# How Starck's iconic lemon squeezer redefined design boundaries Beyond function: The Juicy Salif as a manifesto of provocative design. - **Source:** [design archives | designboom | architecture & design magazine](https://brifing.si/source/11868f8d-1e20-41ac-bc2d-8c5af32d721b) - **Published:** 2026-07-25 - **Topic:** [Design & UX](https://brifing.si/c/design) - **Original article:** - **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/be31e399-ffbf-4e57-9a2f-fe743865eb25 ## An icon born in a Mediterranean restaurant In 1988, while dining on squid in Capraia, Philippe Starck sketched a long-legged creature on a paper napkin - the genesis of Juicy Salif. Rejecting Alberto Alessi's steel tray commission, this blend of octopus, spider and alien forms would redefine industrial design history. ## Form versus function debate Starck's 'reverse topography' approach transformed traditional citrus presses' concave shape into convex. This intellectual exercise eliminated hard-to-clean crevices while creating a 30cm tall alien-like sculpture that blatantly defied modernist 'form follows function' dogma. ## Earthquake in design world Emerging alongside 1980s movements like Memphis Group, Juicy Salif challenged objects' conventional roles. Embracing color and irony, it proved design could spark dialogue rather than just solve problems - a radical departure from functionalist orthodoxy. ## Practical or provocative? Users criticized juice dripping down the aluminum body, unstable legs and lack of filter. Starck acknowledged these while asserting its true purpose was 'starting conversations, not just squeezing lemons' - fundamentally expanding design's functional definition. ## Museum-worthy status Now in permanent collections at MoMA and Centre Pompidou, Juicy Salif has inspired academic studies for 35 years. The 2020 bronze edition based on Starck's early prototypes confirms its enduring cultural impact as a design artifact. ## Paradigm shift in design philosophy Though rarely used by owners who display it like sculpture, Juicy Salif expanded industrial design's scope to include wonder, identity and storytelling. Starck demonstrated that design's most lasting contribution might be questioning what utility truly means. ## Sources covering this story - https://www.designboom.com/design/game-philippe-starck-iconic-lemon-squeezer-juicy-salif-alessi/ — --- _Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._