Post-Industrial Design: The Art of Rethinking Objects in the 21st Century

In today’s digital, dematerialized era—and in a world acutely aware of resource scarcity—21st-century design is breaking free from its industrial legacy. This movement has given rise to ontological design: a deep, purposeful approach that questions the very existence of objects and their relationship to human beings.

1. Design with Philosophical Intent

   
   

Ontological design transcends mere function or aesthetics; it sparks critical thought about use, the body’s interaction with objects, and our sensory experience of space and time. Each creation becomes an open question for its user: How do we sit? How do we touch, feel, or inhabit a space differently? The designer becomes a sensorial explorer, provoking new experiences and greater self-awareness.

2. Every Piece Tells a Story

   
   

This philosophy means that every creation is more than just its materials—it tells a story, becomes a symbol, and captures a collective emotion or memory. Here, design intersects with art’s narrative power. A chair becomes a manifesto; a library armchair, a place of refuge. Objects reveal a subtle conversation between past, present, and future.

3. Ethics and Meaningful Materiality

   
   

Responding to finite resources and planned obsolescence, ontological design adopts an ethical stance. Materials are chosen not just for performance, but for what they represent and the urgent need for sustainability. Recycling, circularity, and repairability replace extraction and waste. For the designer, every gesture is a political act: reclaiming what already exists, elevating available materials, and creating a virtuous cycle to meet the ecological moment.

4. Self-Producing : An Empowering Art Model

   
   

To escape standardization and overproduction, more and more creators are embracing self-Producing and Publishing. This model grants complete creative freedom, encourages a blend of craft traditions and digital techniques, and enables tailored, small-batch production that celebrates uniqueness over volume. Designers become artists-artisan-publishers, guaranteeing authenticity and traceability.

5. A Deeply Humanist Design

   
   

In stark contrast to industrial design, which serves mass consumption, ontological design puts people back at the center. Each project begins with dialogue, rooted in the user’s needs, history, and identity. The goal: to design and craft truly unique furniture that fits individual lives and carries a distinctive story.

SCG Designer’s concept embodies this radical approach:

Characterized by a streamlined, modular design, each furniture element plays a precise structural role, revealed through constructive geometry that expresses a hidden intelligence. The use of mass-tinted materials made from recycled wood sawdust involves a digital manufacturing process combined with natural finishes, supporting circularity and durability.

Each textile covering is an emblem of identity, carrying its own narrative and embodying the memory of ancestral craft gestures.

• Papyrus is more than furniture—it’s a celebration of leisure; resting in it becomes a poetic act.

• Diogène—part armchair, part bookcase—is imagined as a shelter for thought.

• Miswane challenges conventional seating, transforming furniture into an object for self-reflection.

  
  

Design as Message

In the post-industrial 21st century, design is no longer just about producing objects; it is an act of reflection, an ethical gesture, and an artistic practice. Through ontological design, each creation becomes an experience, a story, a manifesto for sustainability and diversity. This new approach seeks to reconnect objects and people, urgency and memory, craftsmanship and digital innovation—a design that questions, narrates, transforms, and, more than ever, invites us to rethink the world.