Richard Sapper started his career in design whilst he was part of the styling department at Mercedes Benz in Stuttgart. Following his time in Germany, he began collaborating with Gio Ponti in Milan, Italy. He also worked alongside Marco Zanuso in the 1960s.
He adopted the Italian style and aesthetic of sculptural minimalism, developing a range of pieces. In 1959, he founded his own studio where he began innovative designs including the Static clock for Lorenz and the Tizio lamp for Artemide. The Tizio remains an iconic lighting piece, renowned for its linear form and dynamic functionality. Being a best-selling masterpiece, the Tizio lamp is part of the Permanent Design Collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.