Setsu&Shinobu Ito
Japan, 1964-1966
Sestu and Shinobu Ito are both designers and architects; they born in Japan but have been adopted by Milanese world.
Setsu graduated at the University of Tsukuba, where afterwards he also got the Masters in Product Management. Over the years spent in Japan after training, he takes part in research projects for important Japanese Companies, then moved to Milan where he first worked in the studio Alchimia, and then in the studio of Angelo Mangiarotti. During these years of intense cultural stimulation, his interests range from industrial design to architecture and its own style begins to delineate.
Shinobu graduated at Tama Art University in Tokyo and got the Master in Design Direction at the Domus Academy in Milan. During his training in Tokyo, she works on packaging projects for various Companies, on industrial design and on graphics. From 1988 to 1995 she worked in Japan for Sony Creative Products Inc. being in charge for design and marketing. Over these years, Shinobu introduces new projects demonstrating that her market intuition turned out to be big sales success; but this is not enough to satisfy her curiosity, so that she feels the need to visit Europe and moves to Milan.
It is in Milan that starts their creative partnership formalized with the foundation of Ito design studio in 1999. Their activities of consultants, between Milan and Tokyo, is done for internationally renowned Companies including De Padova, Edra, Sony CP Laboratories, Sharp and Canon.
Their style is innovative and dynamic, fluid and elegant and it is fruit of their complementary talents and of the blend of experiences both in Italy and in Japan. A cross-sectional design that embraces everything, from furniture to objects, from graphics to packaging, from architecture to interior design, from electronics to innovation.
Numerous are the awards they got for their works; some of them have been published and exhibited throughout Europe and Japan, some are part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Monaco. Setsu also is a professor at the Domus Academy, at the Istituto Europeo di Design of Milan and at the Tama Art University in Tokyo.