Cooper Hewitt says...
After graduating from Pratt Institute in New York in 1933, Severin Jonassen joined Russel Wright Associates in New York where he designed housewares, furniture, and lighting until 1935. From 1935 to 1945, he worked for General Motors under Harley Earl, as assistant chief designer in the styling section. In 1945, Jonassen returned to New York and set up an independent design firm with accounts at Frigidaire, American Optical Co., and Wheeler Boat Works. During this time, two of his chair models were submitted to MoMA’s Good Design competition and were published in the May 8, 1950 issue of Life magazine. In 1953, Jonassen joined Philco, working under Herbert Gosweiler, for whom he designed versions of what would become the Predicta television housing. Jonassen’s work on the Predicta is considered his most celebrated achievement. Gosweiler and Jonassen later became partners in their own firm (1965–68), with accounts including Bausch & Lomb and Proctor-Silex. After 1968 through his retirement, Jonassen moved from a Philadelphia design firm to reopening his own office in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania.
