The Good Design Awards, established in Chicago in 1950 by Edgar Kaufmann Jr. along with modern design pioneers such as Charles and Ray Eames, Russell Wright, George Nelson, and Eero Saarinen, is one of the oldest and most prestigious design awards globally. The award recognizes excellence in design annually, celebrating products distinguished for innovation, sustainability, aesthetics, and functionality.

Vistosi has already had the honor of winning the Good Design Award in 2017 with two of its collections: the Sata collection by Favaretto & Partners and the Stone collection by Hangar Design Group. These successes confirm Vistosi’s ongoing commitment to blending craftsmanship tradition and technological innovation to create unique and high-quality design products.

We are pleased to announce that Vistosi has submitted five of its extraordinary lamp collections for the prestigious Good Design Awards. The nominated collections are Plissé, Groove, Faro, Riketta, and Anisette, each with a unique design and a fascinating story.

Anisette collection design by Francesco Lucchese

The Anisette collection revolves around the shades of lattimo glass, a special glass composition with a milky white appearance. The lamp consists of two shaded white crystal diffusers that, when overlapping or contrasting, create four different configurations. The overlapping of the shaded parts completely hides the mechanical component, while the juxtaposition of the opaline parts modulates the light so that it fades upward or downward. Inspired by the chemical effect created when aniseed liqueurs are diluted with water, Anisette features a special coupling system that allows the height of the light source to be changed.

Faro collection design by Oriano Favaretto

Faro evokes the clear waters of the Venetian lagoon and the mainland through two panes of glass: one tinted transparent and the other glossy white. A metal ring acts as a beacon, harmoniously uniting the panes and providing a safe point of reference. The metal frame, available in matte black or brass, conceals an LED light source that gives a diffuse and even light, ideal for creating a welcoming and reassuring atmosphere.

Groove collection design by Hangar Design Group

Inspired by the minimal style of the 1960s, Groove represents the essence of Mies van der Rohe’s “less is more” motto. The collection combines rectangles and spheres to create a stable and balanced shape. The flexible and customizable geometric structures are available in anthracite and matte bronze, with white shaded or frosted glass spheres. Groove is designed to fit into any space, always ensuring a unique and uncluttered configuration.

Plissé collection design by Chiaramonte & Marin

Plissé is inspired by the grace and harmony of jellyfish, with an umbrella shape that seems to protect the surrounding space. The blown glass diffuser conceals an inner fabric shade, creating plays of transparency and texture. Available in various colors and with a metal frame finished in satin-finished steel or matte bronze, Plissé is an element of great elegance and personality, perfect for adding a distinctive touch to any room.

Riketta collection design by Oriano Favaretto

Riketta, a pendant lamp resembling the shape of an egg, is a contemporary sculptural work. Favaretto combines white opal glass and metal rods to create an iconic shape, available in flatter or elongated variations. The LED light source is concealed in the white glass diffuser, making Riketta suitable for different combinations and decorating contexts.

These new nominations once again demonstrate Vistosi’s excellence in the international design scene, offering collections that not only illuminate, but also enrich spaces with their beauty and functionality.

SOME CURIOSITIES

GOOD DESIGN® the oldest and most prestigious design award

Each year, the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design presents the GOOD DESIGN® awards program for the most innovative and cutting-edge industrial, product, and graphic designs produced around the world.

HISTORY 1950-2024

The GOOD DESIGN® exhibition program began as a collaboration between the Chicago Merchandise Mart and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and continues today with the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design. The program called for three exhibitions a year: one during the Chicago Winter Furniture Market in January, another coinciding with the Summer Market in June, and a November exhibition based on the previous two exhibitions. Each year, a different prestigious designer was selected to curate the installation. Charles and Ray designed the 5,300-square-foot space for the inaugural installation in 1950, followed by Finn Juhl, Paul Rudolph and Alexander Girard.

Founded in Chicago in 1950 by former MoMA curator Edgar Kaufmann Jr. along with such modern design pioneers as Charles and Ray Eames, Russel Wright, George Nelson, and Eero Saarinen, GOOD DESIGN® honors the annual achievements of the world’s top industrial and graphic designers and manufacturers for their commitment to outstanding excellence in design.
For more than seven decades since its founding, the Chicago Athenaeum continues to organize the program to create a renewed awareness of contemporary design and to honor both products and industry leaders in design and manufacturing who have charted new directions and pushed the boundaries for competitive products in the world marketplace. Each year, designers and manufacturers in some 50 nations are honored for their singular achievements in producing distinctive signs of contemporary design. For more than 70 years, everything produced and created for the environment, from a paperweight to a Boeing 787 Dreamliner or NASA spacecraft, has been honored.

The GOOD DESIGN logo was designed by Chicago designer Mort Goldsholl in 1950. The black dot and square logo is used globally by winning companies to publicly announce that their products and graphic designs have met the most rigorous and professional criteria and the highest standard for international design excellence. Over the past decades, the Museum has awarded about 40,000 GOOD DESIGN awards for design and innovation, sustainability, creativity, branding, ecologically responsible design, human factors, materials, technology, graphic arts, packaging, and universal design from various industrial design and graphic design companies working for the world’s leading manufacturers and Fortune 500 companies in more than 50 countries.

SELECTION CRITERIA

The emphasis of the GOOD DESIGN® program is on high-quality design in its highest form, functionality and aesthetics, a standard beyond ordinary products and graphics. The Chicago Athenaeum’s GOOD DESIGN® program promotes the ideals of a design process that embodies product excellence and durability and a strong public identity. Applications for the program are evaluated by a panel of distinguished design professionals and leading industry specialists and trade press according to criteria established in the original 1950 program for the highest aesthetic in innovative design, new technologies, form, materials, construction, concept, function, utility and energy efficiency, and environmental sensitivity. Awarded companies and manufacturers have the right to enter into a limited legal license agreement to use the Museum’s GOOD DESIGN® logo to mark and identify the selected product or graphic in their marketing, publications, promotions and communication campaigns as a public symbol of product and service quality. This public seal of approval immediately informs consumers that the selected product and graphic meet the most stringent test and criteria for absolute excellence in design. GOOD DESIGN® is an international symbol of a company’s steadfast commitment to innovation and superior design. Materials and products are included in the Museum’s Permanent Design Collection and are frequently exhibited in the United States and abroad.

WINNERS ANNOUNCEMENT

In this year’s edition, products and graphics selected for GOOD DESIGN® are announced to the international press in December. Award-winning products and graphics are included in the Museum’s Permanent Design Collection. Selected designers and manufacturers are allowed to use the Museum’s GOOD DESIGN logo in publications, promotions, and marketing as specified in the legal agreement with the Chicago Athenaeum.

REASONS TO APPLY FOR GOOD DESIGN AWARDS

It was the first time an art museum and a wholesale marketing center joined forces to present “the best new examples of modern design in home furnishings.” By submitting your work and receiving a Good Design Award, you effectively demonstrate your excellence in design by also becoming a member of a large community of professional designers, companies, and talented people from around the world who share the same ideas and dreams about design. Good Design award-winning products can easily gain a prominent place in the market. All award-winning projects are listed annually on an online platform that receives at least 1 million visits per year. Spreading the word about Good Design also involves organizing exhibitions and events that showcase the award-winning projects in various locations around the world. Finally, all award-winning projects are published in the Good Design Yearbook. – GOOD DESIGN™ is a registered trademark of the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design in the US, EU and UK – Copyright Metropolitan Arts Press Ltd. ©1992-2024