Grillo telephone
Encyclopedia
The Grillo telephone was designed in 1965 by Marco Zanuso
and Richard Sapper
. The telephone was manufactured in Italy by Società Italiana Telecomunicazioni Siemens (aka Telcer., the Italian arm of Siemens
tel.)
The modern shape and design features were revolutionary for the 1960s. The fact that the phone could be manufactured in such a small package, during the 60s, set it apart from all other designs at the time. It incorporated a flip-design that opened automatically as the phone was picked up. This clam-shell design was to go on and eventually influenced the design of modern mobile telephones during the 90s and beyond. The name "Grillo" is Italian for cricket and was named so because the 'ringer', which was incorporated inside the wall plug, sounded like a cricket.
The dial of the Grillo phone employs an innovative solution to the design challenge of condensing the dial mechanism into a limited space, while still incorporating a finger-stop. The Grillo phone's dial couldn't employ a conventional finger-stop like the type found on conventional dial phones, but instead has a button within each of the dial's number holes, which, when depressed, pushes a pin through the back of the dial which stops the dial once its turned to the dial's end position.
Marco Zanuso
-The early years:Marco Zanuso was born in Milano May 14, 1916.He was one of a group of Italian designers from Milan shaping the international idea of "good design" in the postwar years. Trained in architecture at the Politecnico di Milano university, he opened his own design office in 1945...
and Richard Sapper
Richard Sapper
Richard Sapper, born 1932 in Munich, is a German industrial designer based in Milan, Italy. He is considered one of the most iconic designers of his generation, his products typically featuring a combination of technical innovation, simplicity of form and an element of wit and surprise...
. The telephone was manufactured in Italy by Società Italiana Telecomunicazioni Siemens (aka Telcer., the Italian arm of Siemens
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
tel.)
The modern shape and design features were revolutionary for the 1960s. The fact that the phone could be manufactured in such a small package, during the 60s, set it apart from all other designs at the time. It incorporated a flip-design that opened automatically as the phone was picked up. This clam-shell design was to go on and eventually influenced the design of modern mobile telephones during the 90s and beyond. The name "Grillo" is Italian for cricket and was named so because the 'ringer', which was incorporated inside the wall plug, sounded like a cricket.
The dial of the Grillo phone employs an innovative solution to the design challenge of condensing the dial mechanism into a limited space, while still incorporating a finger-stop. The Grillo phone's dial couldn't employ a conventional finger-stop like the type found on conventional dial phones, but instead has a button within each of the dial's number holes, which, when depressed, pushes a pin through the back of the dial which stops the dial once its turned to the dial's end position.