»Design is always a moral decision.«
The world is facing a multitude of crises – wars, environmental destruction, social inequality. What role can design play in this situation? Design bears part of the responsibility. For a long time, I underestimated the influence of our profession. Today, I believe that many of the answers to the big questions of our time must come from designers – precisely because they were involved in creating many of the problems. Design shapes behaviour. Those who design things also shape worldviews. You talk about responsibility – can design be moral? Things are never neutral. They embody morality, power, sometimes even indifference. The traces of their manufacture tell stories about work, re- sources, and relationships. Design is always soci- ology, too. It tells us how we live and what we value. We have to learn to listen to these silent narratives.
EN Hella Jongerius has been one of the most influential voices in international design for over four decades. Known for her uncompro- mising and experimental approach to materi- als, colour, and form, she continually questions the foundations of her field – including her own work. Operating at the intersection of craft and industry, research, and intuition, she seeks responsible new ways of practising design. In conversation with Louise Schouwenberg, the Dutch designer talks about morality in design, the quiet power of things, and the ‘slow revolu- tion’ that could fundamentally change our ideas of value and progress.
Hella Jongerius, Vlinder Sofa für Vitra, 2019
Your Angry Animals series seems to give voice to these narratives. Yes – the animals scream. They give a voice to the voiceless, and this can be read as a com- mentary on the world of design. What do you think is going wrong? Market thinking. Value is understood almost ex- clusively in capitalist terms. But we need to start making moral decisions before we make eco- nomic ones. The philosopher Eva von Redecker talks about a »slow revolution« – small communi- ties living alternatives. I believe that design can be part of this movement. Many young designers today see themselves as researchers. Do you see this as a sign of change? Absolutely. What is happening today goes far beyond the movements of the 1970s or 1990s. Young designers are breaking with existing sys- tems, working with science, thinking about mate- rial cycles and transience. Research is becoming the driving force behind a new design ethic.
But as long as the market dominates, ethical design often remains a niche. Change never starts at the centre, but in the spaces in-between: where people think differ- ently, imperfectly, changeably, open to afterlife. Designers can create receptivity – for responsi- bility, for time, for relationships between materi- als and people. That is perhaps their most important task. If you could start again today, would you again choose design? Yes. But I would link it more closely to philosophy, sociology, and politics. We need to understand what is going wrong in order to redesign. That design is no longer a luxury, but a matter of sur- vival. New ways of living, new rituals, new rela- tionships with materials – all of this requires imagination and courage. I want to be part of this slow, profound revolution.
Hella Jongerius, Loom Room, 2023
Hella Jongerius, Interlace Ausstellung, Lafayette Anticipations, 2019
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