Toshiyuki Kita

Background

Toshiyuki Kita is a Japanese designer. Cassina's designer page says he was born in Osaka, Japan, graduated in industrial design from Naniwa College, Osaka, in 1964, and in 1969 extended his creative field from Japan to Italy. His own site says he began designing in Japan and Milan from 1969 and has made many best-selling products for European and Japanese manufacturers.

Signature Style

Kita's work covers furniture, appliances, robots and household goods for Italian, German, Nordic and Japanese makers. Since 1968 he has also worked on revitalising traditional crafts and local industries across Japan, a theme of his books and of a documentary.

Notable Works

• Wink chair (1981) and Kick table (1984), both acquired by MoMA in New York
• Multi Lingual Chair (1997), at MoMA and the Centre Pompidou
• Dodo and Aki - Biki - Canta armchairs for Cassina, both dated 2000 on Cassina's pages

Legacy

Kita received the Compasso d'Oro international career award in 2011 and received the Italian title of Commendatore in 2017. He chaired the Japan Good Design Award jury and served as chair of the Compasso d'Oro jury in 2024.