Bruce Hannah graduated from Pratt Institute in 1963 with a degree in Industrial Design. His career as a designer began in 1967 when he collaborated on several award winning seating groups for Knoll. In 1976 Bruce Hannah established his own design office.
In 1990 the Hannah Desk System for Knoll was named a design of the Decade by The IDSA. Industrial Design Society of America.
In 1992 Bruce was named the first Designer in Residence at the Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
In 1993 Bruce was awarded the Bronze Apple by the New York Chapter of IDSA for the first national design conference on Universal Design
Bruce is a tenured Professor at Pratt Institute and continues to design, most recently an exhibit at the National Design Museum, titled Unlimited by Design.
In 1998 Bruce received the National Design Education Award from the IDSA. Guest editor-Contributor to Condé Nast Traveler Magazine, Design Catalog, March 2000
In 2000 Awarded Federal Presidential Design Achievement Award for the exhibition "Unlimited By Design" at National Design Museum, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Institution.
In January 2004 John Wiley & Sons published Becoming a Product Designer.
2005 Contributing writer to Phaidon Classics of Design
2006 Unlimited by Design named one of the 12 most influential exhibits by Metropolis Magazine
2007 Hannah Principle named by Dr. Niles Eldredge
2011 Bruce celebrates designing for KNOLL for 40 years