Magis, Italy (1976)

Magis is the brand that has given a novel twist to domestic design, building its identity on incorporating leading edge technology into mass production.

Founded in 1976 in the bustling north eastern corner of Italy by a newcomer to the furniture business, Eugenio Perazza, Magis is today a giant international design laboratory that constantly puts itself to the test, seeking technological sophistication and employing a highly diversified workforce.

Magis seizes the day. It embraces the creativity of leading global designers (Richard Sapper, Jasper Morrison, Stefano Giovannoni, Marc Newson, James Irvine, Konstantin Grcic, Ron Arad, the Bouroullecs and many others)and channels it towards objects perched on the cutting edge.

The company even earned kudos from the trendsetter’s bible, Wallpaper, which placed Perazza on top of its list of “Ten who will change the way we live”.

The company catalogue is heterogeneous, often divided into technology families entrusted with a clearcut strategy to different designers. Magis’ pace setting reinterpretation of mundane household plastic articles is a case in point: “Step” (1984) is a folding stepladder designed by Andries and Hiroko van Onck. “Bombo” (1997) is Stefano Giovannoni’s playful bar stool – a product that reaped massive revenues for the company.

Magis is a Factory-free organization: in order to enhance the flexibility of its R&D activities, the company opted to outsource its manufacturing and relies on a local area teeming with skilled contractors.

For example, the “Air-Chair” (2000) by Jasper Morrison combines deceivingly simple design with a sophisticated gas-assisted injection moulding process. “Chair_One” (2003) is a die-cast aluminium chair_cum_frame_cum_skeleton born of the talent of Konstantin Grcic, a design that propels the brand towards new manufacturing goals, and decrees “the end of the dictatorship of plastic”. One of the latest additions to the company’s classic collections is a new line called “Fuoritema”, which forms a creative bridge into new worlds, such as products for pets; Michael Young “Magis Dog House” (2002) is an example. The challenge lying ahead of Magis is perhaps that of returning to simplicity, through the complexity of advanced technology.

In 2004 Magis also launched a new collection of objects and furniture for children between two and six years old, called Me Too Collection. Nine designers for twenty-some objects. It’s not a scale reduction of the adult world. It’s more of an intermediate station, emotive equipment that stimulates the little ones’ perceptions and helps them to take stock of what the adult dimension will be like. It’s a token of love and an intelligent welcome to the smiles of tomorrow.

Me Too: I’m here too and I deserve my place among everything else.

Behind it all is an idea born from Eugenio Perazza’s impassioned curiosity, and also from careful research. Because you can play with children, but you can’t fool them. A project needs its rules too, and Me Too’s were dictated by the experience of pedagogue Edward Melhuish, the Londoner who participated from the start in the definition of the themes and who subsequently evaluated each proposal, approving only those that carried positive and educational values.