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about

1981, holds an MA in Industrial Design from the Politecnico di Milano. Living and working in Milan. 
Open for new designs (furniture - product), product development (engineering - prototyping), web development (full stack).

Working with Danese Milano, Interno Italiano, Moleskine, Alessi, Plust, Spazio Paestum, Tobeus, Triennale di Milano, Viceversa.

contacts

via Jacopino da Tradate 11
20155 — Milano
inbox at alessandro-gnocchi.com

credits

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Biga bag

The reason why design attracted me so much at the beginning, was one of its pillars: 

. I love problem solving: the best is the one that brings together form and function, subtle, nice and intuitive. 

 (milanese for bicycle) is a bag with a strap to be fastened to your hips, so it won't hang loose while cycling. Subtly integrating the function into a tote bag, sewing it with 

 and above all, cycling around with it, was the best and fun part of the process. More pictures soon.

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Tiki

 is a niche in the design world, where designers challenge themselves to do more with less. 

 is a family of coat hangers, where complex forms arise from semi-finished products: extruded machined supports accomodate wire hangers, held in place by a spring trick. The result is a skinny functional object, painted light or dark gray, with chromed hooks.

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16 animali

I was invited to interpret one of the mighty 

. Tapir came to visit my studio alone, seemingly having no interest in what I was doing whatsoever. One day, I finally caught him staring at the drill press: how could I not please him.

, an exhibition at the Danese showroom in Milan, featuring 16 authors, one for each of the 16 fellow animals.

Mare

To design a folding deck armchair is both an exciting and challenging task. 

 takes clues from the conventional deck chair, working on its mechanical concept, moving its form into a more domestic landscape.

 the fabric is held in place by protruding beams, enhancing and highlighting the operation of replacing both the seat and the pillow. Its fold-lock concept is simple and effective. Once folded, the armrest+leg still allows 

 to take up very little space while still being stackable.

 and its fellow stool were developed but never released. Pictures soon.

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W ➝ P

 is a format to provide a clean and direct layout to let users read good texts taken from the web. For each article a PDF file to be downloaded and printed is offered, to give a more comfortable way to read and archive the contents of the written work. All W ➝ P PDF files are meant to be printed two-sided on A3 sheets of paper. A printing CSS stylesheet is otherwise provided.

Bau Stool

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This chair has no exact place to stay. Next to your entrance, helping to put your boots on. Under the table, ready for an unexpected guest. Why not in your bedroom (like a valet or something) or side by side with your sofa, to sort out the predictable mess. You can use it to rest yourself, or your stuff. You may sit on it for a moment or simply keep it waiting until you find a proper use to it.

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Plan table

Plan family grows with a small table, put it next to your bed, or in the living room beside the sofa. Solid ash painted or natural. 

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Banda chair

The concept of customisable and adaptive furniture is around since a long time. Choice brings diversity, even though I think it is more powerful of a tool for companies (differentiate the catalogue with less effort) than for the customer (who looks for comfort choices).

This wasn't exactly the starting point of my concept, although it turned out to be very much alike: I was interested to develop a chair around one critical component (the 

) that would then accomodate legs and backrest. Since the 

 came out so simple, it looked obvious to me that more than one solution was good to complete the equation. Oddly enough, "banda" is the italian for "marching band", an ensemble of musicians, playing their own instruments, resulting in a familiar and friendly piece.

Many many thanks to the great sergio, former spinner in isola district, and a really hot summer devouring ice pops and making models in the studio. 

CPD - calendario perpetuo digitale [perpetual digital calendar] - is what its name says. It is a digital calendar with a dedicated print stylesheet. Main features are b/w color coding to distinguish dates without color, specifically designed icons for events, moon phases, DST dates and Italian national holidays, sunrise and sunset hours based on given location, language selector and week numbers. Look for the 

to print the complete calendar on A3 sheets of paper.

