Severin Filek studied Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (USA), the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa) and the University of Vienna. Since 1992 he has been managing director of designaustria (knowledge center and interest group). He is co-founder and board member of designforum Vienna and president of the Austrian section of the International Board on Book for Young People (IBBY).
He has published numerous works and studies about design, in particular on design awareness in Europe, as well as design protection and professional rights in national and international media.
Filek was president of the BEDA-Bureau of European Design Associations from 1999 to 2001. Since 2012 he has been a board member of BEDA and Design Management Europe (DME).