Davorin Savnik studied at the Faculty of Architecture and at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. He later also attended the School of Industrial Design in Gottwald, in the Czech Republic. After initially devoting himself to music, he then decided to take an independent path, which later led him to Iskra.
Savnik designed many audiovisual and telecommunication devices, electro-technical and electro-medical devices, hand tools, computer equipment, household appliances and telephones. His devices ranked among the top design products of the Slovenian, Yugoslav and world industry.
He gave lectures both at home and abroad. He received numerous awards for his work. In 1966 he received the Prešeren fund prize. In 1979 he received the BIO and Stuttgart Design center recognition awards. He was also awarded at the International Fair in Hannover. He was also the recipient of the highest prize of the Japanese Ministry for Trade and Industry, as well as the gold medal from the trade fair in Brno.
One of the most imitated devices
The most recognizable devices from his collection of design works were the telephones. More than 5 million ETA phone devices were made in Kranj alone and it can still be found in many homes and offices. Apart from the MoMA museum in New York, you can also find it at the Museum of Modern Art in Munich. The phone's appearance was copied by many factories. Some figures say that almost 300 million similar phones have been made around the world.
On the 30th anniversary of the ETA 80, in 2009, it was exhibited at the Ljubljana Museum of Architecture and Design, in the framework of the Iskra exhibit: non-alligned design 1946–1990.