Our History

Alberto Mantilla and Anthony Baxter met whilst working at Henry Dreyfuss Associates in New York City in 1991. Henry Dreyfuss was regarded as one of the pioneers of Industrial Design, and is known for designing some of the most iconic devices found in American homes and offices throughout the twentieth century, including the Western Electric Model 500 telephone, the Westclox Big Ben alarm clock, and the Honeywell round thermostat. Dreyfuss enjoyed long term associations with several name brand companies such as John Deere, Polaroid, and American Airlines.

In 1994, Alberto Mantilla and Anthony Baxter founded Curve ID, a design consultancy based in New York City. At that time, 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) was relatively new, and Alberto and Anthony were at the forefront of the technology. Curve ID signed a contract with Ford Motor Company to teach their designers, engineers and model makers how to use the technology and how to apply it to automotive design. The initial contract lasts 18 months, but Curve ID kept consulting to Ford for many years afterwards. While at Ford they worked in ‘Studio 2010’, one of the first all-digital design studios in the world.

In 1996, Curve ID formed a strategic partnership with Smart Design, another New York based design consultancy, and worked on hundreds of products with them for clients such as OXO and HP. At the same time Curve ID expanded its client list to include internationally recognized companies such as John Deere, Nike, Sony, Panasonic, Tefal, and Colgate/Palmolive.

In 2001, Alberto and Anthony formed Mint.  Mint is a design brand and collective created and owned by Curve ID’s partners; Alberto Mantilla and Anthony Baxter with Scott Henderson. Mint acts as a creative outlet for their personal design projects which can be viewed at www.curveid.com/mint. One of Mint’s most iconic products is the Hug Salt and Pepper Shaker, designed by Alberto Mantilla, which became one of the most successful products sold at the MoMA - Museum of Modern Art.

Over the past 30 years, Curve ID has become a respected member of the design community and has won a number of internationally recognized awards including Gold and Silver IDEA Awards from IDSA, Lapiz de Acero Awards, as well as a life-time recognition by Time Magazine who included one’d of Curve ID creations in their selection of the “Best Design of the Year”. In addition, members of Curve ID take part in professional activities by being invited as guest speakers to conferences and talks in recognized academic institution around the globe, exhibitions at prime design shows such as Wanted Design and Medellin Design Week, as well as and being part of the jury member in prestigious design competitions.