1. Richard Sapper was a German industrial designer who was based in Milan for much of his career.
12 Facts About Richard Sapper
1. 2.
Richard Sapper is considered to be one of the most influential figures of post-war design.
3.
Richard Sapper studied a number of subjects at the University of Munich including philosophy, anatomy and engineering, before graduating with a business degree.
4.
In 1972 Richard Sapper designed the Tizio lamp for Artemide, one of the first desk lamps to use a halogen bulb with low-voltage current conducting arms to eliminate the need for wires.
5.
In 1980, Richard Sapper was appointed principal industrial design consultant at IBM and began designing numerous portable computers, including the first ThinkPad 700C in 1992, which broke with the company's tradition of pearl-grey machines with a simple and elegant black rectangular box.
6.
Richard Sapper continued to oversee the ThinkPad brand as design consultant to Lenovo after it acquired the IBM PC Division in May 2005.
7.
Richard Sapper worked with Fiat on experimental cars, especially on pneumatic bumper systems, and with Pirelli on the development of pneumatic structures.
8.
Richard Sapper's research culminated with the design of the Zoombike, a lightweight bicycle designed with aircraft technology to achieve the required strength and speed acceleration, which can fold as quickly and simply as an umbrella and easily fit into a car trunk.
9.
Richard Sapper taught and lectured at Yale University, the Kunstakademie Stuttgart, the University of Beijing, the Royal College of Art in London, the Domus Academy in Milan, the University of Buenos Aires, and the Hochschule fuer Angewandte Kunst in Vienna.
10.
Richard Sapper was made an Honorary Royal Designer for Industry by the Royal Society of Arts in the United Kingdom in 1988, and he was a Member of the Academy of Arts in Germany.
11.
In 2012, Richard Sapper received the Cross of Merit of the Order of Merit from the President of the Federal Republic of Germany.
12.
Richard Sapper married Dorit Polz on January 16,1963 in Stuttgart.