Jasper Morrison


Jasper Morrison is an English product and furniture designer. He is known for the refinement and apparent simplicity of his designs. In a rare interview with the designer, he is quoted as saying "objects should never shout."
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Early life and education

Morrison was born in London, England, and was educated at Bryanston School in Dorset. His design studies began with a foundation course at Ravensbourne College of Art, after which he studied at Kingston Polytechnic, graduating in 1982 with a Bachelor of Design degree. He then attended the Royal College of Art, from which he received a master's degree in Design in 1985. He also studied at the Berlin University of the Arts.
He has spoken about his childhood memories of the Braun SK 4 "Snow White's Coffin" radiogram, which he first saw in the "Scandinavian style study" of his grandfather's house, and how "the room and the record player both had a very important influence on choice in becoming a designer."

Work and career

Morrison's work has been praised for "emphasizing the value of the essential and the importance of the ordinary." Writing for Domus magazine, the Milanese curator Maria Cristina Didero said that "Morrison has always had an aversion to design ego. His work does not shout, does not seek spectacle, does not aim to dazzle."
He has designed products and furniture for many manufacturers and brands such as Alessi, Alias, Cappellini, Emeco,,, Hermès, Ideal Standard,, Issey Miyake, Olivetti,, Rosenthal, Samsung, Sony, SCP, Üstra, and Vitra. Morrison is the lead designer at boutique Swiss consumer technology company Punkt., known for its minimalist MP01 and MP02 mobile phones. He has also collaborated with the Japanese retail company MUJI on a variety of products ranging from housewares to housing.
Morrison curated the Super Normal exhibition with Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa in 2006, which presented 200 ordinary or anonymously designed products that were devoid of gimmicks and branding.
In a Domus magazine review of his 2015 exhibition Thingness at Le Grand-Hornu, the design critic Alice Rawsthorn stated that Morrison "is one of the most influential product designers of our time." More recently, a 2020 article about the designer in la Repubblica described him as "the anti-Philippe Starck par excellence" whose "projects are often the result of a long gestation to achieve simplicity, elegance and discretion."
His work has been widely exhibited and is in the collection of the British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, and Design Museum in London, the Vitra Design Museum in Germany, the ADI Design Museum in Milan, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, as well as the M+ museum in Hong Kong and other institutions.
Morrison's designs have received many awards including the Compasso d'Oro, Good Design Award, and 12 iF Product Design Awards.
In March 2007, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in Design from Kingston University.
Morrison received the Isamu Noguchi Award in 2015, and in 2020 he was named both "Designer of the Year" by the Elle Decoration British Design Awards, as well as the German Design Award "Personality of the Year". In the same year, he also received the Compasso d'Oro "Career Award" from the ADI in Milan.
Morrison was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the UK 2020 Birthday Honours for services to design.
In 2025, Morrison was among 35 UK-based designers who signed a letter to the technology secretary, Peter Kyle, urging the government to reconsider its plans to allow artificial intelligence companies to train their models on copyrighted works without permission.

Selected exhibitions

Publications

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