10 product design highlights from Milan Design Week 2019

Milan Design Week 2019 was a vortex of “innovative ideas”, under a rain of “revolutionary concepts”, followed by a tidal wave of “next big things” in an ocean of “the future of the industry”. The reality is that trends in product design move slower than what we often seem to believe.

We inspected each corner of the city, on the hunt for experimental objects with market potential, original creations that serve a real purpose, design pieces that make us go “Wooow!” and “Sell me this prototype!” at the same time. There is no winner on this list and it was tough to limit the selection to 10 objects only, selected according to aesthetics, originality and market potential.

Geometria Glass Speaker by Shinya Yoshida

Seen at Salone Satellite – Salone del Mobile

A Japanese car mechanic reborn as minimalist product designer. Shinya Yoshida designs poetic objects of essential form which gently trick your perception at first sight: just like the most interesting and deep personalities, they require some time to get acquainted and properly understood.

Geometria Glass Speaker produces sound through the vibration of a 1 millimeter round piece of glass, but before you knowing this, the minimal sculpture will praise you as an elegant table mirror.

Rotating Mirrors by Sahar Bizri

Seen at Meet My Project – Brera

The most personal home décor object from your corridor becomes more interactive than it has ever been, maintaining a classy and modern appeal.

Sahar Bizri is the Lebanese interior architect & product designer who created these metal mirrors which rotate 360 degrees, encouraging a dynamic type of relationship with the object which changes appearance every day reflecting different part of the interior space becoming a living piece.

Mollusk Bench by After Form

Seen at Salone Satellite – Salone del Mobile

Russian designer Oleg Soroko transports us in a parallel and fluid dimension through his works: a fictitious world where nature is deeply understood and rewritten through processes of distortion, erosions and adaptation of ergonomic parameters.

Identifying a strikingly distinctive style, the parametric furniture of After Form has been integrated in interior office projects as well as exterior public spaces.

Ikimono x YMV

Seen at Super Studio Show – Tortona

A conceptual and evocative approach to product design and home decor: Yokohama Makers Village translates design into poetry once again, this year presenting IKIMONO, a joint collaboration with designer Hiroaki Nishimura, architectural programmer Junchiro Horikawa and 3d printing company Stratasys.

The collection of metal pieces incorporates natural energy as a central theme and promotes sustainability as an approach to modern life, represented by a fusion of natural objects and artifacts.

Magnetic board by Too Designs

Seen at DIN – Lambrate

Why should wall decoration be static and await to inevitably turn boring over time?

This recently established company by Australian couple of architects Thomas and Sureen Gouws, rethinks the concept of wall art in a minimalist and interactive fashion.

The white stainless-steel board is your canvas and the kits of magnetic geometric shapes are your brush and paint.

The combination and appeal of shapes can be rearranged at any time, encouraging an active participation of the owner and its guests around this conversational design piece.

Envee by Natalia Wietska

Seen at Salone Satellite – Salone del Mobile

Natalia Wietska is a winner of the prestigious Red Dot Award in 2017, cultivating a clear and consistent aesthetics vision throughout her whole collection.

Her furniture pieces share a common minimalist touch and a harmonious visual balance which is created – and this may sound like a paradox – through a research for asymmetry, gentle contrasts of materials and subtle optical illusions raising curiosity in the viewer.

Raa by Simon Schmitz

Seen at Salone Satellite – Salone del Mobile

German designer Simon Schmitz creates lighting pieces with two common traits: a minimal-retro-industrial vibe and a hidden interactive feature.

Unexpected mechanical movements encourage the user to shape light following the guidance of the designer, who claims to “use light as a material” in his works.

A vast collection of floor, table and wall lamps, solidly designed with an original mechanical approach.

Isola Living by Nonestudio

Seen at Orchestra, SIAM – 5Vie

Isola Living is a modern sofa developed by Milanese Nonestudio, leaving maximum flexibility of use to its owner.

The choice of colors, shapes and materials reminds us of a retro design style combined with a contemporary appeal.

All the cushions of the sofa can be moved and arranged as preferred by the owner and its guests, firmly holding their position thanks to a solid weight inside them.

Wave Mirror by Hsiang-Han Design

Seen at Salone Satellite – Salone del Mobile

This Taiwaned designer develops essential products strongly connected with nature, tracing back their origins and reinterpreting them in a modern fashion.

Questioning himself about the history of mirrors, water surfaces appeared to be the earliest form of reflections that humans relied on: this inspiration led the creation of this gentle design which plays with your image as our ancestors experienced for thousands of years.

Hymn by Hiroto Yoshizoe

Seen at Salone Satellite – Salone del Mobile

Fascinated by the concept of fire, Hiroto decided to pay homage to the most vigorous natural element recreating his personal minimalist interpretation of a flame.

A perfect drop of resin conveys a tiny LED light throughout its whole surface, while balancing on elegant geometric stands directing all the attention to the artificial flame.