Richard Sapper (1932-) was born in Munich, Germany and studied philosophy, anatomy and engineering before graduating with a business degree from the University of Munich. He began his design career in the styling department of Daimler Benz and subsequently worked for the architect Gio Ponti. In the early 1960s, Sapper began his collaboration with Italian architect, Marco Zanuso (1916-) a relationship that would last many years; together they were design consultants for Brionvega, the Italian electronics company.

The 'Black 201' television, in the form of a solid black cube, reveals the screen behind its translucent face only when it is turned on. Zanuso commented on the design, 'instead of a dialogue between spectator and object, a surreal tension would be created. When switched off, the object is an abstract thing that holds you at a distance; when on, it vanishes, and is replaced only by an image'.