"Niko Kralj is undoubtedly the founder and one of the central figures of Slovenian post-war industrial design. As an internationally recognized design expert in the second half of the 20th century belonged to the most important industrial designers in the world.
He was honoured because of his numerous artistic creations, which left a mark on the world of design globally. He is also credited with exceptional merits for the development of post-war Slovenian furniture due to his extraordinary research and innovative work. In 1966 he founded the Institute of Design. At home as well as abroad, he filed and registered 118 patents and models and wrote 39 research papers. He was an innovator and an inventor in many fields, mostly in the field of construction and production efficiency. He looked at industrial design and innovation as an indivisible whole.
His innovative solutions have given the world a few timeless pieces of furniture. A view in the list of his domestic and foreign awards testifies to the quality of his design creations. Products designed for large-scale production have been commercially very successful and produced in several hundred thousand pieces. Because of theirs timeless modernist forms Kralj's products belongs to the treasury of European modern classics.
In 1962 Niko Kralj received the highest Slovenian award for culture — the Prešeren Award — for his achievements in the field of architecture and design."
