Roberto Paoli

Born in Ancona (Italy) and graduated in Architecture at the University of Florence in 1994. After his studies, he decided to devote himself to the design of objects. So, after his graduation, he went back to his birthplace (the Marche), a territory full of productive realities that represents a good training for young designers. During these years, Paoli studied some techniques such as plastic injection moulding and glass bending and collaborated with some famous Italian brands, such as Fellowes (office products made of plastic), Fiamitalia and Liv'it (curved glass furniture). Thanks to these collaborations, Paoli obtained technical and methodological knowledge, which helped him to shape his own idea of design: he thinks that functionality and technology have to merge with the shape of objects, which is always influenced by the materials.

In 2002 he moved to Milan, the city of design. There he started collaborating with Tucano, where now he is Design Director. Paoli supervised the design of notebook cases and accessories and drew Tucano closer to a new product philosophy, based on strong attention to materials and functional details (some of these models after became registered design patents). In the past few years Paoli has been collaborating with lighting engineering companies, such as Nemo-Cassina and Segno. In 2007, he set up his studio Seminato Mercadante, a renovated two storey building of the first years of ‘900 with a precious ancient floor.

Apart from his own studio, Paoli also designed the interiors of some houses and shops, such as Bilancioni clothes shops (in collaboration with Studio MPR). In 2009 Paoli designed two new lamps for Nemo-Cassina: the wall lamp “Flight” and the floor lamp “Kami”. He also designed the “Mir”, a mirror for Fiamitalia, which in 2009 has been awarded with the prestigious international GOOD DESIGN AWARD 2009, founded in 1950 by the Chicago Athenaeum- Museum of Architecture and Design. Paoli also designed the first Tucano showroom in the centre of Milan.