Tag: Industrial design

Design for Social Justice: Honoring the Legacy of MLK

Design for Social Justice: Honoring the Legacy of MLK

In honor of Black History Month, we’re taking a moment to reflect on the intersection of design and social justice, inspired by the enduring legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His fight for equality, dignity, and inclusion reminds us that the choices we make—whether in activism, policy, or design—have the power to shape a more just world. Design is not just about aesthetics or functionality; it’s a tool for empowerment and systemic change. At Interwoven, we pride ourselves on having a diverse team from all over the world, and we know it makes our work stronger. In this Insight article, we explore how designers can honor Dr. King’s vision through design for social justice; creating solutions that dismantle barriers, amplify underrepresented voices, and foster equity in every corner of society.

Embodying MLK’s Vision Through Design

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr at Lectern

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. envisioned a society where justice and equality weren’t just ideals but tangible realities. He spoke of the “fierce urgency of now,” urging people to take action against injustice wherever it exists. Designers, too, have a responsibility to act with urgency and purpose, using their skills to tackle issues like poverty, racism, and discrimination. Design that embodies MLK’s vision isn’t just about creating something functional; it’s about fostering dignity and inclusion. 

While the challenges of inequality may feel overwhelming, design provides a pathway to bridge gaps between communities and create systemic change. By designing with empathy and inclusivity, we can address issues such as unequal access to education, the digital divide, or the lack of representation in media and technology. Designers hold the power to influence not just products or spaces but also perceptions, behaviors, and policies. By embedding the principles of justice and equality into their work, designers can help dismantle the systems that perpetuate exclusion and create a world that reflects the ideals Dr. King fought for—a world where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

Strategies for Designers to Address Social Inequality

By tapping into the following resources and strategies, designers can begin to dismantle systemic barriers and build more inclusive, equitable futures.

Empathy-Driven Research

The first step in designing for social justice is understanding the lived experiences of marginalized communities. Empathy-driven research involves going beyond assumptions and engaging directly with those who are most affected by systemic inequalities. This might mean conducting ethnographic research, hosting co-creation workshops, or working alongside community leaders to identify the specific needs of a group. At Interwoven, we find ethnographic research to be incredibly powerful. Witnessing a community firsthand can provide deep insights into how they interact with their environment and with each other, leading to innovative insights that become the core of a design solution.

Inclusivity in Design Processes

To create equitable solutions, it’s essential to involve diverse voices throughout the design process. A more inclusive team ensures that a variety of perspectives, cultural contexts, and lived experiences inform the final product. Here are some key practices for inclusive design:

Focus on Universal and Accessible Design

Dr Martin Luther King Jr in a crowd

Universal design goes beyond meeting the needs of a specific group and aims to create products, spaces, and systems that are usable by everyone, regardless of ability, age, or socioeconomic status. Accessible design focuses specifically on ensuring that people with disabilities are not excluded. We believe that all design must be universal and accessible, and we bake it into our process from the start. Here are some practical steps for universal design:

  • Integrate accessibility guidelines into your design process (e.g., WCAG for digital products).
  • Consider physical, cognitive, and sensory abilities in product development.
  • Prototype and test with diverse user groups to identify barriers early.
  • Resources to Explore:

Sustainability and Justice

Social and environmental justice are deeply interconnected. Designers can address both by creating sustainable products and systems that benefit underserved communities. For example, affordable solar-powered devices can bring electricity to off-grid areas, and circular design principles can reduce waste in low-income neighborhoods. Here are some key sustainable design principles:

  • Source materials ethically and sustainably.
  • Consider the entire lifecycle of a product, including its disposal and reuse.
  • Prioritize affordability and accessibility in sustainable solutions.
  • Resources to Explore:

Building Your Knowledge and Network

To create meaningful change, designers must continuously educate themselves about social justice issues and connect with others doing this important work. Attend conferences, read books, and follow organizations at the forefront of inclusive and equity-focused design.

Case Studies: 4 Design Solutions that Advance Social Justice

The following case studies illustrate the transformative power of design to address social injustices and inequities. Each project, while addressing a specific need, contributes to the larger goal of creating a more just and inclusive world. By learning from these examples, designers can reimagine their own work to honor the values of equity and inclusion.

1. Accessible Packaging: Kellogg’s NaviLens Codes

Kellogg's Cornflakes box

Kellogg’s introduced packaging with NaviLens codes to make grocery shopping more inclusive for visually impaired consumers. These QR-style codes can be scanned from a distance using a smartphone, providing information such as product name, ingredients, and preparation instructions through audio. This innovation not only enhances accessibility but also promotes independence and dignity for individuals with visual impairments.

2. Universal Design in Public Spaces: Curb Cuts and Tactile Paving

Curb cuts, initially designed to help wheelchair users, have become a universal design feature in urban landscapes, benefiting people with strollers, delivery carts, and bicycles. Tactile paving, which uses textured ground surfaces, guides visually impaired individuals through public spaces like sidewalks and train stations. These simple yet powerful designs ensure public spaces are accessible to people of all abilities.

