Living Analogs - When AI meets design
A profound reflection on artificial intelligence and its design-related applications is the basis of the project that has involved the students of the Master in Product & Furniture Design at Istituto Marangoni in collaboration with Baleri Italia.
The challenge? Infusing technology with soul. Inspired by ancient animism and Shintoism, students were invited to rethink the role of AI in furniture, with the aim of creating designs where digital and tactile, rationality and emotion can coexist.
The final results were unveiled during Fuorisalone 2025 in an exhibition showcasing a selection of the students' works. Each project explores how emerging technologies are reshaping our relationship with objects, proposing a vision in which furniture becomes a living interface between man and machine.
As digital functions become more ethereal, these designs respond by embedding technology in ways that enhance emotional resonance and sensory presence. Rather than simply adding gadgets, they embody a deeper, more poetic approach: one that seeks to humanise innovation through thoughtful material and narrative choices.
In line with Baleri Italia's distinctive identity, these pieces represent a new "design singularity": a space where analogue appeal and digital intelligence merge into a unified whole.
