who would you like to design something for?
meeting erwin braun was very lucky for me, and nils vitsoe also.
in germany there aren’t many charismatic entrepreneurs, perhaps there are more in italy,
for example people like adriano olivetti, but even there today they are rare.

you created the ‘braun style’ which has become famous throughout the world...
first of all I didn’t do anything by myself, the entrepreneur’s personality, and all of
others involved in the development, the connections with university were
certainly important. I was lucky that I began at the right moment and that
I stopped also at the right moment.
when the design and product research division was created at braun it was 1956,
I was able to build a team with other young designers, there were at least 16 of us.

form follows function?
yes, form has to come after function, I can’t conceive of it in any other way.
there are certainly psychological functions as well, it is a matter of balancing the esthetic
content with regard to use.

do you think that design is an autonomous cultural expression?
the term ‘design’ is certainly used too much, even barbers call themselves “designers”!
but if we mean the latin word “designare” or the english term “design”, in england
where engineers call themselves ‘designers’,... yes, I think that it is a culture,
underestimated, but autonomous.
in italy the majority of designers are architects like me, in my day there was no specific
training, I recall we had a class called ‘space and tools’. (laughs)

when you are working, do you discuss or exchange ideas with your colleagues?
yes, with my ex-colleagues (at braun) I still have good relationships and as well
with some italian designers.

describe your style, like a good friend of yours would describe it.
in japanese they say: wabi sabi. together these two concepts mean
'tranquility, simplicity, balance’, but also ‘liveliness’. this is a point of reference for me...
I have always been interested in mixing materials, in my earliest furniture designs
I mixed wood with plastic or aluminum.

which of your projects has given you the most satisfaction?
newspapers and ‘design critics’ always cite the ‘schneewittchensarg',
the phono/radio 'phonosuper SK4' for braun in 1956. it was the first to have a perspex
cover, which then became a production standard...
but my favorites are the small objects, the ones that became the first ‘walkman’...
the portable phono/radio combination 'TP 1' in '59, for braun.
(see film clip)

quicktime clip
616 kb.

what did you want to be when you were a child?
my grandfather was a carpenter, I went to visit him often and I watched how he
‘produced’ his forms which were always very linked to his technique (by hand),
they were simple, but very beautiful, that is what I wanted to do, I didn’t know about
being a designer, but I knew I wanted to make things.

is there any architect or designer from past you appreciate a lot?
charles and ray eames, george nelson.
I never knew eames personally, but I did know nelson... I loved it when he talked about design...
I will never forget what he said about ettore sottsass, when he wanted to do something
else, when he was tired of marketing (as we all were)...’memphis’ was above all a
poetic/pictoral thought, he wasn’t interested whether these objects really went into
production, george said: 'now our good friend ettore is becoming a guru.'
(laughs)

and among those still working?
maybe jasper morrison

on the news broadcast they said that italians are afraid of unemployment, criminality
and pollution. what are you afraid of regarding the future?
I fear violence, fanaticism.
I can’t stand any ‘isms’-- nationalism, functionalism.
there is no functionalism, just functions.