3. Community-Centered Initiatives: Brightmoor Maker Space

The Brightmoor Maker Space in Detroit empowers local residents, particularly youth, to develop skills in woodworking, digital fabrication, and entrepreneurship. By providing tools, training, and mentorship, this community space fosters economic opportunities and builds confidence among participants while addressing systemic inequities in education and employment.

4. Technology for Representation: Adobe’s Diverse Voices Initiative

Adobe launched the Diverse Voices campaign to promote inclusivity in digital design by showcasing creatives from underrepresented backgrounds. This initiative provides a platform for minority artists, highlighting their work while offering educational resources to help other designers create culturally sensitive and representative content.

Inspiring Designers to Take Action

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” This question challenges designers to think critically about their work and the impact it has on society. To truly honor Dr. King’s legacy, designers must go beyond aesthetics or functionality and consider how their designs can address inequality, amplify underrepresented voices, and create opportunities for all.

Guiding Questions for Designers

To begin incorporating social justice into your work, ask yourself:

  • Who are the most vulnerable or underserved stakeholders in my project?
  • How can my design solutions empower and uplift these individuals or communities?
  • Am I collaborating with the people I’m designing for, or imposing solutions from the outside?
  • Is my design equitable and inclusive in practice, not just intent?

These questions serve as a starting point to critically evaluate your design processes and outcomes, ensuring that justice and equity are central to your work.

Practical Ideas for Social Justice Projects

Justice spelled in scrabble tiles

Designers can make a tangible impact by tackling projects that address systemic inequities. Here are a few ideas to inspire action:

  1. Redesign Public Signage for Accessibility:
    Create multilingual, easily readable, and universally understood public signs to better serve diverse populations, consider incorporating icons or pictograms instead of or in addition to language.
  2. Affordable Assistive Devices:
    Develop low-cost tools like prosthetics, mobility aids, or sensory devices for individuals with disabilities, especially in low-income communities.
  3. Educational Kits for Underserved Youth:
    Design creative learning kits or online platforms to teach STEM and design skills to students in underrepresented areas, helping bridge educational gaps.
  4. Combat Food Deserts:
    Reimagine urban spaces by designing community gardens, mobile food markets, or apps that connect people in food deserts with affordable, healthy options.
  5. Improve Voting Accessibility:
    Design systems or tools that make voting more accessible for individuals with disabilities, non-native speakers, and those without reliable transportation.
  6. Amplify Underrepresented Voices:
    Build platforms that spotlight creatives and innovators from marginalized backgrounds, ensuring their work reaches a broader audience.
  7. Human-Centered Homeless Shelters:
    Reimagine the design of shelters to prioritize dignity, safety, and a sense of community for unhoused individuals.

Start Small, but Start Now

You don’t need to redesign the entire world to make a difference. Everyone can design for social justice. Start with a small, justice-driven project in your own community or within your current workplace. Even a single product, policy, or initiative that prioritizes inclusion and equity can spark meaningful change. Our projects always involve an element of keeping material and construction costs down as well as sourcing materials ethically, even if those projects aren’t explicitly social justice projects. Dr. King believed that every person has the power to contribute to justice and equality, and we believe that there is always a way to incorporate the principles of social justice into our practice. As a designer, your unique skills allow you to influence systems, spaces, and tools that touch millions of lives. Use this power wisely and intentionally to honor his vision and help create a world where equity isn’t just a goal—it’s a reality.

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A Q&A with Medical Design Consultant Yukiko Naoi

A Q&A with Medical Design Consultant Yukiko Naoi

Spotlight articles shine a light on designers we admire, asking leaders in the field about their work and their design journey. In this interview we spoke with medical design consultant and acupuncturist Yukiko Naoi.

Medical Design Consultant Yukiko Naoi
Photo courtesy of Yukiko Naoi.

Yukiko’s journey bridges the worlds of design, medicine, and wellness. With a foundation in acupuncture and Chinese medicine combined with degrees in interior design and industrial design, Yukiko has spent over a decade designing innovative medical devices, diagnostics, and consumer products as long time partner and president of TKDG, Tanaka Kapec Design Group. Her hands-on experience with medical precision rekindled her passion for acupuncture, leading her to found her clinic, Rest NYC. From working with children battling cancer at Columbia University Medical Center to exploring the healing power of group dynamics in community clinics, Yukiko’s work reflects a holistic approach to health, design, and the interconnectedness of human experiences. She is also a long-time friend of Interwoven, and has collaborated with us on a number of medical design projects. We asked her about the challenges of medical design, getting feedback from stakeholders in the design process, and how her dual roles of acupuncturist and medical design consultant influence one another.

Q:

Why is medical design different from other types of industrial design? And what are some of the unique challenges you face when designing for the healthcare industry?

