Normal? No Thank You!

We recently contributed to an article about spatial design trends, and one of our recommendations was to not be trendy. By this we meant that you should be less occupied with what others do, and instead focus on finding a unique aesthetic to represent you, your brand or your organization. At Milan Design Week, we spotted a trend, which we feel is representative of our own perception of what can best be described as an ‘anti-trend trend’.

Inclusivity is a growing trend all over the world. We demand accept of diversity, vulnerability and imperfection, and consumers as well as brands are saying no thank you to ʻnormalʼ and yes to the weird, quirky, unconventional and eccentric. This was represented at the festival in the shape of designs that do not conform to traditional understandings of beauty, purpose, and legitimacy in design. Chairs that you couldn’t really sit on, objects that you didn’t really understand the purpose for and colorful, surprising, and provocative designs of all kinds.

We embrace inclusivity in a broad sense, and even though design obviously still needs to fulfill all types of purposes, needs and demands (we have a hunch that the un-sittable chairs may not become a huge commercial success 😅), we find this rebellion against normal refreshing and inspiring. do find this rebellion against normal refreshing and inspiring.