Robin Day

Robin Day OBE RDI FCSD (1915 - 2010) was one of the most acclaimed and significant British furniture designers of the 20th Century. His influential furniture designs introduced materials such as plywood, steel and plastic into the modern design world.

Born in 1915 in High Wycombe, Day grew up surrounded by timber yards and cabinet making workshops. Although his family had no connections with the local industry, the fact that he spent his early years in a town with such strong furniture links was significant in his choice of future career. Day won a scholarship to his local art school in the early 1930s and worked for a brief period in a local furniture factory before going to the Royal College of Art after receiving a Royal Exhibition Scholarship. After graduating the RCA in 1938, there were no suitable openings in the furniture industry so he took up a teaching post at Beckenham School of Art, where he developed an innovative course in 3-D design. Day met his future wife, Lucienne in 1940 at the RCA, where she was studying printed textile design.

In partnership with Clive Latimer, Day won the first prize in the New York Museum of Modern Art International Competition for the design of low cost furniture. In 1950 he began work for the British manufacturer Hille, helping to take the company to new heights as its design consultant. In 1951 he designed room sets for the Homes and Gardens Pavilion at the Festival
of Britain and all the seating for the Royal Festival Hall, including the auditorium seating, which is still in place today, a testament to the quality of the design. He rose to fame during the Festival of Britain and in 1957 he won the Chartered
Society of Designer’s Minerva Medal, the highest tribute the Society offers, awarded for lifetime achievement in
the field of design.

Robin Day dedicated himself to designing low-cost, ‘high tech’, mass produced furniture, believing in the power of modern furniture and design to make the world a better place. “I think it's important that things endure. There's this very vulnerable planet of ours with finite resources. Architects and designers have, I think, a fair responsibility for conserving energy and materials, and making things durable”, said the British designer.

Day always designed furniture with durability and comfort in mind, which explains his interest in public seating. His designs have been used in many prestigious locations including auditorium seating for the Barbican Art Centre and Royal Festival Hall in London, the Gatwick Bench in the Tate Britain, and 1990s Toro and Woodro seating on the London Underground, as well as for theatres, airports, stations and sports stadiums worldwide.

In 1983 he was awarded his OBE and in1991 was appointed a senior fellow at the Royal College of Art.

Robin and Lucienne Day

The video above traces the Days’ personal and professional progression over the course of their careers, spanning more than seventy years – from their days at the Royal College of the Arts in the 1930s, through their long heyday at the forefront of British design, to their recent rediscovery by new generations of design aficionados.

675 Chair, 1952

Whereas 1930’s furniture had been heavy and ponderous, Day’s post-war designs were light on their feet and economical in their use of materials. A minimalist frame was also adopted for the 675 Chair, a dining chair with a slender moulded plywood seat back. Robin Day overcame the difficulty of forming a single moulded plywood chair with armrests, by creating a fluid shape using a singular curve. In close collaboration with the Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation, Case revisited the original design and faithfully reinstated, in the 2014 chair, the element and detail of the 1952 original.

“Case have been willing to go the extra mile to develop a product which is very close to my father’s actual 1952 design. The result is startlingly fresh and authoritative; one glance is enough to convince that this is the real Robin Day 675 design, vigorous, poised and finely proportioned. Like all his chairs, it is also very comfortable.”- Paula Day, daughter of Robin & Lucienne Day.

The 675 Chair was awarded the acclaimed Design Guild Mark Award in 2015.

1949 - First Prize (with Clive Latimer) in Storage category
of International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design, MoMA, New York

1951 - Gold Medal at Milan Triennale for room setting

1957 - Design Centre Award for Convertible Bed Settee

1957 - Design Centre Award for CS17 Television Set

1957 - Chartered Society of Designers’ Minerva Medal for Lifetime Achievement in
Furniture Design

1959 - Appointed RDI (Royal Designer for Industry) for Furniture and Exhibition Design
by Royal Society of Arts

1961 - Design Centre Award for Form Group

1965 - Design Centre Award for Polypropylene Chair

1983 - Appointed OBE for Services to Design by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

1991 - Senior Fellowship, Royal College of Art

1998 - Chartered Society of Designers’ Minerva Medal (with Lucienne Day) for Lifetime
Achievement in Furniture and Textile Design

1998 - Honorary Fellowship, KIAD

2003 - Honorary Doctorate, Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College

2005 - Homes & Gardens Lifetime Achievement Award (with Lucienne Day) 

2009 - Honorary Doctorate, University of Brighton

2011 - Elle Decoration Award for Outstanding Contribution to
Design

2012 - Best Reissue, Wallpaper* Design Awards for Reclining Chair reissued by
twentytwentyone

2015 - Design Guild Mark from The Furniture Makers’ Company
for 675 Chair

2017 - Design Guild Marks from The Furniture Makers’ Company for Polypropylene Side
Chair and Armchair