Cesare "Joe" Colombo (1930 - 1971) was educated at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera (the Academy of Fine Arts) in Milano as a painter, right up till 1949 and furthered his education in Architecture at the Politechnico di Milano University until 1954.
In 1959, Colombo took the reins of his family company, which was primarily involved with the production of electrical appliances, and he started to experiment with new construction and production technologies during his time there. In 1962, Colombo opened his own interior design and architecture projects, mostly for lodges and skiing facilities.
Together with his brother Gianni, Colombo developed the idea of prismatic lamps like the lamp Acrilica (1962). His first design for Kartell was chair No.4801 (1963–1967) which consisted of three assembled plywood elements. The flowing elements of his chair were a foretaste of his later plastic designs, like universale No.4860 (1965–1967), which was the first seating for adults made of ABS.
Moreover, Colombo produced innovative designs for furniture, lamps, glass, doorknobs, pipes, alarm clocks, and wristwatches. He created the professional camera Trisystem (1969), the air conditioner Candy (1970), dinnerware for Alitalia (1970; still in use), as well as an ergonomic and engined printing table.
In the short time before his unfortunate death at age 41, Colombo had already designed products for Oluce, Kartell, Bieffe, Alessi Flexform and Boffi.
In the 1960s, Colombo designed The 'Arno' line of glassware for ITALORA, a glass manufacturer in Italy. These glass cups and saucers are not only stackable and space saving, but also handle well ergonomically, showing off Colombo's prowess as a progressive postmodern and contemporary designer.