Further Reading

The influence that designers have on their time and on future generations is a nice measure of their skill. Verner Panton was nothing if not very influential. Panton was well known for a number of revolutionary designs, both in material and form. The hallmarks of Panton's works are the sculptural elegance, the striking forms, and most of all, the color. Panton's work stood out from the work of his contemporaries in the greatest possible ways.

Panton, the son of an innkeeper, began his life on the island of Fynen. An avid interest in design led him to study at the prestigious Academy of Art in Copenhagen. He followed this with a two-year stint at Arne Jacobsen's architectural office.He was allegedly not the best of employees, preferring to spend his time on developing original ideas.

Panton has a nunber of classics to his name. The most famous of them is the instantly recognizable Panton stacking chair. This monocoque form is in production now by Vitra and uses more advanced plastics, such as injection-molded polypropylene, than the ones Panton first saw it produced in. There are many cheap, Chinese copies of his design out there, which, though damaging to the designer's reputation due to poor quality, are a definite sign of a nice design. There is not really much of a point in buying a copy, since you'd get a chair which cannot be sold for profit, and you would generally only save about 30 percent on the cost of the genuine article. Vitra has a limited edition, orange Panton chair this year, so there are no excuses!

Panton also designed the Cone Chair. It was amazing and unexpected when it first debuted, since its unique pivot was so different from the parts of usual seating items which had three or four legs for support. I can still envision the first time I encountered this chair, because its optical illusion really struck me. The Cone appears to stand perfectly balanced although that seems scientifically impossible due to its remarkable, top-heavy appearance.

The two pieces of Panton's classic along with the various interior designs (heminredning) will make a huge influence on the coming decade. Panton's another classic design was System 1-2-3 chair made in 1973 for Fritz Hansen. System 1-2-3 is a masterpiece of Panton as this chair is made with flexibility. ease of production and comfort in mind though the name may sound something contrary.

In spite of these three pieces being design classics, the example of Panton's work that you're most likely to come across isn't a chair but instead a lamp. The Flowerpot lamps, both pendant and table, are very widely distributed. This is because the cost of the manufacture is comparitively low, they're small, they come in many colors, they've got the name of a fine designer on them, and most of all, they've got an immediately recognizable classic form.

Panton was such a prolific designer that it would be quite possible to write for many days about all his work. In its time, his work pushed the boundaries and confounded all expectations. Indeed, much of his work has survived the whole psychedelic stigma of the 1960s and now takes its place among the timeless, modern classics among furniture and interior design (heminredning).

The influence that designers have on their time and on future generations is a nice measure of their skill. The hallmarks of danish furniture (danska möbler) designer Verner Panton are the sculptural elegance, the striking forms, and most of all, the color. The most common piece of Panton's work you are likely to see is a lamp. His table and pendant Flowerpot lamps are found everywhere. A day or two will not be enough to write about the work of Panton. His work crossed boundaries and confounded expectations. His work survived the tests of centuries and has taken its place in the timeless modern classics of furniture and interior design (heminredning).