Hermann Obrist was a Swiss sculptor and designer. He was most active in Germany. A leading figure in the evolution of Jugendstil in Munich, Obrist was inspired by the Arts and Crafts Movement, which he had experienced when he visited Britain in 1897.
Early Career
He studied medicine and natural sciences and from 1888, ceramics. Subsequently, he ended up studying sculpture in Paris. In 1886, prompted by a vision of a radiant city, he turned to art. In 1892, he settled in Florence, concentrating on marble techniques. In 1895, he established a studio for embroidery in Munich. Following the lead of Koloman Moser’s and Josef Hoffmann’s Wiener Werkstatte, in 1897, Obrist, Peter Behrens, Bruno Paul, Bernhard Pankok, and Richard Riemerschmid founded the Miinchner Vereinigte Werkstatten fiir Kunst im Handwerk (The Munich United Workshops for Art in Handwork). It aimed to sell everyday objects designed by Modem artists. Obrist was one of the leading designers of the Jugendstil and designed furniture and textiles.
Recognition
In 1896, he gained particular critical attention when he displayed 35 embroideries, demonstrating how natural forms were reinterpreted more abstractly.
Obrist displayed furniture at the 1900 Paris Exposition in Riemerschmid’s Room for the Art Lover. He went on to influence the curriculum of the Lehr and Versuchs-Atelier für Angewandte und Freie Kunst (Teaching and Study Studio for Applied and Free Art), founded in 1903, at the School of Applied Arts of Wilhelm Debschitz. Obrist continued as a prolific writer, teacher, and propagandist in architecture.
Source
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King.
Oxford University Press. (2004). A Dictionary of Modern Design (1st ed.).
More Industrial Designers
-
Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007) Father of Anti-Design
Although trained and active as an architect, Sottsass secured a permanent place in pop culture with his designs of everyday items. From 1957, he was a consultant designer at Olivetti, where he designed computers, adding machines, typewriters, and systems furniture. Read More →
-
Eliot Noyes (1910 – 1977) American industrial designer
Eliot Noyes (1910 – 1977) was an industrial designer from the United States. From 1928 to 1932, he studied architecture at Harvard University, followed by stints at the Graduate School of Design from 1932 to 1935 and 1937 to 1938. Read More →
-
John Vassos (1898 – 1985) Greek American Designer
John Vassos was a Greek illustrator and designer born in Bucharest and professionally active in Boston. He studied at the Boston, Museum of Fine Arts School, and Art Students’ League, and produced graphic design for labels, packages, and small appliances. He used applied psychology to analyse buying habits and motivations. Read More →
-
Swatch Watch a Design Classic
Swatch has revolutionised the watch industry over the previous four decades. The Swatch became the fashion item of the 1980s thanks to its combination of Swiss technology, design, and low price. It is the first watch that has become a classic look, with a black plastic band and a basic watch face.Read More →
-
Christian Germanaz ( b. 1940 ) french industrial designer
Germanaz designed the Half and Half seat (1964), it was manufactured by Airborne in 1968. This consisted of two identical plastic shapes clamped together to form a bench.Read More →
-
Carl-Arne Breger (1932 – 2009), Swedish Industrial Designer
Carl-Arne Breger was a Swedish industrial designer who designed products for a variety of companies and trades, including household goods, tools, appliances, machines, and telephones. His square bucket was recognised as ‘the best plastic product for the 1950-60 decade’ by Swedish Plastic Association.Read More →
-
Henning Koppel (1918 – 1981) Danish Designer
Koppel had his debut as a sculptor at the Artists’ Authumn Exhibition in 1935 with an expressive portrait bust. He was also represented with drawings on several exhibitions. His best works as a sculptor are the busts of Valdemar and Jytte Koppel (1938 and 1942, both in black granite) and Tora Nordstrom Bonnier and Karl-Adam…
-
Chafik Gasmi (b.1962) French-Algerian designer
Chafik Gasmi is a registered architect in France who founded UNIVERS INTÉRIEUR in 1990 and has since expanded his brand to include home goods and decor items. Chafik developed his ideas for the brand and graphic identity of the LE ROYAL MONCEAU building in Paris, collaborated with LANCME, created a resort for the launch of…
-
Antonia Astori (b.1940) co-founded Driade
Antonia Astori co-founded Driade with her brother Enrico and Adelaide Acerbi in 1968. She was able to create a unique network of furniture designers, galleries, and shops.Read More →
-
Peter Murdoch (b.1940) British furniture, industrial designer
Peter Murdoch (b.1940) is a British furniture, interior, graphic, and industrial designer.Read More →
-
Jasper Morrison (b.1959) – British Designer, quirky, understated furniture
Morrison produced quirky, satiric, understated furniture. His 1986 South Kensington flat was widely published in design magazines. He designed 1988 Door handles I and II, and a 1989 range of aluminium handles produced by FSB in Germany. Read More →
-
Sebastian Bergne (b. 1966) – English / Italian industrial designer
The phrase ‘less is more’ perfectly encapsulates the core of these works, the quality of which can only be attained by a proper understanding of form.Read More →
-
Tapio Wirkkala (1913 – 1985) Finland’s leading designer
Tapio Wirkkala is widely regarded as one of Finland’s most influential designers. Wirkkala began hisRead More →
-
John Mascheroni (b.1932), American furniture designer
John Mascheroni has been designing furniture for his entire career, recognized for his design acuity and modernism. LEARN MORERead More →
-
Enzo Mari (1932 -2020) Italian modernist, industrial designer
Inventor of commonplace items whose radical politics were incorporated into their creations Enzo Mari (1932 – 2020) was an Italian modernist and furniture designer who lived from 1932 to 2020. TELL ME MORERead More →
-
Ingo Maurer (1932 – 2019) – industrial designer – Poet of Light
Ingo Maurer was a German industrial designer who specialised in the development of lighting fixtures and installations. “Poet of Light” was his nickname.Read More →
-
Kurt Naef Spielzeug – Swiss Design firm – Unique Playthings
A typical Naef set is a box with geometric pieces made of wood and cut with great care. Each set has unique block shapes that make its possibilities different. Some of Kurt Naef’s sets were designed by Naef himself, but also by Peer Clahsen and Jo Niemeyer.Read More →
-
Victor Papanek (1923 – 1998) socially responsible Design Prophet
Victor Papanek was a socially responsible designer. Design for the Real World, his book, was released in 20 different languages. TELL ME MORERead More →
-
Antonio Citterio ( b.1950 ) Italian furniture designer
Antonio Citterio is a leading Italian architect and interior designer, furniture and industrial designer. Citterio explored the possibilities of new materials and technologies rather than aligning himself with New Design’s more fashionable aesthetics.Read More →
-
Rodolfo Bonetto – Italian furniture & industrial designer
Rodolfo Bonetto (1929 – 1991) was Italian furniture and industrial designer. He began his design career at the Pininfarina automobile body design firm. In 1958, he founded his studio. Between 1963-69, was a member of ADI (Associazione per il Disegno Industriale) advisory committee and participated in numerous other professional organisations. Read More →