Marco Zanini was born in Trento in 1954. After earning a degree in architecture from the University of Florence and completing his studies in the United States, he returned to Italy and began collaborating with Ettore Sottsass, with whom he co-founded the Memphis group.

As design manager at Sottsass Associati, he contributed to numerous projects, including exhibition spaces and works in the fields of industrial design and interior architecture, for a wide and diverse international clientele.