Greig Brebner is a Kiwi product designer who is fascinated by the human relationship with everyday products. By strengthening this relationship through innovative design he believes we can reduce our impact on the world around us. Best known as the inventor of the BLUNT Umbrella, Greig trained as a Mechanical Engineer at the University of Auckland and was inspired to 're-invent' the humble umbrella while living in London in 1999. His journey with BLUNT has seen the transformation of an everyday, ordinary, and throwaway product to a globally loved asset to be cherished.

Envisioned in London, designed in New Zealand, BLUNT Umbrellas are an innovative solution in a world where mass production of products has lowered consumer expectations to unacceptable levels. With its unique patented and trademarked shape, the BLUNT is the only umbrella with a fully tensioned canopy for unparalleled performance in all elements. Blunt™ build their products so that this performance can be enjoyed over many years while offering the service to repair any BLUNT Umbrella should the unexpected happen.

It was a fascinating evening hearing Greig share his story of humble beginnings with a great desire to design something world class, and the long and winding journey to get Blunt to where it is now. Applying the 80/20 principle to design innovation, Greig was able to re-invent the umbrella, in a way that was still easy to understand and use by everyone. As an added bonus, we even got to see a sneak peek of the new design Blunt has for a premium and timeless umbrella that is built to last a lifetime.

PDMA-NZ was pleased to bring you this event in partnership with the Newmarket Innovation Precinct. We’d like to thank Greig and the team from Blunt for their time and making our last event of the year one to remember! For those who missed it and would like to see Greig’s presentation and Q&A click the link below to view the recording. Passcode for the video is: g4V^!QH0