A:

I’m going to be really honest. To tell you what is truly unique about medical design, I would have to know everything else. I’d have to know aviation design and everything. Let’s think about designing an airplane or a helicopter—that must be just as complicated. I can’t definitively say that medical design is unique, so I’ll just talk about how I see it compared to some more general products.

Even when you say medical design it could mean different classes of products. It could mean consumer products or it could mean products only used by doctors, where there’s a different level of product development.

In general, there are more regulations and requirements. There are requirements for manufacturing and materials, and multiple rounds of approval for those materials. Toys are similar. Those are the obvious challenges that are somewhat unique to medical design;  regulatory requirements as well as the involvement of the insurance agencies. Whatever product that you’re designing has to work with that system of patients, healthcare providers, and insurance companies. The insurance companies can come in at the very early stages of the project. Let’s say you are designing something that focuses on the patient but the doctor is going to be the one pitching the emerging technology to the patient. This puts the doctor in a certain position of power, but at the same time they need the insurance company’s approval so that insurance will pay. Let’s say it’s a diagnostic device. They need to have some sort of system of checks and balances in place so the doctors have a certain level of power, but not so much power that the insurance companies wouldn’t approve it.  

Many medical companies have in-house consultants; doctors, nurses, techs, and even insurance consultants. All of a sudden, your scope could change. You might realize that you need another step in place to make sure that there’s an opportunity for doctors to share their input before the final outcome or to account for how they manage data or patient information. As designers, we are trying to make everyone happy.

Then there is an enormous amount of people in the healthcare industry who have nothing to do with the insurance company. They get the product in place or in the doctor’s hand or they clean the product or store the product, and that’s their everyday life. We always try to include those people to really make the whole process smooth. The ultimate goal is to have better outcomes; to provide the best health care that you possibly can while eliminating human error and maximizing efficiency and all that good stuff. The new trend is patients getting more power. Of course we include patients in our research as well.

Q:

Medical designs have multiple users from the patients to the doctors and the other medical professionals who use it to the hospitals or clinics that invest in the product. How do you ensure your designs satisfy the needs of all of these groups? 

A:  

There is a harsh element to this, which is about where the money comes from. The clients provided the money to solve this issue, and we need to satisfy them. Then there’s the receiving side, the target user for the product. They should have the same goal, but those sides don’t always have the same priorities. Not every project results in the best of the best for everyone.  So there’s the harsh side of budgets and time constraints, and there’s the super soft side—that this is a product that humans will touch and feel and live with. Our goal is to make a bridge between the two so that no one is overlooked. It’s not always easy.

Q:

How do you gather and incorporate feedback from end-users, such as patients and healthcare providers, during the design process?

A:

We often shadow medical professionals so we can really understand their roles and know what to bring to their attention. There’s a little void that we need to fill because the product has to work at every stage, and as designers we’re often the only ones who see every stage of a product. Good clients would give us the time and budget to really understand the beginning and the end of the life cycle of each product; where material comes in, where it’s going to be made, how it’s going to be packaged, how it’s going to be shipped, the carbon footprint, and all that stuff. It makes for better design but also each stage costs money, and a lot of clients are interested in saving a penny wherever possible. We’re talking about millions of whatever product you design. It’s ultimately more successful to consider all of these details in product development.

It’s important for us to observe as well as interview stakeholders. People aren’t necessarily aware of what they do, it’s second nature to them so they don’t think about it. They have standard tasks they repeat over and over, nurses are a great example but this happens in all kinds of medical roles. They do tasks, and if you ask them about it they say…whatever they think they’re doing, This is better. I want this. I’m doing this. But the reality may not be the same. It’s interesting to see their perception of what they’re doing, and that is valuable information, but they’re working with the existing system, so they may not be able to see what we can do for them. What they say could be very different from what they’re doing. It’s powerful to hear their words as well as to see their environment and how they work in it. 

Ideally we hear from stakeholders with all levels of income, to hear from a huge, well-funded hospital in Texas and also to hear from the one person clinic. They may be doing the same procedure but in a very different environment, and to understand both is important. Location is important also, or real estate. Some users have more room, some have very little. A Manhattan clinic is tiny. The same goes for patients. We want to see people with huge families and small families, we want to see a wide range of age differences and body types. One product should be able to go to all those places and work at an optimal level.

Q:

How do you address the need for balancing functionality, safety, and aesthetics in your designs?

A:

As a designer, I think aesthetics is a given. This is why we’re designers instead of being engineers or marketing experts. Of course everything is a collaboration because there are engineers, salespeople, manufacturers…I think we have to trust ourselves to know that aesthetics is just what we do. It’s in our blood, it’s in everything we do, without thinking. Then just try to design an honest, elegant solution. We are like aesthetic ambassadors. I’m glad that a lot of medical companies value that, and I think there is a demand for aesthetically appealing products from patients and doctors as well, they don’t want to live with not so nice things.

Q:

What considerations go into designing products that need to withstand rigorous use and sanitation protocols?

A:

There are two main options, and they are complete opposites. One is a reusable medical product, and one is a disposable product. Many medical devices are disposable because of the danger of cross-contamination. That comes with challenges around material use and environmental impact.

