Verner Panton

Verner Panton famously said, “A less successful experiment is preferable to a beautiful platitude”.

Designer Verner Panton (1926-98) believed that intelligent design is design accessible to all, not just a rich few.

Born in Denmark, after his studies Panton worked at the studio of Arne Jacobsen and founded his own studio in 1955. His work is characterised by bright colours and motifs. He wrote in his book 'Notes on Colour': "Choosing Colours should not be a gamble. It should be a conscious decision. Colours have meaning and function."

His interior installation created in 1970 for his Visiona exhibition in Cologne has become the stuff of design legend. His S Chair, produced by Vitra, was the first time a chair was manufactured from a single piece of plastic. It was five years in development and was a huge critical success upon its launch in 1967.