Richard Sapper

Richard Sapper
Born(1932-05-30)30 May 1932
Munich, Germany
Died31 December 2015(2015-12-31) (aged 83)
Alma materUniversity of Munich
OccupationIndustrial designer
AwardsCross of Merit (Order of Merit, Germany)
Compasso d'Oro
Lucky Strike Designer Award [de]
Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
Honorary Doctorate, University of North Carolina
Lifetime Achievement Award, German Design Council

Richard Sapper (30 May 1932 – 31 December 2015) was a German industrial designer who was based in Milan for much of his career. He is considered to be one of the most influential figures of post-war Italian design. His products typically feature a combination of technical innovation, simplicity of form, and an element of wit and surprise.[1][2][3]

Sapper received numerous awards and distinctions, including 11 Compasso d'Oro awards,[4] the Raymond Loewy Foundation's Lucky Strike Designer Award [de], and the German Order of Merit. Examples of his work are held by museums such as the Victoria and Albert (V&A) and Design Museum in London, the Pompidou Center in Paris, the ADI Design Museum in Milan, and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York – which counts over 17 of his designs in its collection.[1][2][3][5][6]

TS 502 radio designed for Brionvega (Museum of science and technology, Milan)
Doney television designed for Brionvega (Museum of science and technology, Milan)
Sandwich Clock designed for Ritz-Italora
Bollitore kettle designed for Alessi
9090 coffee maker designed for Alessi
Tizio lamp designed for Artemide (showing articulation)
IBM 5140 portable computer (1987)
IBM 5140 portable computer (closed)
IBM 5140 portable computer (shown with printer)
  1. ^ a b Webb, M., (2002), Richard Sapper, San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2002.
  2. ^ a b Hamm, S, ″Richard Sapper: Fifty years at the Drawing Board″, Business Week, January 10, 2008.
  3. ^ a b Ott, S, ″Richard Sapper: You have to rely on your instinct″, Form, May/June, 2009.
  4. ^ "The history of the Compasso d'Oro through 20 projects". www.domusweb.it. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
  5. ^ "Richard Sapper | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2022-08-31.
  6. ^ "Richard Sapper". Centre Pompidou. Retrieved 2022-10-15.