Ettore Sottsass

Born in 1917, he graduated in architecture from the Politecnico di Torino in 1939. After surviving a WWII labor camp, he opened his Milan studio in 1947. In 1958, he began a landmark collaboration with Olivetti, where he designed the Elea 9003 computer and the famous red Valentine typewriter, a piece that turned a functional tool into a pop-culture icon.

During the 1960s and 70s, he traveled to India and the U.S., experiences that shifted his focus toward "Radical Design." He began creating ceramics and furniture that prioritized ritual and sensory experience over pure industrial utility. 

In 1981, he founded the Memphis Group, a collective that shocked the design world with its use of plastic laminates, neon colors, and asymmetrical shapes, most notably seen in his Carlton bookcase.

In his later years, he founded Sottsass Associati to focus on large-scale architecture, including the Malpensa Airport in Milan. 

He remained an active critic of "good taste" until his death in 2007, leaving behind a legacy that viewed design as a way to explore the complexity of human existence.

Sottsass’s work is held in permanent collections globally, including the MoMA in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.