Ettore Sottsass

Ettore Sottsass is an Austrian designer and philisopher who was born in the year 1917 and died in 2008. He "worked throughout his career to shake the static ways in which people thought about design and to try to create a body of work outside of what he thought were 'hierarchic bureaucratic structures of industry' ". 

He studied at the Turin Polytechnic. His specifications of work where based on making new designs that were completely different but worked wonders. He is known in the anti-design movement but there was always questions. He never stopped indicating the importance of design in this world. He says that, "to me design.. is a way of discussing life. It is a way of discussing society, politics, eroticism, food and even design."

He worked for the company Poltronova in the year 1945 as a designer and a consultant. He became known worldwide after working for Olivetti's electronics department from 1958 onwards. 

Some of his designs which were produced for Olivetti were:

1963 - 'Praxis' typewriter

1969 - 'Valentine'

These were some typewriters which Sotsass designed for Olivetti, along with other designs. The 'Valentine' was the most popular and was often seen in vibrant red plastic. 

He was also highly influenced by Pop Art and produced:

 

 Hanging Light in 1958.

A vase from 'Ceramics of Darkness' in the year 1963.

After those, there was a bedroom known as "La Casa Abitata" which was influenced by Japanese aesthetics and was also exhibited in 1965.

Sotsass was the founder of the Memphis group in 1981. The interest was to produce "radical objects and furniture that debated the relevance of modern design". These designed objects include:

'Teodora' chair - 1986

'Casablanca' 1981

Reference:

- R & Company, 2014, Ettore Sotsass [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.r20thcentury.com/biography_detail.cfm?designer_id=104 [Accessed at 26th January 2014]