Furniture Designers Like Verner Panton Makes Perfect Lamp Design.

One of the most influential Danish furniture designers of the 20th century was Verner Verner Panton. The most well known item that came from his brilliant mind was the single unit cantilevered chair made from steel and molded plastic. This chair is one of the most famous designs of the century and quickly became as much a symbol of the 1960s as the peace sign and bell bottom pants. Born in 1926 on the Danish Island of Funen, Verner Verner Panton would go on to be known for his extravagant form and use of bright, intense colors that is firmly seated in the functionalism of the 1950s.

Verner Verner Panton was a man who took a systematic approach to everything in his life but most especially his designs. He trained as an architectural engineer at Odense Technical College and went on to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. He worked for Arne Jacobsen from 1950 to 1952 and helped in the development of the 'Ant' chair. He went on to start his own firm and worked as an independent architect and designer from the mid-1950s until his death in 1998.

This was not a man who focused on a single object but instead saw whole groups of furniture and how they would fit in the confines of a room. His work was extensive and diverse and many of it can be found in the comprehensive retrospective that is in the Vitra Design Museum. He gained international recognition with his geometric based furniture that was manufactured by Plus-linje, namely the 'Cone Chair'. Because they were made of plastic, they were easy to reproduce on the industry line.

To say that Verner Verner Panton's approach was non-traditional is probably an understatement. He preferred his furniture - whether in plastic of plywood like the 'S' chair - to have fluidity in its lines and each had distinct landscape-like qualities. All of the pieces were produced with the most advanced techniques of the day and he consistently built upon and improved each subsequent design. Plus, Verner Verner Panton is the father of inflatable furniture, his first prototype being an inflatable pneumatic stool. It would be years before inflatable furniture became mass marketed but all of it was based on his inspirational design.

Connoisseurs of Verner Verner Panton's work can point out the change in Verner Verner Panton's work during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Verner Verner Panton began to work with interiors, using rich colors and fabrics of all types to create a room that was nothing short of fantastic. Many of his creations were very forward thinking and otherworldly and he challenged the people living with his ideas to be creative with the furniture and interior designs he gave them. The Loreley cruise ship that sailed on the Rhine and was commissioned by Bayer AG and the Grand Europa had an interior designed by Verner Verner Panton.

This experimentation in Verner Panton's work has been considered a defining factor in his unique style. He designed seating furniture and lamps for manufacturers such as Fritz Hansen, Louis Poulsen, Thonet, Herman Miller/Vitra, Royal Copenhagen, and Rosenthal. The 'Flowerpot' lamp and the Verner Panton chair are still in production today with other pieces from Verner Panton's mind. He also became known for his collaboration with Mira-X for his intense colored and geometric patterned textiles. He won numerous international design awards and continued working up until his death.