One of the most influential industrial designers today, Jasper Morrison is known for his minimalist style, which has accompanied him since the beginning of his career. “My grandfather had decorated one of the rooms in his house with the Scandinavian style of the 60s – simple flooring, white shag rugs – and placed in that room a Braun record player with wooden side panels. I was impressed with the room and with the record player,” he recalls.

Throughout his prolific career, Morrison has done his utmost to create simple yet functional beauty for everyday objects, ranging from door handles to trays, from wristwatches to chairs.

Morrison graduated from Kingston Polytechnic Design School in London, and completed his postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Art and also at the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin. In 1986 he opened his design office in London.

In 2005, Morrison collaborated with Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa on a groundbreaking exhibition, Super Normal, which celebrated the more humble side of design. The exhibition, held in Tokyo, addressed the type of design that, instead of drawing attention to itself, exists discreetly as a natural part of life – a paper clip, a pen.

Morrison was also a pioneer in the use of gas injection technology in furniture manufacturing. The Air Chair, which he designed for Magis, was one of the first chairs to be manufactured with this type of technology. “This represented a major shift in the quality of one-piece plastic chairs,” he says. “Previously, plastic chairs were only possible when they had a very thick wall and reinforcement structures. Gas injection technology gave us the chance to create uniformly smooth surfaces.”

He said he designed it “thinking of the shape of an ideal wooden chair, if you could sculpt it the way you wanted. I believe this shape has held up well and still looks current, even after 12 years.”

Morrison has appeared in many magazines and published several books on design. His work has been exhibited in many international museums and his retail store in London features hundreds of elegant household objects from around the world.

 

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