Francesco Rota was born in 1966 and gained a degree in Industrial Drawing at the Art Centre College of Design in Switzerland in 1994. In 1998, he opened his own studio working across various areas of design, including product, furniture, lighting, showrooms, offices, private residences and stands. He has worked with Alchemy, Arketipo, Bals Tokyo, Barilla, Fiat, Frag, John Richmond, Knoll International, Living Divani, L'Oreal Paris, Malo, Martini & Rossi, Mercedes Benz, Paola Lenti, Oluce and Versus.
Awarded two special mentions at the Compasso D’Oro, Rota's work has been exhibited at the St. Etienne Biennale du Design, the Hannover Messe, the Triennale di Milano, the Reggia di Venaria Reale, the Royal Academy of Arts in London, the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, the Miami Design Distrist, the Biltmore Fashion Park in Phoenix, Moss in New York, Material Connection in New York, the Biennale di Architettura in Venice, the Mostra del Cinema in Venice and the Bellerive Museum in Zurich.
Since May 2004, he has taught on the Master's Research Study Programme in Industrial Design at the Istituto Europeo di Design. He has frequently collaborated with Lema since 2011.