Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby
After studying architecture together at the Royal College of Art, Barber and Osgerby founded their own studio in East London in 1996, both at the age of 30 and since then have gained international recognition. Alongside creating their own work, they have also dedicated time to focus on helping and supporting new generations of designers through their lectures and workshops.
Their work embraces elements from architecture, sculpture and interiors making their pieces unique. Experimenting with colour and materiality also makes their work exciting and fun. Examples of these can be seen in many major museums around the world including the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the V&A and many more. Their success in the design industry has earned them numerous awards; in 2007 they were awarded the status of Royal Designers for Industry, they were assigned to the Order of the British Empire for services to the design industry in 2013, as well as receiving the Jerwood prize in 2004.
The dynamic duo have also worked extensively for the icon Swiss German design brand Vitra, leading Italian furniture design brand houses Knoll & B&B Italia and classically contemporary Italian lighting brand Flos, amongst many others.
Vitra - German swiss precision
Work with Vitra
In 2023 Barber & Osgerby designed the Mikado dining chair for Vitra, which is available with a choice of legs and both as a plastic shell and upholstered. The Mikado uses all the latest furniture manufacturing technology to create maximum comfort and hits all the environmental targets by being as recyclable as possible. The Mikado are beautifully designed chairs that will become best sellers.
This followed on from their very successful dining, office chair the Tip Ton, which is made of recyclable plastic and rocks to aid concentration. Their Soft Work system for Vitra adds a luxurious new dimension to office furniture.
Previous ranges for Vitra include the Mariposa sofa and armchairs, designed to be like the wings of a butterfly.
This video explains about their design process behind the creation of the new Mikado dining chair for Vitra
The collaboration of the two has made them versatile designers having worked on many projects as well as their own, including the design of the 2012 Olympic torch and the design for the 150th anniversary of the London underground £2 coin. These projects made them more recognised by the wider public and their studio work more accessible.
They work with many of our brands and we are really pleased when brands start working with them on new projects as we love their playful approach to modern design and know that clients will love it too.
Flos - Italian lighting brand
Work with Flos
In their work for Flos, they have designed the popular portable Bellhop table lamp, which is ideal as a bedside light. This was then extended to a Bellhop wall lamp and Bellhop Floor Lamp. In Autumn 2024 the Glass versions of the Bellhop range will be available to buy as table and pendant lamps. They had previously worked with the modern Italian lighting brand on the Tab range of floor and table lamps.
An Interview with Flos
A lovely insight into the design worlds of legendary designers Edward Barber, Jay Osgerby, Michael Anastassiades & Formafantasima as they playfully discuss their lives as lighting designers during Milan Design Week 2024 at Palazzo Visconti.
Knoll - Classically contemporary Italian design
Work with Knoll
When working for luxury Italian furniture brand Knoll, to design a new sofa, they were given free rein in the design process, which Jay Osgerby relished as he had never been able to find the right sofa for him. As a child he was always told off by his parents for sitting on the arms or the back of their family sofa. The Barber Osgerby Sofa was therefore designed with the ability to be able to sit on both arms and the back of the sofa without damaging it. This makes it a very sociable piece and ideal for placing in the centre of the room.
Their dislike of corner sofas also meant that no corner module was ever produced. This sofa is still the most comfortable sofa that we sell, using several different densities of memory foam to optimise comfort and the magic bounce back once you get up from the sofa. A lot of time and expense was spent on designing the cast feet, whose elegant simplicity are a signature mark of both Barber Osgerby and Knoll.
They also designed the industrial looking Piton side table and stool and the super comfortable Pilot lounge chair. A typical piece for them in that it looks very simple, but is incredibly comfortable and well designed and so has proved to be timeless.
B&B Italia - Contemporary Italian design
Work with B&B Italia
For B&B Italia, the dynamic design duo designed the marble Button side and coffee tables. Playful designs with a choice of heights, sizes, colours, shapes and marbles allow tables to be paired in interesting combinations
They also designed the stunning Tobi-Ishi coffee and dining tables and more recently, the fun Tortello sofa and armchair, designed around the organic pasta shapes.