Certainly we can play a huge role in selecting better optimal materials and considering the environment issues. A lot of companies are under pressure to show environmental accountability. On the other side are the reusable products that go through a sterilization process. There are always trusted, well-established systems for sterilization; protocols and procedures that people are reluctant to change because of the risk involved. It depends on the area of medical design as well. Orthopedic surgery instruments are usually reusable but it depends on the cost, because hospitals are businesses, and if they see that a sterilization process costs more than disposable products, they may decide to get rid of the sterilization process just because it’s not efficient or not profitable enough.

The sterilization process itself is its own area of medical product design. I’ve done a little work in that area, just enough to understand how complex it is. The sterilization process is done by a human. There is a machine, but there is a human working the machine, and you have to keep it sterile. There is some automation, but that space between the human and the automated machine is a great opportunity for industrial design.

It’s always fun for us to look at the options and push the envelope a little bit, to consider new materials and processes, but in the medical field anything new has to go through an extensive and expensive approval process. It feels like it really comes down to money: whether or not there is a company or a government entity that’s willing to fund the project. I have to say, in this huge, wealthy country there are enough people to do that, and that’s how good things come to the market.

Q:

You’ve worked with Interwoven on a number of projects, including the Breg CrossRunner Soft Knee Brace. Could you talk about some of the challenges of that project and how the team addressed them?

A:

This was a proper industrial design project. The challenge at the beginning of the product exploration, once the discovery was in place and we understood our parameters, was to mix the hard and soft materials on the body. We have to consider three elements; the human body, the soft goods and the hard parts, and we’re trying to integrate them to create a new combination of all three. That part was really fun. And again there was the aesthetic ambassador part, because we wanted people to want to wear this product, and for them to find it easy and comfortable to wear. It was quite successful.

Q:

On top of being an Industrial Designer, you are also an acupuncturist and have an active acupuncture practice.  Has acupuncture informed your medical design work? How do they influence one another?

A:

At one point in my career, I got a little disheartened with the design industry because of all these things that we just talked about, the frustration with the money-making industry, proof that it’s a for profit industry, nobody’s doing it for free. It’s ideal if designers can make money and help people, that’s the ultimate goal, but sometimes it doesn’t happen. I was discouraged, thinking, What’s the point? Sometimes I felt that the industry was operating with priorities that were different from mine. I thought, Okay, I’m just going to do more hands-on things to help people. I wanted to fix things. That’s what designers do: problem-solving mindset.

So I went into this hands-on phase, working with people individually, which was when I started doing acupuncture. It was amazing because I had the perspective of working with a huge company and a huge budget, able to impact thousands of people, and this was the opposite, and I really got to appreciate both ends of the industry. I also did a post-graduate internship at the Columbia hospital in their pediatric oncology department, and got to see how the hospital worked from the inside. I learned a lot and everyday I interacted with patients. You learn a lot by touching people, and that was a huge influence. 

Q:

What medical design trends or emerging technologies excite you most right now? How do you see the medical design field evolving over the next ten years?

A:

The undeniable trends are AI, wearable technology, and companion apps. I have mixed feelings about the direction the trends are heading, part excitement and part fear. AI has the potential to revolutionize diagnostics, improve accuracy, and reduce human error. Wearables and apps are empowering patients to take more control of their health. This empowering of the patient is exciting! The medical design field is moving toward more patient-centered designs, with devices getting smaller, smarter, and more seamlessly integrated into daily life. 

Sustainability should be important, and I want to believe that society can push for more eco-conscious materials and manufacturing practices. The growing trend of wellness and preventative care, outside reacting to diseases and conditions, empowers people to stay healthier and more engaged in managing their well-being. This feels like a logical direction to focus on. We call it “healthcare” because we are caring for people’s health.

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A Q&A with Designer Artist Joshua Longo

A Q&A with Designer Artist Joshua Longo

Spotlight articles shine a light on designers and design materials we admire. Our founder and principal designer Rebeccah Pailes-Friedman has met many wonderful designers as an educator and career designer, and in our Spotlight interviews we ask them about their work and their design journey. In this interview we spoke with Joshua Longo, an artist and product designer who is currently the Creative Director of Hardgoods at Crate & Barrel. Joshua brings a designer’s strategic thinking as well an artist’s sensitivity to his remarkable work (we also love his Instagram). With a foundation in industrial design from Pratt Institute and a master’s in design research from Drexel University, he harnesses storytelling, innovation, research, and problem-solving to bring human-centered designs to life. His clients and collaborators include familiar names like Anthropologie, Free People, MIT School of Architecture, Adult Swim, and Ralph Lauren. We asked him about balancing art and design, how the two inform one another, how he approaches material selection, and more. 

Designer Joshua Longo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Longo.

Q: Which came first, the artist, or the designer? Or perhaps it is more complicated than that?

