Pirelli Sapsa

Unimark International was a multinational design company founded in 1965 by Ralph Eckerstrom, James Fogelman, Wally Gutches, Larry Klein, Massimo Vignelli and Bob Noorda. Initially, the company operated in three locations: Chicago, New York and Milan. Salvatore Gregorietti works as a graphic designer at Unimark’s Milan office.

Gregorietti was born in Palermo, Sicily, in 1941. He moved to Milan to study at the Liceo Artistico di Brera, and then after completing his studies, he moved to Zurich to attend the Kunstgewerbeschule, a renowned school of arts and crafts. In the early 1960s, he returned to Italy and began working as an assistant in Massimo Vignelli's studio in Milan until joining Unimark in 1965. In this period he designed all the books published by Milano Libri, including “Linus” magazine and the Italian edition of Charles Schulz's Peanuts.

In 1967, at Unimark’s Milan office, Gregorietti designed a trademark for Pirelli Sapsa featuring a “schematic representation of a cat’s head surrounded by the letter ‘g’” [1], representing products marketed as the "comfort factory.” This interpretation reflects Gregorietti’s Swiss design training, characterized by the use of grids and clean geometric forms that support a modernist vision. Unimark’s work embodies a pragmatic, concise, and rational approach.

The stylized cat logo, as a visual expression of the Pirelli Sapsa brand, belongs to an intermediate phase in which the brand sought to instill in the consumer a “sense of sleep.” In the 1950s, it was preceded by a poster-style illustration by Piero Ottinetti showing a man in a suit, tie, and hat exclaiming, “Dormirò meglio!” (“I'll sleep better!”). In the 1970s, the cat was replaced by the “yawning man” created by Pirelli’s in-house agency Centro, which introduced the slogans “la firma del sonno” (“the signature of sleep”) and later “la forza del sonno” (“the power of sleep”) for the granRiposo® [2] mattress line.

The relationship between Pirelli and foam rubber dates back to the early 20th century. In July 1928, Pirelli acquired Salpa – Società Anonima Lavorazioni Pelli Artificiali, a factory in Sesto San Giovanni (Milan) producing regenerated leather fiber. Although the company initially focused on this sector, by the late 1930s, the Pirelli Group’s subsidiary—renamed Sapsa—diversified and invented a new material: foam rubber.

Foam rubber evolved from an innovative material into the brand identity of an entire mattress line. It is made from pure latex—a material distinct from standard rubber—emulsified through specific processes to become a soft foam filled with countless air cells. A subsequent treatment solidifies the mass and opens the cell walls, allowing air to circulate.

This pioneering material entered the market as a symbol of everyday comfort. The foam rubber mattress embodied the concept of “great rest,” a phrase that became one of the key product lines of Pirelli foam rubber mattresses. The granRiposo® series was promoted as “the new mattress for better rest.” This sense of well-being was visually represented in window sticker [3][4]and posters [5][6] through the image of a cat curled up in a sleeping position, evoking deep, serene rest. The concentric and spiral curves recalled both the natural, harmonious posture of the animal and the motion of rolling up a mattress—symbolizing comfort, warmth, protection, and care.

Part of the same product family were the softer, cozier granRiposo® pillows, offering exceptional softness and a gently supportive surface. Though designed to be used with a pillowcase, each pillow came with an initial full-length madapolam cotton cover. They were infused directly on the production line and sold with a guarantee band. [7]




Archives and sources

-Alberto Bassi, Fiorella Bulegato, Salvatore Gregorietti: Un progetto lungo cinquant’anni, Skira, Milano 2017.

-Fondazione Pirelli, La pubblicità con la P maiuscola, Corraini Edizioni, Milano 2017.

-“La fabbrica del comfort”, Fatti e notizie, n. 6, June-July 1968, pp. X-XX.