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Magnum

When talking 3d printing, it is often said that designers have no constraints in doing their job. I then decided to give myself the limits around which I'd design this pen: it had to be made in one piece (plus cap), it had to accomodate the highly available 

 and it had to take advantage of the technology used for manufacturing.

 is simplified to be as descriptive as possible, intuitive and comfortable. The generous groove for the refill acts as a decorative, functional and ergonomic detail.

It was developed within the Alessi goes digital workshop: read more about it on 

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Plan

I have been given the chance to design a wooden chair by Giulio Iacchetti, founder of 

, friend and maestro of mine. The path was immediately clear to me, given the young but rather confident history of 

: it is a story of craftsmanship, authentic materials, clear language and simple manufacturing. 

 is a solid ash armchair, composed of uncomplicated parts that together speak humble, nice and refined sentences.

Main features are the hung backrest (which gives unexpected comfort), and the solid armrests, for robustness and consistency of language.

7 battute

Writing essays you may be in need of keeping it in a character count limit. I was surprised that even acclaimed softwares didn't have an option to show you that, clearly and directly: I ended up coding my own. 

 is “characters” in Italian, counting 7 of them.

Moleskine HP

, made of EPU with microfiber lining. Different sizes for different uses, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. 

Considering the form factor as the primary design drive, alongside the classic extra small, medium and large elements I designed a tall and thin one for stationery items. Forms are simple and smooth, forgiving on the level of detail. Much attention was given to the interior — rubber bands, pockets displacement and the pad printed Moleskine signature tag "in case of loss...".

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cards

Pictured here are some postcards I designed in occasion of the 2015 edition of the 

 and Flipper, with some graphical works to show their true nature.

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When designing a lamp, an interesting argument is to resolve the position of the switch: unable to beat the brilliant solution by 

, I went back to the basics, integrating an I/O rocker switch off the shelf into a rather iconic plastic body. Its brutal approach to usability reflects on how, at times, solutions can be as simple as that, still being full of thought, beauty and ease of use.

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j-a-m

 is my personal take on the classic subject of the floor lamp, with height adjustable diffuser. The adjustment is provided by two torsion springs coupled as a handle, insisting on a hex bar. The result is a descriptive object, whose parts are designed for a clear and effective grammar. 

 is available as a reading lamp with dome diffuser, or as a luminator with cylindrical diffuser. It was awarded second prize at international design contest 

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Hombre

 is like a natural extension of the bottle, like a bird on a tree, like a hat on one's head. The big circles on top ease opening and capping operations. 

 (grey) are designed for still and sparkling wines. They are made of silicone rubber or ABS and produced by 

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Edward

 is a corkscrew that implements the foil cutter with two cutting wheels at the bottom of its arms. It is designed to be as intuitive as possible, adding as little as the new function needed. Its mechanical heart is highlighted by the translucent plastic and since it looks like a human, it stands to save space on laid tables. With Luca Spagnolo.

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Guido

 (la macchina), is a toy. A cartoonish racing car with thick eyebrows and driven personality. Part of the 

 exhibition, handmade by Mastro Giovanni.

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Wired

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I designed yet another sheet metal stool: legs and footrests take form from flat, laser cut 1.2mm steel sheets, plus a plywood seat. 

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Apollo

"La cenere da tabacco, da sola, su di un bel piattino di maiolica gialla, può anche essere bella da vedere, ma quello che rende sgradevole l'insieme è l'aggiunta inevitabile del mozzicone della sigaretta. Il tutto assume allora l'aspetto di una piccola pattumiera che non sta certo bene sopra una tavola da pranzo o su di un tavolo ordinato.[...] Occorrerebbe una specie di scatola, con una fessura nella quale introdurre la cenere e il resto, che occultasse il tutto."

, both on the eye and the mind: geometrical magic holds metal sheets afloat, hiding space for ashes and cigarette butts. Read more about 

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Picchio

, this project focuses on simplicity, materials and clear graphics.

 is a perpetual calendar made by two poligonal rings standing on each other. The circular shape describes a perpetual movement itself and the shared sides allow the rings to advance in a gear-like motion.
Manufactured in Italy in two sizes.