Designers in Focus: A look back at practices which stood out from the creative cabal

As the heavily tumultuous year of 2024 comes to a close, it is, perhaps, imperative to look upon creatives whose works served as mediums to silence the chaos around us while highlighting elements of beauty, innovation and playfulness in the world. Akin to novelties heralded previously, we witnessed progressions this year in the realms of heritage and craftsmanship, furniture design and collectible art, minimalist objects and contemporary creations that inspired and evoked the desire to have fun, daydream and adorn pared down domestic spaces within modern homes.

In an attempt to capture the essence of such innovations and examine the thoughts and processes behind these creations, we profiled global creatives in 2024 who stood out from the creative cabal with their humorous, cognizant, intuitive and visceral product designs and collectible artworks. These experimentations ranged from beguiling sofas and interactive furniture to metaphorical and humorous sculptures, upcycled vessels and historically evocative objects.

STIR highlights the Best of 2024 by spotlighting studios, practices, designers and artists who experimented with traditional and contemporary techniques, sculptural forms and fantastical materialisations.

1. Jomo Tariku

Kenya-born furniture designer Jomo Tariku's body of work is inspired by African heritage. The Ethiopian-American creative, who has honed his craft over the last 30 years, welcomed attendees to peruse his work through his solo exhibition Juxtaposed: A Portal to African Design at the Wexler Gallery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the US, on view since October 10, 2024. The exhibition comprises the display of the US-based designer's modern objects alongside historical ones and artefacts from Africa, all in an attempt to "communicate the deeper meaning of the objects and cultures that inspire my work and fuel my creative process", as Tariku elaborates in the press release. Tariku's furniture designs derive their aesthetic and functional inspiration from various African references such as traditional birthing chairs, the Maasai shield, Ethiopian drums, African marketplaces, the different geometric patterns paramount across the continent and more.

2. CARA \ DAVIDE

CARA \ DAVIDE is a Milan-based multidisciplinary design studio founded and headed by Cara Judd and Davide Gramatica. This Italian design studio emulates the inspirations that the founders draw from their home countries: South Africa and Italy, respectively. Rooted in sustained research on 'material, territory and perception-making', the making of each object at the studio is undertaken in close collaboration with artisans from both nations. Their sculptural product designs demonstrate the duo's proclivity towards nuanced craftsmanship and their tendency to derive inspiration from ancient techniques and reinterpret them in abstract forms. Their resultant designs are characterised by angular and fragmented elements that feature as bespoke pieces for contemporary spaces.

3. Merve Kahraman

Merve Kahraman is a New York-based designer who develops product that are quirky, comforting and elicit varied responses from the users. Kahraman, who works in residential, hospitality and product design, imbues her creations with an element of playfulness and personality that helps establish a personal relationship with the users. Designed for contemporary spaces, Kahraman's objects are sleek, evocative of unfelt joys and fantastical aspirations.

4. Luke Malaney

Luke Malaney is an American artist and designer who designates humour within all his creations. Characterised by wavy elements, disjointed forms and uneven textures, Malaney's chairs, lamps and cabinets, made of wood and copper, are evocative of surreal landscapes and the whimsy characters that inhabit these domains. The animated forms of Malaney's art furniture lighten the surrounding mood and serve as a beaming addition to indoor spaces.

5. KAMEH

Dubai-based brand and practice KAMEH is headed by an anonymous collectible designer who works with materials such as crumpled paper, sand, charred wood and rust-toned metal. The mystery behind KAMEH's creator eschews the common tendency of finding illusory connections between the maker and their craft. Instead, it permits individuals to read and interpret the designs for their own merit. "I want my audience to focus on the work itself, feeling connected to the pieces, rather than being influenced by the face behind them, which I consider secondary," the masked furniture designer tells STIR. KAMEH's silhouetted sculptural furniture emulates their maker by slightly concealing the textures and mien of the chairs and benches, which reveal themselves upon closer inspection.

6. Oliver Chalk

In the realm of product design and collectible art, it would almost be a disservice if one were to forgo the chance to mention and credit novel and innovative attempts undertaken to ensure sustainability. This brings us to British artist Oliver Chalk's sculpture art practice. Chalk, who has experimented in the realm of art and design since he was 16, currently dedicates himself to the task of chiselling intricate vessels with reclaimed wood and bronze. Crafted in solitude within Chalk's workshop, the vessels, with ceaseless patterns on their surfaces, embody a meditative quality while also highlighting the beauty of the natural threads and clefts of these materials.

7. J McDonald

J McDonald, an American designer, artist and founder of the eponymous practice Studio J McDonald, works on designs that are at once artistic, functional, sculptural and majestic. Referring to his dissonant creations, McDonald shares, "It is an investigation of the contradictions inherent in being human—in existing simultaneously as a part of and apart from the natural world." McDonald believes that the human psyche, much like the ecosystems we impact, is increasingly imbalanced. The New York-based designer attempts to reflect these imbalances within his work, with dripping incongruent mirrors and three-legged tables to caricatured lamp designs.

8. Nathalie Van der Massen

Nathalie Van der Massen is a Belgium-based designer who strives to epitomise sensitivity in her textile design practice. Treading the boundary between art and design, Massen creates unique artworks and installations for domestic spaces. In addition to functionally tending to the space they inhabit, objects construed by Massen also imbue the space with an element of softness. "My design philosophy revolves around eliciting a sensory experience within a space. I constantly inquire: How can I add a layer that triggers an emotional response, and how can I structure this experience to enhance its value for the user?" Massen mentions in her project's official release.

9. James De Wulf

Los Angeles-based artist and designer James De Wulf is a disparate furniture designer—one who melds the craft of table design and analogue gaming to build a collection of gaming tables that can usher individuals away from their screens to a real-life gaming experience. Wulf specialises in making customised tables for games such as ping pong, shuffleboard, Mahjong, chess, backgammon, poker and billiards. "I like video games, but they separate you from your surroundings. With analogue gaming, you are enhancing your current environment with a little fun, some competition and maybe even exercise," the designer shares in the official release. Wulf's series of game tables come in varied shapes, sizes and designs, further driving intrigue and interest in both the table and the game.

10. Najla El Zein

Najla El Zein is a Lebanese-French designer who deals with the making of illusory furniture. While Zein's ceramic and stone furniture appear soft and cushiony, her shiny glass sculptures appear sumptuous and edible. Zein's showcase at the Friedman Benda gallery in New York earlier this year aimed to "reflect on one's initial perceptions, misunderstandings, and the necessity to decipher the layers beneath, as truth often lies between the lines", as an excerpt from the show's press release reads. A large portion of Zein's sculptural work deals with highlighting the initial illusion that an object or circumstance delivers with their form, shape and allure and their subsequent understanding when they are closely inspected.

STIRred 2024 wraps up the year with curated compilations of our expansive art, architecture and design coverage at STIR this year. Did your favourites make the list? Tell us in the comments!