Gio Ponti

Gio-PontiGio Ponti (18 November 1891, Milan – 16 September 1979, Milan) was one of the most important Italian architects, industrial designers, furniture designers, artists, and publishers of the twentieth century.

In 1923 Ponti made his public debut at the first Biennial Exhibition of the Decorative Arts in Monza, which was followed by his involvement in organising the subsequent Triennial Exhibitions of Monza and Milan. 
In 1928 he founded Domus magazine. In 1941 he resigned as editor of Domus and set up Stile magazine, which he edited until 1947.[1] In 1948 he returned to Domus, where he remained as editor until his death.
From 1936 to 1961 he worked as a professor on the permanent staff of the Faculty of Architecture at Politecnico di Milano University.
In 1934 he was given the title of "Commander" of the Royal Order of Vasa in Stockholm. He also obtained the Accademia d'Italia Art Prize for his artistic merits, as well as a gold medal from the Paris Académie d'Architecture. Finally, he obtained an honorary Doctorate from the London Royal College of Art

His signature furniture design might well be the Superleggera (meaning superlight) chair. It is easily recognisable by the elegant, tapered legs. These tapered legs (sometimes tapped with brass) are a feature of many other furniture designs by Ponti, such as the 'Diamond' lounge chair, which give his work a wonderful sense of lightness.