A: This is a lesson in brevity, because I feel like we could spend a half an hour just on this question. I was interested in using my hands and making stuff for as long as I can remember. I knew I wanted to go to art school. I didn’t know about industrial design then, I went for computer graphics. I wanted to be a part of the movie industry and do special effects. I started making with my hands and then drawing.

I wasn’t a star artist. I wasn’t everyone’s most-likely-to-be-Van Gogh. That wasn’t me until I got to college and Foundation kicked my ass at Pratt. After the first semester I switched out of computer graphics because I didn’t want to spend all of my time in front of the computer. I realized that I liked to work with my hands. I stuck with my very difficult drawing teacher, who had a 50% fail rate, and drawing became a passion. To this day I draw every day, all the time. I realized that I want to make stuff and industrial design seemed to be a practical place where I could get a job but also just get an education in making things. 

In my junior year I was up for an internship at General Motors. I was in Martin Skalski’s Transportation Design studio. He had a relationship with General Motors, and there were students he preselected beforehand, letting them know, Look out for Josh. Look out for these two other guys. These are the people I recommend for the internship. I didn’t wind up getting the internship. Instead, I spent the summer making stuff. I went home and it was the first summer I didn’t have a job. I started sewing sophomore year, so I had a sewing machine and—if you’ve been through some sort of design curriculum, you understand the rigor of it—you don’t just come off of junior year or Martin Scalski’s class just doing nothing, your brain is going 500 miles an hour. So I wound up working on design and art as if I was still in my regular school practice. I started making sculptures that summer. That’s when sculpture started. It was very rudimentary but that was the beginning of me realizing my own voice through a material process, which could be either design or art. Up until then it was all student projects. That was the beginning.

sculpture by artist designer Josh Longo
Sculpture. Photo courtesy of Joshua Longo.

Q: Some of your sculptures turned into animations and design work for clients. How does your art inform your design and vice versa?

A: It’s something that happened organically at first but then I started applying it as I got older and wiser. This is layered. I always needed a job, because I think it’s important to share for other people who come from blue collar or lower income families that I came from a blue collar family. We didn’t have a lot of money so I always needed a job. I always had to make sure I was paying the rent, no one was going to take care of it for me. So I always had a foot in the industry; whether it was freelance or full-time, I was always working in industrial design or product design. 

My first job was at Macy’s, and while I was doing that I was making all this soft stuff because I just felt compelled. I had to do it. There was no not doing it. I had to do it and I did it at night. During the day I would work at my job and then at night and on the weekends, I would spend time making art. Around 2006, people started to take notice. That was also the beginning of social media. I started putting my work out there. I was putting it out on MySpace, Friendster, and then eventually Facebook and Instagram. Once you get one thing, you get some momentum and it snowballs. Then what happened was 10 years of making stuff, promoting myself, small gallery shows, coffee shops, really small. Nothing crazy.

Mask by Josh Longo
Mask. Photo courtesy of Joshua Longo.

The Creative Director for a company in Germany bought one of my sculptures, and then, five years later, he started a company and he wanted to work with me. Next, I’m doing puppets for a German commercial, getting paid handsomely for maybe a month of work. In actuality it was 10 years of not really making money from the soft sculptures that led to this gig. Since then I have confidence that if I spend a few years on an idea, a family, a style—creating a cohesive visual language—something will happen. I pivoted into illustration later on, I did a bunch of illustration, promoted it, and after a few years Adult Swim contacted me and asked if I could do some animation for them.

There is definitely a time period where you do a bunch of stuff, you make it good enough and, if you promote it, it leads to commercial work. I don’t get as much of that recently because my job is so time-consuming but you just make stuff that you love and eventually get paid for it. Somehow.

Q: Do you ever have nightmares about your creatures?

A: I used to, before I went to therapy regularly. I don’t have go anymore but there was a period in my 30s where I went very regularly. Extreme anxiety and just not dealing with things led to night terrors and waking dreams, walking around. I haven’t in a long time because therapy works. 

I’ve been working on these current sculptures for about a year because I’ve moved, done renovations, all that stuff, but the scale is manageable because I can take it with me. So I’ve been working on smaller things that I can work on on the couch if I have an hour. They’re really hand intensive; everything’s hand sewn or handmade and combination materials. My current job-life situation allows for either drawing or small scale sculpture but I would like to get to larger things again.

Q: Could you tell us about your drawing materials and how you select materials for sculpture? Do you have an approach to how you select or work with materials?

A: My drawing is mostly black and white. I do some color drawing here and there but not as often. It’s mostly black and white in sketchbooks. I fill sketchbooks pretty regularly, once a month I’ll fill one, but I have three going at any given time. When it comes to design, it’s usually more structured in that I have to do a collection. We’re trying to hit a certain amount of price points. Wood, metal, etc. I think I have enough manufacturing knowledge in me that, when I start sketching, I’m keeping all of those things in mind as I’m sketching: manufacturing capability, what’s actually possible, gravity, cost. 

