Cesare Colombo (1930-1971), known as Joe Colombo, was an Italian industrial designer who designed furniture, cars, air conditioning units and watches. He studied art at Milan’s Brera Academy and joined the Movimento Nucleare in the early 1950s, a group co-founded by Enrico Baj and Sergio Dangelo, who were opposed to abstract art and proposed instead the use of automatism, a creative technique for producing art without thought, will or intervention from the conscious mind.

Colombo innovated with new materials such as thermoplastics and fibreglass to construct futuristic, fluid and functional designs and collaborated with such as Kartell, Zanotta, Stilnovo, O-Luce, Alessi and Rosenthal. Many of his designs are still in production with these companies today. In 1967 he designed 'Universale' (accession number: CIRC.887-1968) the first all-plastic stacking chair to be made by the injection-moulding technique and available in five colours with legs of varying heights for use in different environments, from bars to nurseries.

The Boby Trolley is one of Colombo's best known designs, originally intended for use in the drawing office but also popular with the design conscious for domestic use in kitchens, bathrooms and studies. An all-in-one organization system on wheels, it includes shelves, bins and trays that can be adapted to suit the needs of the owner.