Yury Gitman is an artist, inventor, and toy designer.

He founded Banana Design Lab in 2005 as a product design company focused on “lifestyle designs to entertain the soul.”

Yury works as Professor at The Parsons New School for Design where he teaches Interactive Toy Design and advanced concepts in digital design.

He has also exhibited at the Biennale of Electronic Arts in Perth, Australia; at Ars Electronics in Austria; and Eyebeam, among others, in New York.

He was awarded the Ars Electronica Golden Nica for Net Vision in 2003 , one of Europe’s highest recognition for electronic arts.

Yury’s work has featured in local, national, and international media including CNN, BBC, New York Times, Newsweek, The Discovery Channel, American Public Media, New York 1 TV, Elle, CNET, ID, Metropolis, Readymade, Bust, TimeOut, Adbusters, Fast Company, and a range of other outlets.

He received a Master’s degree from New York University’s Interactive Telecommunication Program (ITP) and a Bachelor of Science in Science, Technology, and Culture from the Georgia Institute of Technology.