Verner Panton (designer)

Verner Panton (1926 – 1998) is known worldwide for his avant-garde work and prolific experimentation with materials, shapes, and most importantly – colour. Throughout his career, he would advocate that colour had both a central meaning and function in design and that it should be used as a tool to enhance everyday life. 

After an apprenticeship with architect and designer Arne Jacobsen at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, Panton pursued a path in furniture and interior design, taking his knowledge and experience on the road throughout Europe, eventually settling in Basel, Switzerland. In the 60s and 70s, his passion for curating entire environments led to immersive interiors featuring his hypnotic patterns and futuristic designs for furniture, lighting and textiles. 

Panton’s Flowerpot lamp became emblematic of his desire to create objects that sparked joy while meeting the needs of the time. Encompassing a vast range of vivid colours, it is just as synonymous with modernity now as when it was first launched in 1968. “He would ask questions like… how do you communicate with colour? And, why are most people afraid of using colour?” his daughter, Carin Panton, recalls. His provocative approach to design and tendency to part from the norm solidified Panton’s position as a visionary. While his 1959 Topan lamp, 1968 Flowerpot lamps and 1971 Wire Stool sit in our classics collection, they remain convincingly contemporary and a firm favourite to this day. 

“He would ask questions like… how do you communicate with colour? And, why are most people afraid of using colour?” his daughter, Carin Panton, fondly recalls. His provocative approach to design and tendency to part from the norm solidified Panton’s position as a visionary. While his 1959 Topan and 1968 Flowerpot lamps are part of a classics collection, they remain convincingly contemporary and a firm favourite to this day.

Photograph copyright: Verner Panton Design AG