german industrial designer richard sapper died on new year’s eve, 2015. he was 83. his iconic design solutions make him one of the most influential industrial designers of his generation. sapper’s creative gift was a distinctive style of formal simplicity and at times humor. from simple housewares to cars and boats many of his pieces reside in museum collections worldwide including 15 designs represented at moma in new york and london’s victoria & albert and design museum. his clients included alessi, artemide, b&b italia, fiat, heuer, knoll and magis.
rearview mirror | 1956 | for mercedes 300 sl roadster, sapper’s first design gone into production
doney | | 1962 | brionvega | with marco zanuso, wins prize compasso d’oro 1962 and included in the permanent design collection at the museum of modern art in new york
tizio | 1972 | artemide | prize grand prix triennale xv 1974 | features a transformer located in the base that powers a halogen lamp through rods and press button joints, which carry electrical current without the need for cables. most recent lamp offers led illumination
bus designed to store bicycles | fiat | 1976 | competition entry study for city traffic in milan
telephone booth | 1986 | for german post office | the first telephone booth built entirely of injection-molded plastic, consisting of four identical panels plus one for the roof
argo | 1988 artemide-litech | a low-voltage spotlight track-lighting system
9091 | 1983 | alessi | features a brass melodic whistle with two pipes tuned to the notes “mi” and “ti”
la cintura di orione | 1986 | alessi | developed in consultation with renowned cuisine chefs alain chapel, raymond thuilier, pierre and michel troisgros, roger verge, gualtiero marchesi and angelo paracucchi, and under the coordination of gastronomical expert alberto gozzi
from 9 to 5 | 1986 | castelli | prize compasso d’oro 1987 | part of an extensive office furniture system. adjustable desk surface heights
aida | 1998 | magis | stacking chair
zoombike | 2000 | elettromontaggi | an aluminum 3-speed folding metro bike. the design draws on aircraft technology rather than traditional bicycle mechanics
tosca | 2007 |magis | stacking chair
aida table | 2001 | magis
according to a phaidon statement, in june, phaidon publishes richard sapper, an in depth study packed with images from sapper’s own archive and featuring specially commissioned candid photography by ramak fazel that shines light on sapper’s personal life.
