Notes on design - Enzo Mari by Jasper Morrison

In advance of an Enzo Mari exhibition at the Triennale Milano, we present a selection of archival drawings and sketches investigates the process of his search for true form and a vintage photographic summary of his key works.

My first physical encounter with Enzo Mari’s design was his Box chair. As a young designer, there was something miraculous about a chair which could be sold in a plastic bag no bigger than its seat. I bought one and I still have it.

I greatly admire his conceptual approach to design, and though I am less conceptual in my approach, we share an appreciation of archetypes and arriving at a design by elimination of possibilities. So, I do not claim to be an expert on Enzo Mari, merely an appreciative onlooker who, as a designer, owes part of his education and inspiration to the example his work provides.

Selected by Jasper Morrison

Jasper Morrison (London, 1959) graduated in design from Kingston Polytechnic and the RCA. In 1984 he studied at Berlin’s HdK. In 1986 he opened his Office for Design in London. Today Jasper Morrison Ltd has studios in London, Paris and Tokyo. He designs an ever-expanding range of things for firms such as Vitra, Cappellini, Flos, Magis, Emeco, Punkt, Camper and Muji. He has published several books and worked on a variety of exhibitions. Every month, together with Francesca Picchi, he will look to design precedent to illuminate the way forward.