The Most Famous
DESIGNERS from Germany
This page contains a list of the greatest German Designers. The pantheon dataset contains 86 Designers, 8 of which were born in Germany. This makes Germany the birth place of the 5th most number of Designers behind United States and France.
Top 8
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary German Designers of all time. This list of famous German Designers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Michael Thonet (1796 - 1871)
With an HPI of 64.90, Michael Thonet is the most famous German Designer. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages on wikipedia.
Michael Thonet (2 July 1796 – 3 March 1871) was a German-Austrian cabinet maker, known for the invention of bentwood furniture.
2. Georg Elser (1903 - 1945)
With an HPI of 63.57, Georg Elser is the 2nd most famous German Designer. His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.
Johann Georg Elser (German: [ˈɡeː.ɔʁk ˈɛl.zɐ]] ; 4 January 1903 – 9 April 1945) was a German worker who planned and carried out an elaborate assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler and other high-ranking Nazi leaders on 8 November 1939 at the Bürgerbräukeller in Munich (known as the Bürgerbräukeller Bombing). Elser constructed and placed a bomb near the platform from which Hitler was to deliver a speech. It did not kill Hitler, who left earlier than expected, but it did kill 8 people and injured 62 others. Elser was held as a prisoner for more than five years until he was executed at Dachau concentration camp less than a month before the surrender of Nazi Germany.
3. Hugo Boss (1885 - 1948)
With an HPI of 62.94, Hugo Boss is the 3rd most famous German Designer. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.
Hugo Ferdinand Boss (8 July 1885 – 9 August 1948) was a German businessman and an early member of the Nazi Party. He was the founder of the fashion house Hugo Boss AG. He was an active member of the Nazi Party from 1931, and remained so until Nazi Germany's capitulation. His clothing company also utilized forced labour drawn from German-occupied territories and POW camps, to manufacture uniforms for the SS and later the Wehrmacht.
4. Dieter Rams (1932 - )
With an HPI of 59.45, Dieter Rams is the 4th most famous German Designer. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.
Dieter Rams (born 20 May 1932) is a German industrial designer who is most closely associated with the consumer products company Braun, the furniture company Vitsœ, and the functionalist school of industrial design. His unobtrusive approach and belief in "less, but better" (Weniger, aber besser) design has influenced the practice of design, as well as 20th century aesthetics and culture. He is quoted as stating that "Indifference towards people and the reality in which they live is actually the one and only cardinal sin in design."
5. Luigi Colani (1928 - 2019)
With an HPI of 53.26, Luigi Colani is the 5th most famous German Designer. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Luigi Colani (born Lutz Colani 2 August 1928 – 16 September 2019) was a German industrial designer. His long career began in the 1950s when he designed cars for companies including Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Volkswagen, and BMW. In 1957, he dropped his first name Lutz using the name Luigi. In the 1960s, he began designing furniture, and as of the 1970s, he expanded in numerous areas, ranging from household items such as ballpoint pens and television sets to uniforms and trucks and entire kitchens. A striking grand piano created by Colani, the Pegasus, is manufactured and sold by the Schimmel piano company. His unconventional designs made him famous, not only in design circles, but also to the general public. He received numerous design awards, although his unconventional approach left him largely an outsider from the mainstream of industrial design.
6. Otl Aicher (1922 - 1991)
With an HPI of 52.59, Otl Aicher is the 6th most famous German Designer. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Otto "Otl" Aicher (German: [ˈɔtl̩ ˈʔaɪçɐ]; 13 May 1922 – 1 September 1991) was a German graphic designer and typographer. Aicher co-founded and taught at the influential Ulm School of Design. He is known for having led the design team of the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, and for overseeing the creation of its prominently used system of pictograms. Aicher also developed the Rotis typeface.
7. Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff Sr. (1914 - 1997)
With an HPI of 47.85, Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff Sr. is the 7th most famous German Designer. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff Sr. (a.k.a. Hubert Wolfstern, Hubert B. Wolfe + 666 Sr., Hubert Blaine Wolfe+585 Sr., and Hubert Blaine Wolfe+590 Sr., among others) is the abbreviated name of a German-born American typesetter who has held the record for the longest personal name ever used. Hubert's name is made up from 27 names. Each of his 26 given names starts with a different letter of the English alphabet in alphabetical order; these are followed by a long single-word last name. The exact length and spelling of his name has been a subject of considerable confusion due in part to its various renderings over the years, many of which are plagued by typographical errors. One of the longest and most reliable published versions, with a 666-letter surname, is as follows: Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorffwelchevoralternwarengewissenhaftschaferswessenschafewarenwohlgepflegeundsorgfaltigkeitbeschutzenvorangreifendurchihrraubgierigfeindewelchevoralternzwolfhunderttausendjahresvorandieerscheinenvonderersteerdemenschderraumschiffgenachtmittungsteinundsiebeniridiumelektrischmotorsgebrauchlichtalsseinursprungvonkraftgestartseinlangefahrthinzwischensternartigraumaufdersuchennachbarschaftdersternwelchegehabtbewohnbarplanetenkreisedrehensichundwohinderneuerassevonverstandigmenschlichkeitkonntefortpflanzenundsicherfreuenanlebenslanglichfreudeundruhemitnichteinfurchtvorangreifenvorandererintelligentgeschopfsvonhinzwischensternartigraum Sr. While the Guinness World Records verified the version as follows: Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorffwelchevoralternwarengewissenhaftschaferswessenschafewarenwohlgepflegeundsorgfaltigkeitbeschutzenvonangreifendurchihrraubgierigfeindewelchevoralternzwolftausendjahresvorandieerscheinenvanderersteerdemenschderraumschiffgebrauchlichtalsseinursprungvonkraftgestartseinlangefahrthinzwischensternartigraumaufdersuchenachdiesternwelchegehabtbewohnbarplanetenkreisedrehensichundwohinderneurassevonverstandigmenschlichkeitkonntefortpflanzenundsicherfreuenanlebenslanglichfreudeundruhemitnichteinfurchtvorangreifenvonandererintelligentgeschopfsvonhinzwischensternartigraum.
8. Philipp Plein (1978 - )
With an HPI of 46.15, Philipp Plein is the 8th most famous German Designer. Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Philipp Patrick Hannes Plein (born 16 February 1978) is a German fashion designer, entrepreneur, and the founder of the Philipp Plein International Group, which includes the Philipp Plein, Plein Sport, and Billionaire brands. He is the founder and CEO of the PLEIN GROUP and of PLEIN HOLDING headquartered in Lugano, Switzerland, which specializes in the creation, manufacturing and worldwide distribution of luxury goods. He is also the Head Designer of the brands: PHILIPP PLEIN, BILLIONAIRE, PLEIN SPORT and PLEIN GOLF. Philipp Plein has an estimated net worth of 800 million Euro as of May 2023, according to Forbes magazine. Philipp Plein has been consistently listed year after year, as one of the 300 richest individuals in Switzerland in the annual reports published by Bilanz. In 1998 Philipp Plein registered the trademark PHILIPP PLEIN and officially founded his enterprise specializing in luxury goods.
Pantheon has 8 people classified as designers born between 1796 and 1978. Of these 8, 2 (25.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living designers include Dieter Rams and Philipp Plein. The most famous deceased designers include Michael Thonet, Georg Elser, and Hugo Boss.
Living Designers
Go to all RankingsDeceased Designers
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Michael Thonet
1796 - 1871
HPI: 64.90
Georg Elser
1903 - 1945
HPI: 63.57
Hugo Boss
1885 - 1948
HPI: 62.94
Luigi Colani
1928 - 2019
HPI: 53.26
Otl Aicher
1922 - 1991
HPI: 52.59
Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff Sr.
1914 - 1997
HPI: 47.85
Which Designers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 6 most globally memorable Designers since 1700.
