Born in Germany in 1934, Reinhold Weiss became an influential designer at Braun. Weiss studied carpentry and architecture, later attending the Ulm School of Design. He joined Braun in 1959, and his first design for, the HL1 Desk Fan was released in 1961 followed by the compact HLD hair dryer in 1964. He left Braun in 1967 and moved to the United States where he continued freelance work. A recognized figure of functionalist industrial design, his designs are included in collections such as the Museum of Modern Art New York, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and the Israel Museum.