It’s hard to categorise Gio Ponti. The Milanese polymath seemingly tried his hand at anything that he could, moving seamlessly across architecture, industrial and product design, interiors, and editorial writing. However, despite such a divergence in his output, his central principles remained constant.

There are few categories of design in which Ponti was not, at one point, involved in and influential. Over a career spanning six decades, he built more than a hundred buildings in Italy and the rest of the world, whilst also leaving a significant mark on decorative arts. Through his rather influential magazine, he also became one of the most dominant voices in renewing Italian design during the 20th century. At the same time Ponti trained several generations of designers through his teaching at the Milan Polytechnic School.

 

A chair designed by Ponti, courtesy of Il Ponte Casa D'Aste.

 

While he may never have strayed into the world of horology, in our eyes, his work combines some of the same elements that get us excited about timepieces. Similar ideas of design, proportion, and functionality are at play. From the Pirelli Tower in Milan to the Superleggera chair, there are complimentary areas of appeal in the fields of design which he applied himself to. Due to the sheer scale of his career, it would be foolish of us to attempt to capture everything in one article. Rather, we wanted to take a moment to look at some of the key highlights in Ponti’s career, whilst also understanding the wider impact he