I’m a figurative sculptor in that I’m making figures. Generally the outcome is going to be a figure of some sort, whether it’s an animal, or a person, or some sort of imagined form of that. I start either with material or with a gesture. It’s one or the other. For example, say I want to play with leather. I wonder, What does that do? So I start boiling leather, I start shaping it, I start backing it, forming it, and then seeing what happens; letting the material dictate the outcome instead of trying to dictate the outcome before I start. For me, it’s the discovery through the play of the material that’s fun. I ask, What can the material do? What expression can it generate? Then I can then play. So the material tells me where to go.

Monster Skin Rug by Joshua Longo
Monster Skin Rug. Photo courtesy of Joshua Longo.

When I was teaching at Drexel, where I got my master’s degree, I spent my time just exploring that, how it can inform a design process given the time and how you don’t always have to start off with the end result. First I let the materials dictate and then I just play. With leather, linen, wood, ceramic…Oftentimes I make pieces and they’ll sit around for years—there are these ceramic heads that I made 10 years ago—and then they finally find a home as I start making other things because I have all these pieces. 

I visited Jim Henson on Long Island and it was so amazing to see the Sesame Street studios. There were drawers of eyes, drawers of noses, drawers of hands, drawers of just ties. That was a huge inspiration. I realized, I could do this for my own practice. I don’t have to start and finish. I can just make pieces. Then, as I’m making stuff, I have an alphabet of pieces that lend themselves to my projects.

Q: How do you balance the spontaneity of your creative process with the more structured aspects of industrial design?

A: If I had the luxury of time, I would spend more time designing in the same way I make art. When I make art I create boundaries but I allow myself freedom within those boundaries, whether it’s a medium or even time, it’s allowing yourself x amount of time to play to arrive at a certain conclusion, whether it be a show or commercial product. Especially as I get older, time is the most precious thing. That’s all I want. I just want enough time to get into a flow state and to create without worrying about what the end result will be. That’s wonderful. 

The commercial pressure of design, especially as I’ve been doing it a little over 20 years now, the amount of time you get from concept to deliverable has decreased by… I’m going to say 50%. I don’t have an exact number but in my world, it’s insane. It’s super compressed. I manage something like several hundred products a season [at Crate & Barrel] and we do four seasons a year, and there’s just no way to explore an idea that intensely. 

kitchenbycrate gadgets by Joshua Longo
KitchenbyCrate Gadgets. Photo courtesy of Joshua Longo.

That said, sometimes you do get to do design and you get to play and you carve out a certain amount of time for process. I helped integrate AI processes into our current product design, and I carved time out of my schedule to figure that out. That was fun and that it allowed me to play, and then I was supported. Once my bosses and leaders saw what was happening, they allowed me more time and they put their thumb of approval on it, and that allowed me to play more. So, it’s a juggling act.

Q: I’m sure you see students who are struggling to balance their inner artist with their inner designer. As a professor, what advice do you offer students trying to find their voice in the creative industry?

A: This is the question I get asked most by students because whenever I present, I present all sides of my life, personal and commercial work. They ask, How do you do that? Well, I didn’t sleep in my 20s, I have a lot of energy, and I’m naturally obsessive. That’s something I can’t train or encourage, that’s something that’s innate for me. But creating a practice and discipline is something I got from school.

I am someone who gets highly distracted easily and often, and the more structure I have in my day, the better off I am. The minute I go off my own calendar, it’s not good for me. So for me, it’s about simple things that I can control. I keep on a very structured schedule. I brush my teeth. I eat the same thing every day. I am close to one of those people that would wear the same thing every day. There are certain things that I keep highly structured and then, where most people might sit and watch TV, I’ll sit and draw and watch TV. So I do relax. It’s just that I’m usually multitasking. Because let’s say I have a thousand ideas, which is not underselling it. I know, I’m only going to get to 1% of them out, and I can’t stop thinking about them until I put them in the real world. There’s a cycle that happens in my head where if I don’t get an idea out, it will keep on coming up and remind me, Hey, Josh! I love it. It’s also exhausting but if I didn’t do it, I feel like I’d be missing out. We only have one life to live. I’m thinking of Jeff Goldblum quoting George Bernard Shaw and I can’t recall the quote but the essence is that you only have one life to live, why not burn the candle at both ends?

Q: What’s next for Longoland? Can we expect to see your work expand into new mediums or spaces?

A: That’s a great question, and it’s just the question I’m asking myself. I’ve been drawing on cardboard and that’s been fun. The drawings are super simple cartoons. 

illustration by josh longo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Longo.

I’ve been doing Crate & Barrel for five years and I feel like I’ve accomplished what I wanted to accomplish. I’m still excited. I still want to do more. But I’ve accomplished what I set out to accomplish commercially with the brand. Before I started, I had a show at a church. I rented out of church for an evening and had 21 kinetic sculptures that created sound, and a team of 11 or 12 people to help me activate the sculptures. But what I didn’t tell you is that we emptied the church completely and took out all the furniture. So it’s an empty church in Philadelphia, we put 21 sculptures inside, and then we essentially played the church like a giant instrument. Then a month later, I got a job offer from Crate & Barrel, and I was designing pots and pans. So, my artistic practice was heading towards a performative, all encompassing space; creating the entirety of the environment through object-person relationships. I would love to get back to that but I think it would require me to get into a different job setting. It’s not something I can do on the couch.

