Carl Gustav Magnusson (born March 8, 1940) is an industrial designer, inventor, design juror and lecturer.
Carl Gustav Magnusson was born in Malmö, Sweden, and grew up in Canada, including Innisfail, Alberta; Toronto, Ontario, where he attended St. Andrew's College, Aurora; and Vancouver, British Columbia, where he attended St. George's School (Vancouver). He studied engineering and architecture at the University of Idaho and architecture at the Chalmers Institute of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. In 1967 he joined the Office of Charles and Ray Eames in California and, in 1969, Magnusson opened his own design practice in Rudolf Schindler's studio on Kings Road in West Hollywood, California.
Magnusson's prototype for a wooden toy system and hardware for a hanging fabric room divider manufactured by Fortress Chairs, Inc., were featured in "California Design 11," published in 1971.
In 1976 Magnusson joined Knoll as Director of Graphics and Showroom Design and was named Director of Design for Europe shortly thereafter. He designed Knoll showrooms in London, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Zurich, Florence, Rome, Amsterdam and Turin. In 1993, he was named Senior Vice President, Director of Design Worldwide, and, in 2003, Executive Vice President, Director of Design.
As a design director, Magnusson widened the range of designers that Knoll commissioned work fromâÂÂrecruiting both established and younger talents. In the late 1980s, Magnusson rekindled Knoll's relationship with Florence Knoll and renowned designers such as esthetic theorist Ettore Sottass, which led to numerous iconic pieces, including the Mandarin chair and the Spyder table. Sculptor Maya Lin collaborated closely with Magnusson in 1998 to create Knoll's Maya Lin line of furniture that Knoll continues to sell today. Similarly, architect Frank Gehry worked with Knoll to create Knoll's Fog Collection. His work with Ross Lovegrove led to a number of iconic products.
Magnusson continued to contribute his own designs to Knoll as well, including the Magnusson Desk (1993), the RPM Chair (1997), and modular office systems, the Spelo desk collection; Dividends, with David Noel; Currents, with Robert Reuter; and Autostrada, with Robert Reuter and Charlie Rozier.
During his 29 years at Knoll, Magnusson was also active as a curator and educator. He established the Knoll Design Symposium at Cranbrook Academy of the Arts in Bloomfield Hills and in 1997; he co-founded with Albert Pfeiffer (AIA) The Knoll Museum in East Greenville, Pennsylvania. With over 60 years of Knoll furniture designs, the museum is considered among the most comprehensive display of archival collector items by any furniture manufacturer.
Since retiring from Knoll in 2005, Magnusson has remained active as a designer, consultant and lecturer. In 2005, Magnusson founded CGM Design which serves furniture and automotive manufacturers in product development and design strategy. Today he continues in the fields of office design and environment, as well as lighting systems, automobiles, and household appliances, furnishings, and textiles. In addition to Knoll, he has designed products for Spinneybeck, Teknion, Stegner Engineering, Arexit, Momentum Textiles, Allseating, Nienkamper, and the MoMA Design Store (co-designed with his wife, architect Emanuela Frattini Magnusson).
He has lectured on design matters for BMW, Knoll, Maharam, AIA, Waterworks, IIDA, ArtCenter College of Design, Yale Library, Michael Graves College and SCAD, among others. Magnusson is a frequent jury member for design competitions internationally including iF Product Design Award, Yale School of Architecture, ArtCenter College of Design, and Good Design Awards. He also serves as an expert witness on design matters.
In 2012, the design industry publication Contract named him the 2012 design "legend" of the year, saying of him: "he is an industrial designer, as well as a curator, lecturer, mentor, inventor, organizer, talent scout, and visionary. And his influence has spread out in multiple directions around the globe."
Magnusson is married to architect Emanuela Frattini Magnusson. He has four children, Kolin Erik Magnusson, Gregor Daniel Magnusson, Cecilia Helen Magnusson, and Oliver Marco Magnusson, as well as grandchildren. Magnusson is also a Porsche aficionado, and he and his 912 Outlaw are featured in the book, "Porsche Outlaws."
Magnusson has garnered more than 50 design awards throughout his career:
<blockquote>"Everything that I do has a certain mechanical logic to it, and follows my definition of designâÂÂwhich is function with cultural content."</blockquote> <blockquote>"Cultural content imbues the item with our history, our inescapable style of our time and its values. Yet, a designed object must meet the functional and manufacturing cost requirements that allow customers to afford it. If the price is prohibitive then what function does it perform?"</blockquote>