|
|
about the designer: Richard Sapper
|
| In the Beginnning |
|
|
Since aeronautical engineer, Ernesto Gismondi, and architect, Sergio Mazza, founded Artemide in Milan in 1959, the company has worked with some of the biggest names in Italian design, such as De Lucchi, Porsche, Botta, Mari, Bellini and Sottsass.
Perhaps the most famous of all of Artemide's designers is not, however, an Italian. He is the Munich-born creator of Tizio - Richard Sapper.
Sapper's industrial design career spans more than five decades and includes some of the most instantly recognizable - and well-received - products that have ever been manufactured.
|
| The Essence of Interaction Design |
|
|
His impact on product design is profound. It's all the more interesting given that he never attended design school. In fact, Sapper dabbled in philosophy, mechanical engineering, graphic design, and anatomy before completing his studies with a degree in business management in 1956.
It was his interest in the relationship between everyday objects and their impact on people that led him to consider a career as an industrial designer. As Hans Hoger writes in Design Classics "...the decisive incident that caused Sapper to turn to design as a profession was a conversation that he had had with Romano Guardini, his philosophy-professor in Munich. The professor had pointed out the close relationship between the every-day-objects and their influence on the thinking and emotions on people. He was fascinated by the possibility of participating in the design of this interaction."
In short, Richard Sapper found that he wanted to re-design the objects in our world and along with them, our world view.
As he remarked in a lecture "Just like artists, writers and architects, designers are capable of not only interpreting the philosophy of their time in a creative way, but also shaping it. Painters like Picasso or Klee, to mention two of the possible names, created things that were previously unthinkable, and yet they were still interpreting the spirit of their time. In such cases, the future, not the past, is reflected. Every person involved in the creative process eventually has to decide: do they want to flow with the stream, or do they want to go ahead and play a part in determining its course? If we want to do so, we have to become clear about how we imagine this world, this life of tomorrow. The question is: what kind of a world do we wish for?"
|
| The Sapper Way |
|
|
Sapper's way of doing things, and his designs, which have been hailed by critics as "pure ingenuity" have shaped more than 200 objects.
While producing a comprehensive list of the noted designer's accomplishments would fill volumes, it is worthwhile to point out some of the highlights of the products he has created.
He contributed to the design of Mercedes' 300SL roadster in the late 1950's. His first independent project in 1960, the Lorenz Static table clock, earned him Compasso d'Oro, Italy's top design award and launched his career (the clock is still in production today). In 1970, he worked with architect and designer Marco Zanuso to design a successful folding phone for Siemens, the German manufacturing giant. One look at the phone's innovative "flip down" receiver and it becomes clear that Sapper's work laid the foundation for today's cellular phone designs. Throughout his career he has designed office furniture for such well-known names in the industry as Knoll and Castelli, along with tabletop goods for Alessi.
In the 80's Sapper's design was the foundation for computer giant IBM's high-tech turnaround. It was his now famous black Thinkpad design that initiated a portable computer revolution, making the Thinkpad the most successful laptop computer in the world not only commercially, but also landing in the Permanent Design Collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
|
| Sapper's Masterpiece: Tizio |
|
|
For all of his numerous accomplishments, Sapper's greatest work has no doubt
been Tizio, easily the most recognizable lamp in the world. It is in Tizio in
which Sapper realized his great design ambition: to create a product that was so
utterly functional and yet so elegant that it would set a standard not just for
the design of lamps but the design of everyday things as well.
In Design Classics, Hans Hoger recounts the story of how Tizio's co-founder
Ernesto Gismondi had first seen what is now referred to as "the lamp":
"The concept for the Tizio came from Sapper. It was his idea. One day, he
called me and said, 'you had asked me to design an extremely functional and
innovative lamp. Do you remember that? I've got it! The prototype is right here
in my studio.'-Of course, I drove there immediately. Sapper showed me what he
had developed and I have to admit, I was really amazed." What Gismondi saw in
Sapper's studio was nothing less then a small sensation.
For Sapper, the design was his trademark problem-solving technique. He
writes: "I prefer having the light shine just on the piece of paper when I work
or read and the rest of the room should be in semi-darkness. I feel less
disturbed this way, and I can concentrate much better. In order to make this
kind of lighting possible it's necessary to position the reflector fairly close
to the paper. However, it can be too large or it turns into a rather disturbing
object located close to the head. And besides, I wanted a work lamp with a wide
range of movement - but one that, despite its ability, would claim only a small
amount of space. In 1970, when Ernesto Gismondi asked me whether I was
interested in designing a work lamp, I realized that there had never before been
a design on the market that had united these characteristics. So I promised
Gismondi to give it a shot."
Now, thanks to Artemide there are many millions of Tizios, in living rooms,
on desks, and in just about every other area of a home or office. Today, Tizio
remains one of the most successful and critically acclaimed lamps ever designed.
And after being on the market for more than 25 years, Artemide still sells
hundreds of thousands each year worldwide.
Today, at the age of sixty-six, Richard Sapper continues to design new and
more adventurous products.
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
