Louis Christiaan Kalff

Louis Christiaan Kalff, born in 1897, is considered a pioneer of 20th-century industrial design, and quickly built up a varied artistic background, including object design, sculpture, ceramics and architecture, and began working for the Philips household appliance company in the advertising department in 1924. In 1929 he set up the Philips lighting design studio and boosted the company's sales.He became the company's art director, where he worked until his retirement in 1960.During the 1930s he was appointed head of the lighting department at the World Exhibition in Barcelona, Antwerp and Paris.