Famous for his table lamp, an icon of modernist design, developed in 1924 during courses at the Bauhaus institute, Wagenfeld is one of the foremost figures in industrial design: in fact, he designed a great many objects used daily in the home, in glass as well as in porcelain, metal and plastic. Among his most renowned objects are the "Max e Moritz" salt and pepper shakers, the ink bottle with a twisted neck, egg kettle and glass tea set.
Wagenfeld was the first to use pressed glass in industrial design, in view of mass production and therefore at a contained cost. A true innovation, given that glass had until then been considered a humble and low grade material, unsuitable for objects of this type. It is a celebration of transparency as a value recognised by modernity, which sees in glass the ideal material embodying the need for cleanliness, clarity, luminosity and hygiene. Wagenfeld's merit was certainly that of having translated the logic of this “vision” into industrial processes for manufacturing objects made of glass, thereby linking them directly to consumption and daily usage.