Born in the northern German city of Bremen on 15th April 1900, Wilhelm Wagenfeld was a German industrial designer. He died in 1990 in Stuttgart but was remembered for his contributions to industrial design, especially with his invention of the steel WA24, known as the Bauhaus lamp. Wilhelm received his training at the Bauhaus school, working under Christian Dell, a German designer, and László Moholy-Nagy, a famed modernist artist. He primarily was working on metal and glass, producing items like typewriters, teapots, and kettles.

During the rise of the Nazis, Wilhelm remained in Germany and was recruited to serve in the war. He was captured by Russians and finished the war while in captivity in a Russian prisoner of war camp. Wilhelm was a professor in Berlin and a college of fine arts and culture. He received the Grand Prix in 1957 at the Bundespreis Gute and the Milan Triennale. He went ahead to start his own design office in Stuttgart. He directed his office until 1978 but remained active and interested in design till his death. He has been honored with his own museum in Bremen, and important museums like MoMA in New York collect his works. 

Wilhelm Wagenfeld had a belief that he incorporated in his designs the idea that being practical is being beautiful. He also used a Bauhaus principle that less is more to produce topnotch products that were very effective, efficient, and simple to use. Additionally, the products he made aimed at being affordable for the poor and very good that the rich would not want to pass an opportunity to purchase them.