I believe that making art or design, or whatever you want to commit to truly for yourself, is one of the most enriching and rewarding experiences that a person can have. If you can get past hating what you make. There are a lot of people that can’t get past that, they can’t enjoy the process regardless of the outcome. I’m not working towards a gallery show. I’m not working for acclaim anymore, because I’ve achieved some success. And trust me, it’s nice and I’ll keep on taking it, but it’s not the ultimate goal. Now I want to get to the space where I get to play, and play with stuff with other people.

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Innovation and Expression: Why Designers Love Chairs So Much

Innovation and Expression: Why Designers Love Chairs So Much

Few objects in the world of design hold the allure and fascination of the chair. It’s a product that has been reimagined countless times by designers across generations and yet, designers never seem to get tired of it. No matter how many chairs get designed, designers return to the challenge of the chair again and again. As a design challenge, the chair has the capacity to blend art, technology, and human-centered functionality into a single, everyday object. This Insight article explores why designers love chairs so much, outlining how the chair is a prime platform for innovation in materials and technology as well as a vehicle for personal expression, with a rich tradition of modeling new design ideas.

Eames 1946 LCW chair
The 1946 LCW Chair by Ray and Charles Eames.

A Tradition of Innovation

Chairs aren’t just practical objects; they are design icons that have continually pushed the boundaries of what’s possible. The molded plywood chairs by Ray and Charles Eames were proof-of-concept products that demonstrated the incalculable value of the plywood molding technology, which added strength and versatility to the previously overlooked material. In 1859, Michael Thonet revolutionized production with his Era chairs, the first chairs made of solid bent wood, a modular design that was efficient to produce and populated cafes all over Vienna, and then all over the world. Chairs have often led the way in material and manufacturing innovation, and served as a vehicle for showcasing a fresh approach to an existing material, or a pioneering approach to a novel material.

These iconic innovative designs set the stage for generations of designers to follow, challenging them to rethink both the form and function of the chair. It’s no surprise that many of the world’s most iconic designs are chairs, which have not only defined the spaces they inhabit but have also shaped broader design movements. There is a long design tradition of the chair leading the pack, serving as the ideal model for a new aesthetic or manufacturing technique.

1859 Thonet Era Chair
The 1859 Era Chair by Michael Thonet.

Balancing Form, Function, and Innovation

Designing a chair is about more than aesthetics; it’s about problem-solving. A chair must be comfortable, structurally sound, and versatile enough to serve different purposes and users. At the same time, provided it will hold a person, and perhaps even this is not required for some concept chairs, the parameters are wide open. This combination of complexity and fluidity makes it a perfect canvas for innovation and play. Chairs are a unique product that interacts directly with the human body, requiring a precise blend of form and function. Achieving this balance is a designer’s ultimate challenge, but it’s also a key driver of design breakthroughs. Chairs force designers to think critically about ergonomics, proportions, and engineering, all while maintaining artistic vision and preserving artistic freedom.

Pioneering New Materials

One of the most exciting aspects of chair design is the opportunity to experiment with new materials. Over the years, designers have worked with everything from bent wood (Thonet) and tubular steel to cutting-edge composites, plastic polymers, and even recycled materials.

Marcel Breuer’s 1925 Wassily chair was the first bent tubular steel chair design and remains a classic, highly popular today. It breaks a classic club chair down to the absolute essential form and the modular design can be seamlessly assembled on an industrial scale.

Philippe Starck’s injection-molded Louis Ghost Chair was one of the first to show how polycarbonate could be used to create transparent, durable, and lightweight furniture, changing the way designers think about both materiality and sustainability. Like Breuer, he was playing on a traditional chair design that everyone would recognize, the ornate 18th century chairs of King Louis XVI. New materials like carbon fiber and bio-based plastics have also paved the way for more sustainable and lightweight chair designs, addressing environmental concerns while pushing aesthetic boundaries.

1925 Wassily Chair by Marcel Breuer
The 1925 Wassily Chair by Marcel Breuer.

Technological Innovation in Chair Design

Technological advancements are also transforming the way chairs are designed and produced. CNC cutting, 3D printing, and robotic manufacturing have enabled designers to explore previously unimaginable forms. These technologies reduce waste and allow for more precise, customized designs.

The Master’s Chair by Philippe Starck, for example, uses injection-molding technology to fuse together the outlines of three iconic chairs into a single, seamless piece, paying homage to three masterful designs: Arne Jacobsen’s “Serie 7” chair, Eero Saarinen’s “Tulip Armchair” and Charles Eames’ “Eiffel Chair”. Similarly, the elegantly molded Diamond Chair by Harry Bertoia exemplifies how industrial manufacturing techniques can be applied to create intricate, sculptural forms.

