Gismondi, Ernesto
Ernesto Gismondi was the founder of internationally recognised design brand Artemide. Born in Sanremo Italy in1931, he died in Milano Italy in 2020. Since the early 1960s Ernesto Gismondi was devoted to design and production of lighting equipment. As an established international designer, he founded Memphis, an avant-garde movement that brought about a profound evolution in the design sector both in Italy and worldwide. Under his guidance, the Artemide saw its market share grow and its international reach increase, making it one of the most important players in the design lighting sector, a role that earned him important acknowledgements, including the Compasso d’Oro Award for Career achievements (1994) and the European Design Prize (1997). In 2018 Ernesto Gismondi won the Compasso D'Oro for Lifetime Achievement with the following comments of the jury: "Aerospace engineer, university lecturer and entrepreneur, in short: man of multifaceted talent. Founder of Artemide, he immediately uses design processes as a distinctive factor and in this long process encourages and enhances collaborations with the world of national and international design. A coherent example of how design can be a concrete strategic lever for cultural and economic growth, it has always worked so that Italian design can be a virtuous example at an international level".
