Norbert Geelen, born in 1968, started freelancing for the Italian studio Matteo Thun in Milan following his graduation as an industrial designer at the University GHS Essen. Together with Robert Kilders, he founded the design studio bert&bert in 1997 before becoming self-employed in 2005.
His designs cover a wide spectrum of products, though he has specialized in upmarket furniture design, mainly contract seating and home products. He has demonstrated his abilities as an out-of-the-box thinker. His series are characterized by matching design aesthetics, and at the same time, each product boasts unique features and has been designed with a keen eye for details.