Sensory design: In search of soothing
Sunday 22 January —
15:00
- 15:45
The Talks — Hall 7
Description
Protective armchairs, relaxing seating, reassuring throws…To support stressful daily lives or even soothe potent emotional storms, designers are translating our need for comfort, calm, and security into shapes, materials, and colors, using a calming sensory language. A certain approach, specific processes, and products committed to our well-being are at the core of a “society of caring”.
Nos partenaires : Material Bank
Participants
Alexia AudrainDesigner, Cabinetmaker & CEO - OTO The hugging chair
Frédéric LecourtCo-Founder // Les Sismo
Nathalie DegardinJournalist
Alexia Audrain
Designer, Cabinetmaker & CEO - OTO The hugging chair
Alexia Audrain is a designer and cabinet-maker. She developed “OTO”, an innovative armchair with a soothing grip designed for autistic people with sensory problems. This diploma project at the Nantes Atlantique Design School earned her the James Dyson Award in France and it was one of the James Dyson foundation’s top 20 pieces in 2021. To create “OTO”, an inflatable cocoon-armchair that puts strong pressure on the body, she worked with autistic people and health professionals. This co-conception is part of her creative approach to looking after people’s bodies through an adapted, inclusive design.
Frédéric Lecourt
Co-Founder // Les Sismo
Frédéric Lecourt is the designer and co-founder, with Antoine Fenoglio, of Les Sismo, an independent design studio with two locations: Paris and Lavaufranche in France’s Creuse region. After 25 years in existence, Les Sismo’s twenty designers embody all the required skills to create and realize humanistic projects based on a “design with care” philosophy for private or public organizations. Along with philosopher Cynthia Fleury, they undertake actions that bring design and philosophy together so we all can “think and do” when faced with the major, contemporary changes in the world today.
Nathalie Degardin
Journalist