The Collection of Humor in Alessi

Alessi Museum, Milano – Wednesday, June 8^th

A collection of Alessi's iconic playful pieces
http://www.mitinitaly.org/alessi--l--arte-in-cucina.html

The design company Alessi has been one of the most famous kitchenware (and other miscellaneous products) companies in the world and certainly in Italy. They are well known for a variety of reasons: their quality, their beauty, their functionally, and their iconic, humorous and playful take on kitchen items. Alessi’s tasteful products come from a variety of designers such as Alessandro Mendini, Andrea Branzi, and of course Stefano Giovannoni, all of whom have their own line of other playful products.

Alessi’s philosophy is that design ‘…must be able to move people, to convey feelings, to trigger memories, to surprise, to go against the grain...’ and ‘…to conjure up images in people's minds, which makes them a bit happier…’ Furthermore, Alessi believes that customers should have an opportunity to improve their perception of the world with their products.

Here are some examples of the above characteristics:

Magic Bunny by Stefano Giovannini
http://herodesignstudio.blogspot.com/2008/10/alessi-housewares.html

This is the Magic Bunny, a rabbit in a hat toothpick holder which is very iconic to not only Alessi but also its designer Stephano Giovannoni. This is a very playful and quite adorable concept for something such as a toothpick holder and the many colors that it is available in make the playful concept even more apparent.

Corkscrews by Alessandro Mendini
http://www.infatuated.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/alessi-corkscrews.jpg

The Mendini corkscrew was also an icon for Alessi by taking the human figure and interpreting it as a corkscrew. They come in various patterns and colors and even has distinct features of a person which makes wine entertainment that much more interesting!

Squirrel Nutcracker by Andrea Branzi  
http://www.desainer.it/aziende-design/schiaccianoci-design.php

This is another piece by Andrea Branzi, the squirrel nutcracker. This is an interesting piece because what Branzi believes is that human interaction is his priority in designing a product and function and aesthetics come as a secondary must. It seems as if Branzi is creating an image for the user to experience nut cracking similar to how the squirrel experiences it…

A fun project designed for Alessi

Lastly, this is a very playful (and a bit inappropriate in some cases…) product that Alessi never planned on producing but was considered a fun project for the company. Think of the reactions the public would have with this and a product of the famous Alessi… 


Shannon, Victoria, Calvin