The Voices of Design: What We Learned from Talking to Designers at the Salone
At the Salone del Mobile, it’s not just products that are presented. Signals are gathered.
Every conversation, every interview, every informal exchange between stands and corridors builds a silent map of contemporary design. Not made of slogans, but of real priorities. Not of declared trends, but of operational choices.
We listened to designers, architects, studios. Not to find definitive answers, but to understand what is actually changing.
What emerges is a clear picture: design today is no longer trying to surprise. It is trying to work better, last longer, and do so more consciously.
Materials: less choice, more responsibility
The first theme is inevitable: materials.
They are no longer just an aesthetic element or a technical variable. They are a statement.
Many designers speak about reduction. Reduction of components, processes, waste. Not as a limitation, but as a method.
The use of recycled materials—from aluminum to regenerated plastics—is no longer an exception. It is a starting point. But the point is not simply to “use sustainable materials.” It is to use them intelligently.
This means designing objects that:
- last over time
- withstand real-world conditions
- maintain quality even after years of use
Sustainability is no longer declarative. It is performance-driven.
This shift in perspective is clear: the material is not what you see. It is what ensures that an object continues to perform.
Function: returning to essentials, without simplifying
The second theme is function. But not in the obvious sense.
It’s not about making “simple” objects. It’s about removing everything unnecessary without losing complexity.
Many designers speak about balance: between form and use, between lightness and resistance, between identity and neutrality.
In the contract world, this means designing for real conditions:
- intensive use
- constant movement
- frequent maintenance
- diverse environments
Function today is the ability to adapt.
An object truly works when it can exist in different spaces without losing meaning. When it can be moved, stacked, reused. When it does not impose behavior, but supports it.
It is a return to essentials, with a deeper awareness.
Sustainability: from concept to system
Sustainability is everywhere in the designers’ discourse. But it is no longer an isolated theme.
It has become a system.
It is not just about materials, but about the entire lifecycle:
- design
- production
- logistics
- use
- end of life
Many designers insist on one point: there is no sustainability without durability.
A product that needs to be replaced after a few years is not sustainable, even if it is made from recycled materials.
This is why the focus is shifting: from material selection to lifecycle design.
In the contract sector, this perspective is even more evident. Objects must endure, be repairable, have replaceable parts, and remain consistent over time.
Sustainability, therefore, becomes a matter of continuity.
Collective spaces: designing for what is changing
The fourth theme is broader: space.
Collective spaces are changing rapidly. Not aesthetically, but behaviorally.
Hotels are becoming workplaces.
Offices are becoming social spaces.
Break areas are becoming central environments.
Boundaries are dissolving.
Designers increasingly speak about flexibility. Not as a technical feature, but as a design approach.
Spaces must be able to change configuration, function, and intensity of use. And objects must follow.
This requires:
- lightness
- ease of movement
- modularity
- visual coherence between indoor and outdoor
But above all, it requires intelligent neutrality.
Objects that do not dominate the space, but make it possible.
What remains, after listening
Listening to designers at the Salone does not provide a single direction. It reveals a shared shift.
Design is becoming less self-referential and more responsible.
Less focused on the object, more on the context.
Less on novelty, more on durability.
Less on signature, more on use.
In this scenario, designing no longer means adding something to the world.
It means removing the superfluous and making what remains more precise.
This is where the work of those who design for collective spaces takes shape.
Not to create objects to be observed.
But tools that allow people to sit, work, wait, meet.
Because in the end, what matters is not the chair.
It’s everything that happens when someone sits down.
