Giancarlo Fassina

b. 1935

Like many of his Italian contemporaries, Fassina trained in architecture at the Milan Polytechnic. His early industrial design experience began with a company manufacturing calculating machines and a household appliance manufacturer. In 1970 Fassina joined the Italian lighting company Artemide, helping with both the restructuring of the technical design sector and organizing the internal department of product models and development. Throughout the 1980s, he designed large-scale lighting systems for exhibits and buildings across Italy. Fassina is perhaps best known for his collaborations with architect Michele De Lucchi– specifically the ‘Tolomeo’ lamp series, which was given the Compasso d’Oro award for Italian industrial design in 1989.