“The choices made by designers have a significant effect on the world. Yet so much of the discourse on design focuses on aesthetics rather than ethics. […] How do you make room for humanity, with all its wondrous variations, in a society increasingly driven by metrics, algorithms, and profit? How can ecologically responsible designers consider a

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The initial idea for the Vegetal chair in 2004 was to create a piece of furniture that appeared as if it had grown naturally, like a plant. For inspiration, its designers, the French brothers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, looked to historic furniture that integrated a sense of organic growth: English garden chairs constructed in boughs of cast iron;... See more

The Austrian-born, Italian-based designer Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007) was a rebel with a cause. As a counter-force to Modernism, his designs raged against a post-war rationalist approach that largely excluded emotional values by prizing function above form. Instead, Sottsass’s primary focus was social, cultural and sensorial – a design currency... See more