Joseph Ricchio
Joseph D. Ricchio Jr. was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1955. Since 1980 he has lived in Seal Beach, California with his wife Marla and his two sons, Aaron an aspiring graphic designer and Jacob a musician.
He is a 1980 graduate of California State University at Long Beach with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design. As a student of CSULB he was selected to be a participant in California State University International Programs in Florence, Italy. Along with 45 other students from the California State University system, he spent the 1976/77 school year studying Art, Design, Language and History while experiencing the warmth and richness of the Italian culture.
1979 through 1982 Joe Ricchio worked for Ron Loosen Associates designing various products for the high tech industry along with an assortment of graphic design projects. In 1982 Ricchio Design, located in Seal Beach, California, was established as a design consultancy working in a variety of design disciplines. Over the years Ricchio Design has done a multitude of projects in product design, furniture design and graphic design. Projects range from strategic product planning for Xerox Corporation to collateral pieces for Team Disney.
In the area of furniture design, Ricchio Design has focused on working with many of the major contract furniture manufacturers in the industry. Projects include such pieces as: ‘Stiletto’ for Stendig International, ‘Ricchio Chair’, ‘JR Chair’ and ‘Joe Chair’ for Knoll International, ‘Playback’ for ai/Vecta, ‘Duke’ for ICF, ‘Cortona Collection’ for HBF, ‘Mural’ for Steelcase Wood and accessories for Peter Pepper Products.
His work has appeared in magazines such as Contract, Interiors and Interior Design. In 1991 the ‘Ricchio Chair’ was the recipient of the Roscoe award. The ‘Playback’ received both the Product Design Award from IBD in 1992 and an award for Industrial Design Excellence from IDSA in 1993. In 1993 he also received the Best of Neocon Award for accessories for Peter Pepper Products. In September of 1999 he was an invited guest to ‘Promosedia Chair Exhibition’ in Udine, Italy where he served as a member of the Panel of Judges to choose the winning designs of ‘The Top Ten Awards.’
Joe Ricchio is a member of the part-time faculty of CSULB teaching Furniture Design. He is also a frequent guest critic and mentor to the students of CSULB. With the assistance of Professor Michael J. Kammermeyer in 2004 he established the ‘Cortona Design Retreat:’ an annual program to take selected design students interested in a career in furniture design to visit the Milan Furniture Fair and experience the Italian culture.