2002, First Edition, Oluce, Milan, Italy

Cesare Colombo (30 July 1930 – 30 July 1971) , known as Joe Colombo, was an Italian industrial designer. To this day, his products are still being highlighted by many designers and it has become very difficult to come across. He is most known for futuristic designs.

Colombo produced innovative designs for furniture, lamps, glass, doorknobs, pipes, alarm clocks, and wristwatches. He created the professional camera Trisystem (1969), the air conditioner Candy (1970), dinnerware for Alitalia (1970; still in use), as well as an ergonomic and engined printing table.

Since the beginning of his career Colombo was most interested in living systems. His early modular container Combi-Centre of 1963 is an example for that. This preference for furniture systems led to designs like Additional Living System (1967–1968) and the chairs Tube (1969–1970) and Multi (1970), which could be assembled in various positions to get a great number of sitting positions. They reflect Colombo's main goal, variability.

This fabulous resource on the iconic designs of Joe Colombo is one of the few English language reference books on his work. It was published by O Luce, the Milan company that manufacture his lights. This book is now out of print and a difficult find.