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Described as an extraordinary mirror of a changing culture, reflecting a more measured and elegant world where a balance was struck between quality and good taste. Guglielmo Ulrich (born 1904, Milan–died 1977) was an Italian architect, furniture designer, and painter. He was born to a notable family of Danish origin. In 1924, Ulrich enrolled in the Scuola Speciale di Architettura at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera. He finished his studies at Politecnico di Milano in 1927 and soon became a very influential figure in modern Italian design.

Toni Zuccheri was son of Luigi Zuccheri, a painter of animals. He inherited his father’s passion for animals, which are the recurrent subjects of his glass creations. He frequented the Faculty of Architecture in Venice under the guide of Gardella, Albini, Scarpa and Samonà. From the 60’s he began the collaboration with Venini: his first glass works are, due to the family tradition, animals made of polychrome glass with valuable techniques, such as the “murrine”. In 1965 he began to collaborate with Gio Ponti, and together they designed a new glass system, the “Vetrate grosse”. He subsequently expanded his production of glass with new colours and subjects. He participated in numerous exhibitions around the world.

Giovanni “Gio” Ponti (18 November 1891 – 16 September 1979) was an Italian architect, industrial designer, furniture designer, artist, teacher, writer and publisher. During his career, which spanned six decades, Ponti built more than a hundred buildings in Italy and in the rest of the world. He designed a considerable number of decorative art and design objects as well as furniture. Thanks to the magazine Domus, which he founded in 1928 and directed almost all his life, and thanks to his active participation in exhibitions such as the Milan Triennial, he was also an enthusiastic advocate of an Italian-style art of living and a major player in the renewal of Italian design after the Second World War. From 1936 to 1961, he taught at the Milan Polytechnic School and trained several generations of designers. Ponti also contributed to the creation in 1954 of one of the most important design awards: the Compasso d’Oro prize. Ponti died on 16 September 1979. His most famous works are the Pirelli Tower, built from 1956 to 1960 in Milan in collaboration with the engineer Pier Luigi Nervi, the Villa Planchart in Caracas and the Superleggera chair, produced by Cassina in 1957.