Kurt Naef Spielzeug – Swiss Design firm – Unique Playthings

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Kurt Naef, a Swiss designer and manufacturer, creates ‘toys with soul’ that enchant kids and grownups.

Angular black/white Construction toy
Angular black/white Construction toy

The Swiss company Kurt Naef Spielzeug makes unique toys of the highest quality and design. A typical Naef set is a box with geometric pieces made of wood and carefully cut. The shapes and bright colours of the blocks make it possible to build many different things. Each set has unique block shapes that make its possibilities different. Some of Kurt Naef’s sets were designed by Naef himself, but Peer Clahsen and Jo Niemeyer have also done designs for Naef. Niemeyer made the Modulon set, a black cube-shaped box with 16 square blocks cut in the Golden Section and painted in black, white, and the three primary colours. Any arrangement or structure made with this set shows off the beauty of that system. Putting together a Naef set according to a plan and (often) putting the blocks back in their original order can also be a bit of a puzzle.

Sources

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing. https://amzn.to/3ElmSlL

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