Joan Gaspar

Background

Joan Gaspar was born in Barcelona in 1966 and studied industrial design at the school of Artes y Oficios in Barcelona. In 1988 he started working for VAPOR S.A., the small Poble Nou lamp workshop of designer Lluís Porqueras, whom he calls his master. From 1992 he designed product lines for firms including Roca, Resol, Marset, Mobles 114, Perobell, Santa & Cole, DAE, Vilagrasa and Made Design.

Signature Style

Gaspar values simplicity and things that are well made and last for years; objects, he says, should sit in a place "without making noise". He thinks in terms of materials and technology — "you can inspire emotions through technique" — and sees LEDs as a freedom to build his own light sources and new shapes.

Notable Works

Since 1996 he has worked closely with Marset, developing products and directing the company's product line. His Marset designs include Ginger (2014), Soho, Atlas, Polo, Djembé, Aura, Cala, Caramel, Vetra, Jaima and Sac (with Cristian Díez). He won the Delta de Plata in 2001 for the Atlas range and in 2005 for Neón de Luz, and his work has been selected several times for the FAD awards.

Legacy

Gaspar has taught Materials and Technology Applied to Industrial Design at Elisava in Barcelona since 1998 and opened his own design studio in Barcelona in 2002. At Marset he acts, in his words, "like the curator" of the catalogue, and he relaunched Porqueras's 1979 Funiculí lamp as a tribute to his mentor.