New Books for the New Year: Mid-Century Modern Designers

Dominic Bradbury’s latest in-depth look at the seemingly timeless movement lays bare the people behind the products.

There aren’t many areas of our designed lives that haven’t changed - almost unrecognisably - over the last 60 or so years. However, it’s probably safe to say that one thing that survived the ravages of time, and is actually more popular and sought after now than it was back then, is Mid-Century Modern design. Phaidon has played its part in highlighting various of our Mid-Century obsessions over the last decade or so, with a number of books celebrating and categorising the architecture, artefacts, furniture, and designs from the post war to mid-Seventies period.

Ricardo Fasanello, Esfera Lounge Chair, 1968. Image credit: Credit de la photo Atelier Tamowski Fasanello

Mona Morales-Schildt, Ventana Vessel, 1950s. Image credit: Fiskars Finland Oy Ab. Photo Bukowskis Auctions

Now, a quarter of the way into a new century, we’re set to publish Mid-Century Modern Designers. As its title suggests, the book takes a good look at the designers behind the famous (and occasionally not so famous) designs that shaped so many lives.

Mid-Century Modern Designers is researched, written, and edited by Mid-Century Modern guru, Dominic Bradbury, who’s authored previous Phaidon Mid-Century-focused books such as the Atlas of Interior Design, and the Atlas of Mid-Century Modern Masterpieces. Bradbury is a well-respected contributor to newspapers and magazines, including the Financial Times, Wallpaper*, and House & Garden. You can read a recent interview with him on Phaidon.com here.

Jens Quistgaard, Fjord Flatware, 1954. Image credit: Photo Morten Rasmussen from Jens Quistgaard: The Sculpting Designer by Stig Guldberg, Phaidon Press 2023

Richard Sapper, Hairdryer, 1959. Image credit: Courtesy of Richard Sapper Archives

Mid-Century Modern Designers is a celebration of the design pioneers who defined the Mid-Century aesthetic through their work on everything from furniture, glassware, and lighting to textiles, ceramics, cars, and interiors.

The collective rallying cry of these designers was for the democratisation of design. They often prioritised function over ornament, adopting the ideal that good design should make the world a better place. Importantly, they wanted to place carefully conceived, affordable products within reach of the many, rather than just a privileged few.

Sōri Yanagi, Butterfly Stool, 1954. Image credit: Tendo

Jacob Jensen, Beogram 4000 record player, 1972. Image credit: Designed by Jacob Jensen for Bang & Olufsen A/S

The new book takes a fresh, global approach to Mid-Century Modern design by looking at 300 of the practitioners from around the world who contributed to the movement, including the likes of Alvar Aalto, Lina Bo Bardi, Lucienne Day, Tony Duquette, Charles & Ray Eames, Carlo Mollino, Arne Jacobsen, and Finn Juhl.

In the book, Bradbury includes emblematic and exemplary pieces that are now familiar friends – Hans Wegner’s Butterfly Chair, seen around many a chic dining table; Anni Albers’ textiles that continue to inspire designers such as Paul Smith; Verner Panton’s psychedelic 60s interiors; and Mario Bellini’s much in-demand Camaleonda sofa – as well as others that have recently resurfaced from the archives.

Irving Harper, Ball Clock, 1948. Image credit: Vitra Design Museum / photo by Andreas Sütterlin. Courtesy of Herman Miller, Inc

For instance, Mid-Century Modern Designers may be your first rendezvous with American woodworker Sam Maloof’s beautiful rocking chairs; Serge Mouille’s impossibly elegant spider lights; and Giuseppe Scapinelli’s dynamic and fluid Agua Coffee Table.

Mid-Century Modernism was a truly global movement. Scandinavia, Italy, and the United States were famous for their invention, but the same could be said of Brazil, Japan, Germany, and the UK, along with many other parts of the world – and the accessible A-Z arrangement of this book offers an ideal way to showcase the works and illustrate the vibrant cross-pollination of ideas among designers around the world.

The book features an informative and engaging introduction to Mid-Century design as well as an image and a 350-word text for each designer, all written by Bradbury. Mid-Century Modern Designers not only provides visual inspiration, it also brings the iconic products to life by telling the stories of the makers, their practice and inspirations. It is an invaluable source book and a must-have for collectors, creatives and design and interiors enthusiasts alike. It ships in April and you can preorder it here.