Todd Bracher

Todd Bracher represents the conundrum of American product design. One of the States’ brightest young talents, the native New Yorker—who holds a B.A. in industrial design from the city’s prestigious Pratt Institute—has nonetheless spent the majority of his professional life working in Europe, either on staff or as an independent designer for such esteemed brands as Zanotta, Holmegaard, and Mater. Bracher favors the clean lines and natural materials of Danish and American Midcentury modernists; his style can be described as a sensual minimalism that transcends trends. “The best design is design that lasts,” he has claimed. “The simple Seven Chair designed by Arne Jacobsen or an Eames chair. That's what I want to be about, what I believe in."

Case in point is his T-No.1 table for Fritz Hansen (2008), assembled from the fewest but purest elements possible: an aluminum spine and legs paired with a glass top. But rather than being coldly efficient, a mere exercise in reduction, the table is breathtaking beautiful thanks to the unfettered view of its sculptural frame. The angular Stick light (Designer, 2009) is “an insignificant tube and miniature LED disguised as a lamp,” according to Bracher. True, but it is also an ingenious solution for illuminating cramped urban spaces. And if Bracher seems wary of color, take note of his BOOM indoor/outdoor nesting tables (Serralunga, 2009). Available in glossy red, white, and black, the circular slabs pack a visual punch, their open centers playing with ideas about positive and negative space.

Prior to returning to New York in 2007 to concentrate on his eponymous studio, Bracher worked as a senior designer at Studio Giorgio Marianelli in Milan and at Tom Dixon in London, then headed to Paris, where he taught at nearby design school ESAD and served as creative director of Jaguar’s furniture collection. He is currently creative director of the Copenhagen-based luxury manufacturer George Jensen and continues to work on conceptual projects with designers Efe Buluc and Mark Goetz under the banner to22.



Dome (Mater, 2009). The lamp’s form takes its cue from the phases of the moon and its contrast between light and shadow.


BOOM (Serralunga, 2009). Collection of occasional tables whose open center increases visual impact and allows the pieces to nest within each other.


T-No. 1 (Fritz Hansen, 2008). The design of the table is as follows: A surface for function, ribs to support the surface, a spine to hold the ribs and legs to bring the construction off the floor. Nothing more than that and nothing less.



Librilounge (Zerofirst Gallery, TK). Storage unit that doubles as a bench.



Stick (Designer, 2009). Inspired by a walking stick insect and a deep sea angler fish, the light is, Bracher says, “an insignificant tube and miniature LED disguised as a lamp.”



Marblewood (Mater, TK). Rosewood bowl.



TOD (Zanotta, 2005). Occasional table with a big personality despite its small size, and whose shape was inspired by Cindy Crawford's beauty mark.



Masai (Habitat, 2005). Stacking storage unit.