Compasso d'Oro

PurplePrice Mag · October 26, 2026 · 2 min read

The Compasso d'Oro (Golden Compass) is the oldest and most authoritative industrial design award. It was founded in Milan in 1954 on an idea by Gio Ponti, with the support of the La Rinascente department stores. In post-war Italy industrial design was taking its first steps, and the award set out to show the public the objects in which beauty, function and mass production come together.

From La Rinascente to ADI

In 1958 the organisation passed to ADI, the Italian Association for Industrial Design, founded two years earlier. From 1964, when La Rinascente's support ended, the award has been run entirely by ADI, which guarantees its impartiality.

Today the award is held every two years. Projects are first selected by the Permanent Design Observatory, a committee of experts, and published in the ADI Design Index yearbook; from these the jury chooses the Compassi d'Oro, alongside Honourable Mentions and career awards.

The trophy

The prize is, quite literally, a compass: it is inspired by Adalbert Goeringer's compass for the golden section, a symbol of measure and harmony in design. It was drawn by the graphic designer Albe Steiner and made by the architects Alberto Rosselli and Marco Zanuso.

Some award-winning objects

the Lettera 22 portable typewriter by Marcello Nizzoli for Olivetti (1954);
the Doney television by Marco Zanuso and Richard Sapper for Brionvega (1962);
the Tizio lamp by Richard Sapper for Artemide (1979);
the 9090 espresso maker, again by Sapper, Alessi's first Compasso d'Oro (1979);
the Parentesi lamp by Achille Castiglioni and Pio Manzù for Flos (1979).

The Historical Collection and the ADI Design Museum

The award-winning objects, more than 350 in over sixty years, together with almost two thousand Honourable Mentions, make up the Compasso d'Oro Historical Collection, entrusted to the ADI Foundation. In 2004 the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage declared it "of exceptional artistic and historical interest", making it part of the national heritage. Today the collection can be visited in Milan at the ADI Design Museum, in Piazza Compasso d'Oro.

More than an award, the Compasso d'Oro is a living archive of Italian design: going through the list of winners means retracing the history of the objects we use every day.