Ueli Berger

Ueli Berger (1937–2008) was a Swiss designer and artist best known for creating one of the icons of 1970s design: De Sede’s DS-600 sofa, co-designed with Eleonore Peduzzi-Riva, Heinz Ulrich, and Klaus Vogt. Born into a family of artists—both his father and grandfather were painters—Ueli studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Bern and then worked for several years with designer Hans Eichenberger, who had a major influence on his training. Another crucial figure in his life was his wife, Susi Berger (1938–2019), also active in both art and design, through projects developed together with her husband as well as works pursued independently. His artistic career took off in the 1960s, when he was a member of the “Bern 66” group and also experimented with installations on building façades and in public spaces. His work as a designer was concentrated mainly in the 1970s and, starting from the functionalist theory of “Gute Form,” evolved into freer, more playful creations such as the DS-600 sofa itself. Ueli Berger also taught for several years at the Schule für Gestaltung and at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich.