Richard Sapper

Richard Sapper (1932-2015), born in Germany but Italian by adoption, was one of the most prominent figures in the history of Italian design, as evidenced by the record number of victories of the prestigious Compasso d'Oro obtained during his career : 10, to which is added a celebratory recognition to his career in 2014. The unanimous esteem he enjoyed was due to his great design intelligence, capable of solving the needs of everyday life in a precise and functional way, combining everything with a strong innovative charge. His career is closely linked to the city of Milan, where he moved in 1958 after having worked for a few years at the Mecedes Benz style center. After the first experience with Gio Ponti, the following year he formed a solid partnership with Marco Zanuso (which would last until 1977), working in particular on technological products such as radios, telephones and televisions, for brands such as Brionvega and Siemens. Instead, the Tizio lamp created in 1972 for Artemide, a timeless international bestseller, is entirely his signature. Always attentive to the progress of technology, in the 1980s he established fruitful collaborations with IBM, for which he designed several revolutionary computer models, and with Alessi, for which he focused on small objects for domestic use.