Marcello Nizzoli’s design work was informed by a school of thought that sought to widen the role of industrial design within companies to encompass all aspects of product development from concept to production. Designers who adhered to this philosophy pursued a functionalist approach that abhorred ornament and saw the role of the designer to produce high quality goods for mass consumption that enriched peoples lives.

The Safnat telephone, designed by Nizzoli in 1958, demonstrates this approach to design. Its cellulose acetate housing, low-slung stature and anthropomorphic arrangement of dial and push buttons reflect Nizzoli’s design attitude and methods; rejecting the accepted theories of machine design of the time (“form follows function”). Nizzoli’s approach was to explore the interaction between the consumer and machine.

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