He studied Industrial Design at the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences and pursued basic studies in Mechanical Engineering at the Darmstadt University of Technology. In 1992, he started his career as an Industrial Designer at »frogdesign« in Altensteig, Germany, and later in Palo Alto, USA. After returning from the States, he worked at »via 4« in Nagold before founding his own agency in 1996 in Wiesbaden, which was geared towards industrial and corporate design. He was in charge of designing for international businesses such as AEG, Accenture, Braun, Deutsches Aktieninstitut, Deawoo, Eckes, Joop, Junghans, MontBlanc, Siemens&Co., Seeger, Toyota, and Votex and collaborated on the strategic design of the two private hospitals, the Rosenparkklinik and the Jungbrunnenklinik.  

In 2001, Professor Philipps was appointed to a professorship for industrial design with a focus on design and technology at the Faculty of Design at the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences. Since starting this professorship, he has been implementing and continually enhancing one of the first CAID laboratories (Computer Aided Industrial Design) at German design universities.  

His teaching approach centers on explicitly strengthening his students’ designing talents. This technique relies on the formulation and development of visions and concepts, focusing on technological feasibility. Here, Professor Philipps utilizes the AEF method that he established for product development. This methodology factors in the interaction of analytical, emotional and functional aspects of product development.  

Since 2004, he has been head of the faculty. As the faculty’s senior research fellow, Professor Philipps has been continually working to expand a network between universities for applied sciences, universities of technology and research and development departments.    

As part of national and international cooperation projects, he has been fostering the interchange between Design and Engineering faculties. He is especially interested in Japan. In the scope of multiple exchange projects and cooperative efforts with local businesses and universities, he has succeeded in establishing a continuing dialogue.  

His students’ bachelor degree theses, seminar papers and research papers have been distinguished with numerous awards. These students have since come to be employed in many renowned design agencies worldwide.   

His research and development projects revolve around medical technology and packaging design.