Compasso d'Oro

The Compasso d′Oro was established in 1954, and now it is the highest honour in the field of industrial design in Italy,[2] comparable to other prestigious international awards such as the Good Design award, iF Design Award, Red Dot Award, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards, and the Good Design Award (Japan). It was the first award of its kind in Europe and soon took on an international dimension and relevance, multiplying the occasions on which the exhibitions of award-winning objects were held in Europe, the United States, Canada and Japan.

The original idea for the award is credited to Gio Ponti and Alberto Rosselli. Many other leading architects and designers of the era including the Castiglioni brothers (Livio, Pier Giacomo, and Achille), Albe Steiner (whose logo design was inspired by Adalbert Goeringer's golden section compass), Enzo Mari and Marco Zanuso were involved in its inception.[1][3]

At present the management department of the Compasso d'Oro is Italy Industrial Designing Association, and it is also the members of the International Industrial Designing Committee and the European Designing Bureau.

Since its inception, approximately 350 designers have been honoured the Award,[1] covering a wide range of products such as racing bikes, portable sewing machines, desks, sofas, vases, clothes hangers, drawers, clocks, desk lamps, telephones, electric fans and coffee machines.

The ADI Design Museum in Milan houses the historical collection of the ADI Compasso d’Oro Foundation, as well as temporary exhibitions, public talks and initiatives. On 22 April 2004, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism – through its Superintendency for Lombardy – declared the collection of "exceptional artistic and historical interest", thus making it part of the national cultural heritage.[4]

• Some of the winning products 1956-1960. Photo by Paolo Monti
• 
  Super-automatic sewing machine model 1102 designed by Marco Zanuso (Fratelli Borletti)
• 
  Valigia arcata in vitellone scamosciato della ditta Beretta.
• 
  In the shelf: electro-mechanic clock "Cifra 5" (R.E.C. Solari, Udine)
• 
  Sewing machine Mirella designed by Marcello Nizzoli for V. Necchi Spa.
• 
  Franco Albini photographed by Paolo Monti at Compasso d'Oro Award, Milan, circa 1960.

• Other winning products
• 
  Richard Sapper's 1979 9090 espresso maker for Alessi.
• 
  Nuovo Milano, a 1987 cutlery set designed by Ettore Sottsass with assistance of Alberto Gozzi.[6]
• 
  Fiat 500
• 
  Abarth-Fiat Monza Zagato by Ugo Zagato
• 
  Alfa Romeo Brera Concept by Giorgetto Giugiaro
• 
  Sacco chair by Piero Gatti, Cesare Paolini, Franco Teodoro

The award is given as a Compass, the one invented by Adalbert Goeringer in 1893 to measure the Golden Section.

• Industrial design
• List of industrial designers
• List of Compasso d'Oro recipients by year (in Italian)

• The official web page of the Associazione per il Disegno Industriale (in Italian)

• Charlotte Fiell; Peter Fiell (2006). Industrial Design A-Z. London: Taschen. ISBN 978-3-8228-5057-2.