1952 Diamond Chair by Harry Bertoia
The 1952 Diamond Chair by Harry Bertoia.

Chairs as Personal Narratives

Chairs are much more than objects of utility. They are reflections of the designers who create them, often embodying their personal stories, values, and design ethos. For many designers, creating a chair is akin to writing a personal narrative.

The iconic Egg Chair by Arne Jacobsen, for instance, was not just a modernist response to form and function. It also reflected Jacobsen’s desire to create a sense of comfort and enclosure in an increasingly fast-paced world. It was designed for the reception areas of the Royal Hotel in Copenhagen in 1958, created to provide a sense of privacy in public spaces. Each curve and contour (or the absolute absence of curves and contours!) of a chair tells a story about the designer’s worldview and creative journey. Chairs are not only functional solutions, they are the cumulation of hundreds of aesthetic decisions made by the designer, and walk the line between art and design.

For designers, a chair is a blank canvas, ready to be filled with their unique artistic voice. The simplicity of its form offers endless possibilities for experimentation. Whether it’s playing with organic shapes, bold colors, or unconventional materials, chair design allows for unfiltered creative expression. In the case of the Wiggle Chair by Frank Gehry, the use of layered cardboard wasn’t just a material choice—it was a statement about impermanence, sustainability, and the rejection of traditional materials. The chair’s playful, fluid form echoed Gehry’s architectural style, bridging the gap between furniture and art.

1972 Wiggle Chair by Frank Gehry
The 1972 Wiggle Chair by Frank Gehry.

Small Object, Big Impact

So why do designers love chairs? Despite their compact size, chairs often act as catalysts for larger design trends. They allow designers to experiment with new ideas on a manageable scale. Success in chair design can reverberate across the design world, influencing everything from architecture to product design. We suspect that chairs will always be a designer’s dream object. They invite endless opportunities for innovation. Whether it’s through new materials, manufacturing techniques, or technological advancements, the humble chair has repeatedly redefined the possibilities of design. And as technology continues to evolve, so too will the chair—pushing the boundaries of what we think is possible in design, all while remaining a functional part of everyday life.

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Design History Series N. 020

Eileen Gray and the Bibendum Chair

In our Design History Series we highlight iconic women in design history and their innovative work. The historic contributions of women to design are many, and we aim to increase the awareness of these contributions in order to counteract a general trend of underrepresentation. In this issue we celebrate Eileen Gray, an Irish designer and architect who transformed the principles of modern design.

Eileen Gray Bibendum Chair

Interior Decadence

Eileen Gray, born in Ireland in 1878, was a pioneering figure in modern design. She studied fine art before undertaking an apprenticeship in a London lacquer workshop. Gray moved to Paris and swiftly established herself as a leading designer of lacquered screens and decorative panels. Her interior design style was modern and decadent, featuring luxurious, theatrical touches and unexpected materials. Gray exhibited chrome, steel tube, and glass furniture in 1925, well ahead of her design contemporaries Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer. 

At 46 Gray took up architecture, where her style embodied avant-garde modernism, departing from the rigid rationality of architectural contemporaries like Le Corbusier. Gray’s approach to modernism prioritized lived experiences, featuring personal, bespoke touches that spoke directly to the needs of the client. Like Charlotte Perriand, she felt that architecture and furnishings should be developed in tandem to create a harmonious home.

Eileen Gray portrait

Totally Tubular

One of her iconic creations is the Bibendum Chair, a timeless classic from the 1920s. Designed specifically for lounging and socializing, the Bibendum Chair features a distinctive back and armrests composed of two semi-circular, padded tubes encased in black leather. The name “Bibendum” was inspired by the Michelin Man, a character of stacked tires created by French artist Marius Rossillon. The chair was commissioned by French hat designer Madame Mathieu Lévy, for whom Gray redesigned an apartment in Paris. The Bibendum Chair, along with other furnishings, rugs, and lamps, became a highlight of the project.

Constructed with a polished, chromium-plated stainless steel tube frame—a groundbreaking material at the time—the Bibendum Chair was unusually large. The frame featured beechwood and rubber webbing for added comfort. Gray intentionally opted for plain coverings to maintain a simple aesthetic, complementing the bold art that shared the space. The success of the design instilled confidence in Gray, prompting her to open her own gallery in 1922.  The Bibendum Chair would go on to be featured in a number of Gray’s interior projects.

The Bibendum Chair marked a departure from Gray’s earlier traditional work, aligning with the modernist movement. The Bibendum Chair continues to be celebrated as a design classic though, during Gray’s lifetime, her success was modest. Her legacy was overshadowed by Le Corbusier, who famously painted murals in the nude all over E-1027, a brilliant house designed by Gray with which he was obsessed and which was often misattributed to him (and in front of which he drowned). Only in her nineties did Gray receive international acclaim for her contributions to architecture and design. She passed away in Paris in 1976, leaving behind a legacy of innovation and timeless design.

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