Design as a Catalyst for Well-being: Talk at Humanscale in New York
How design can take responsibility and become a tool for well-being: In late October, representatives from the fields of architecture, design, and sustainability came together at a talk held at Humanscale's New York office to discuss the transformative power of design.
The event, titled 'Design as a Catalyst for Well-being' and organised by iF Design and Humanscale, saw Lisa Gralnek (Managing Director of iF Design USA), Suchi Reddy (Founder of Reddymade Architecture and Design) and Sergio Silva (Design Director at Humanscale) discuss how design can have an impact beyond the purely formal, serving as a tool for health, empathy and responsibility. The evening was moderated by the author, curator and artist Adrian Madlener. The focus was on how design responds to people and actively contributes to their physical, emotional, and social well-being.
“Design is not an isolated act of shaping, but part of a larger system,” said Sergio Silva. From the choice of materials to questions of durability and recyclability, every decision must be geared towards making an impact that lasts. Humanscale consistently pursues this approach. The company considers its products to be net positive, meaning they give back more than they consume.
Silva emphasised that the design process should not begin with aesthetic expression. “If you focus on appearance too early on, you limit avenues for discovery and problem solving,” he explained. He continued that sustainable design begins in the relationship between people and objects. 'For us, that means creating products that are not only manufactured responsibly, but also deeply human-centred. Things that people love and keep,' he said.
Freedom Chair by Humanscale, iF DESIGN AWARD 2000
When design creates an emotional attachment, it can change behaviour, moving it away from consumption and towards mindfulness and appreciation. The Freedom Chair is one example. It has remained virtually unchanged for 25 years yet remains timelessly contemporary. “This consistency and intuitive functionality fosters trust. That is sustainability in its most human form,” says Sergio Silva.
This attitude is also evident in Todd Bracher, who has been Creative Director at Humanscale since 2023. The New York-based designer is considered a pioneer of evidence-based design, combining scientific findings with a clear, minimalist aesthetic. For Humanscale, he designs furniture that responds intuitively to the body, thereby promoting well-being.
Suchi Reddy, founder of the New York studio Reddymade, emphasises that well-being begins with even the smallest design decisions. In collaboration with Humanscale on the Chicago showroom project, every material was examined in terms of its origin, production conditions and social responsibility. “The aim was to use as few materials as possible and still create warmth and generosity,” said Reddy. Her approach, which she calls 'form follows feeling', combines sustainability with neuroaesthetics. How do proportion, light and haptics affect the body and perception? Reddy's attitude demonstrates that well-being can be the starting point of design rather than the result.
At the institutional level, iF Design also pursues this goal. Lisa Gralnek emphasised that responsibility must be an integral part of design quality today. 'We understand sustainability as both a social and ecological value,' she explained. Since 2024, this has been firmly integrated into the iF DESIGN AWARD evaluation criteria, accounting for 20 per cent of the overall evaluation on an equal footing with ideas, form and function.
'In this way, we want to demonstrate that design quality lies not only in the end result, but also in the thinking behind it.' Ultimately, it became clear that well-being stems from attitude rather than form. Good design fosters an environment in which mindfulness and responsibility become second nature. Rather than dominating, it opens up possibilities for encounters, diversity and a future worth living.