Gianfranco Frattini was born in Padua in 1926 and graduated in architecture at the Milan Polytechnic School of Design in 1953, where he remained working there right up to his death. His professional activity was concerned principally with interiors and industrial design. He met Gio Ponti and began a first collaboration with him. The famous designer became his professor and mentor.

Frattini founded his own industrial design agency after he noticed a limited choice for pieces of furniture and lamps. Quickly, he collaborated with Cassina, then Knoll, Artemide, Bernini but also Fantoni. In 1956, with others designers he founded the Industrial Design Association.

He was an assiduous participant in shows and exhibitions and his design projects won a large number of prizes. In 1956, Frattini was one of the founders of the ADI, Association of Industrial design, for which he carried out a lot of different activities. His presence was habitually felt at congresses, conventions and furniture fairs all over the world.

During his entire career, he designed several pieces of furniture; some of them still meet with great success. The Boalum lamp created with Livio Castiglioni in 1969 is probably one of his most important hit. He is also renowned for his wood expertise.