by Plank Collezioni and Nienkämper
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Acquisition in the permanent collection
OPERA and FOLFER by Nienkämper
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Award of Excellence – XYZ by William
Design : Charles Godbout
Gold Award – tables category
FOLDER by Nienkämper
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Event organized by Canadian Interiors magazine
Winner - Best Product of the Year
ELASTO by Artopex
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Event organized by Canadian Interiors magazine
Winner - Best Product of the Year
FOLDER by Nienkämper
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Award of Excellence - FOLDER by Nienkämper
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
TOTEM Gallery New-York – Azure Magazine
Presentation of FOLDER, Nienkämper
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Winner Industrial design – Furnishing products category
ELASTO by Artopex
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Award of Excellence – OPERA by Nienkämper
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Award of Excellence – ELASTO by Artopex
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Finalist – furniture design competition
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante, Ary Alavanthian
Event organized by Canadian Interiors magazine
Winner – Best Product of the Year
OPERA by Nienkämper
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Acquisition in the permanent collection
MARGHERITA by Plank Collezioni
Design : Charles Godbout
First prize – OPERA by Nienkämper
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Second prize – SURF
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
New profiles for new aluminium objects
International competition – Milan
First equal – PALMA
Mentions for the BERRETTO and CONGA projects
Design : Charles Godbout, Luc Plante
Presentation of MARGHERITA, Plank Collezioni
Selected among the most innovative products by Interni magazine
Design : Charles Godbout
Grand prize for Research
Finalist – aluminium bedframe by FLOU America
Design : Charles Godbout
First prize Commercial category – BROOKLYN
Design : Charles Godbout
Second prize Commercial category – PATIN
Design : Charles Godbout
International competition – USA
First Prize for exhibit design – Exhibit System category
Les Concepts Polystand for Sidbec-Dosco
Design : Charles Godbout
Certificate of Merit, indsutrial design – KÉOPS
Les Concepts Polystand
Design : Charles Godbout
Certificate of Merit, industrial design – POLYSTAND
Les Concepts Polystand
Design : Charles Godbout, Claude Maufette
PUBLICATIONS
