Design in Italia

The generation that created Italian design.

The modern and contemporary furniture industry of Italy represents a unique paradigm: its industrial design production was created by the most important international architects and designers of the 20th and 21st centuries. While reams have been written about Italian architects and designers, until now no volume has ever been dedicated to those who contributed to their success.

This book takes a behind-the-scenes look at the manufacturers who made possible the most important modern and contemporary furnishings, who risked and invested in innovative products, many of which have become icons of design; and who first believed in a new form of elegance.

In a detailed historical analysis from the 1950s to today, Stefano Casciani follows the career paths of the manufacturing movers and shakers of the design world, all of whom are depicted in striking black-and-white portraits by the Norwegian photographer Tom Sandberg. These portraits of entrepreneurs such as Bruno Danese, Giulio Cappellini and Patrizia Moroso tell of the individual and collective experience of constructing the image of Italian design worldwide. From the Luisa chair by Poggi to the Thinking Man's chair by Cappellini, from the Tizio lamp by Artemide to the Glo-ball by Flos, the text discusses the past and present of the various entrepreneurial histories and the development of the culture of Italian design. A bio-bibliography completes the volume, making it a real reference book on design.

Gunda Dworschak has worked as an architect in Germany and Italy and has published a number of books on modern international architecture. She is a communication consultant for companies in the design sector.

Stefano Casciani is deputy editor of the international architecture and design magazine Domus and the author of numerous publications including This was tomorrow and Design in Italy 1950-1990.

Tom Sandberg is one of the most acknowledged contemporary Norwegian photographers. He has been included in numerous exhibitions in Europe and the United States over the last three decades. In 2007, he had solo exhibitions at PS1 MoMA in New York and K?nslerhaus Bethanien in Berlin.