Aldo Sessano

Aldo Sessano, born in Turin on October 9, 1931, was an influential Italian industrial designer with a background in architecture from the Politecnico di Torino. His career spanned several decades, marked by collaborations with prestigious automotive and industrial brands.

Sessano began his professional journey in 1954 as a graphic designer at Fiat, and by 1956, he was working with Abarth & C., contributing to their sporting car designs. His early career was also recognized through awards in painting at various exhibitions in cities like Turin, Milan, and S. Antony (France), as well as in Pescara. However, his most significant role came when he became the Chief Designer at Fiat’s Centro Stile in 1956, a position he held until 1968.

In 1968, Sessano founded Sessano Associates, a design studio based in Turin. Over the next decade, the studio worked on several conceptual vehicle designs, though it didn’t have the infrastructure to turn these models into functional prototypes. Sessano was focused on design aesthetics, and while his studio produced scale models, it didn’t build running prototypes, which limited the realization of his concepts in the automotive world. As a result, few of his designs evolved into mass-produced models, despite their innovative nature.

From 1977 to 1983, Sessano expanded his influence by founding Open Design, a new design studio in Beinasco, near Turin. During this period, he continued to collaborate with renowned brands, though no specific vehicle designs under Open Design have been documented. His collaborations during this time included work with major automotive companies such as Mitsubishi, Saab Scania, and other industrial names like Mitsubishi, Volvo, and Marelli, as well as brands in the electronics and appliance sectors, including Gaggia and Indesit.

In addition to his work with these brands, Sessano’s design influence extended into various industrial design sectors, and he later founded Master Design International, a design consultancy that collaborated with companies like Mitsubishi, Maserati, Fiat, Lancia, and Subaru, from 1998 to 2002.

Sessano’s career left a lasting mark on automotive and industrial design, shaping the aesthetics and creative direction of many major brands and projects throughout his lifetime. His focus on the design process, even though some concepts didn’t transition into production, positioned him as a visionary in the field of industrial design.