The Dwell 24: Philipe Fonseca
Through his work, which is influenced by his Afro-Brazilian heritage, the designer endeavors to create more visibility for Blackness in the design world.
Brazilian designer Philipe Fonseca doesn’t mince words when talking about the world around his practice: "I’m a Black guy in a racist country." He’s working on his English, but that sentence, delivered over a WhatsApp call, comes through loud and clear. And so does the messaging in his work, which combines influences like the Black Panthers and Nelson Mandela with his Afro-Brazilian heritage in an effort to establish more representation for Black and brown people in his country.
His new chair series is focused on hair and includes a lounge made of interlocking wood slats that look like picks and a pouf inspired by dreadlocks that’s made of a squat metal frame stuffed with elongated black pillows. For Fonseca, making places to sit that reference Black culture is only part of creating more visibility. Even if he’s just getting started, what’s more important, he says, is showing others like him that there’s a place for them in the world of design.
Courtesy Philipe Fonseca
Read the full Q&A with Philipe Fonseca below.
Hometown: Rio de Janeiro.
Describe what you make in 140 characters... I develop furniture and decoration products that share my Afro-Brazilian heritage, intuitive expression, identity and ancestry.
What’s the last thing you designed? Cadeira Pente.
Do you have a daily creative ritual? No, my creative process is very fluid as it is the result of a lot of research in books, documentaries, films and series. And I divide my day between the workshop and the drawings.
How do you procrastinate? Living in Rio is easy, I try to go to the beach and enjoy with my dogs.
What everyday object would you like to redesign? Why? A fan. Because it's hard to find one with a cool design.
Who are your heroes (in design, in life, in both)? My parents, Philippe Starck, Kobe Bryant, and Nelson Mandela.
What skill would you most like to learn? Be a great carpenter.
What is your most treasured possession? My family and friends.
What’s your earliest memory of an encounter with design? My friend and mentor Thiago José guided me to look for product design, not for architecture because it matched better with the idea I had, that's how I found out I made the decision to follow this path.
What contemporary design trend do you despise? There isn't a specific trend that I despise but I don't like to put limits on creations, not a concern to fit into one style or another.
Finish this statement: All design should... be enchanting.
What’s in your dream house? A house with a lot of nature and space to receive people with great comfort.
How can the design world be more inclusive? Giving opportunity to diverse people and movement small local producers.
What do you wish non-designers understood about the design industry? The difficulty of turning an idea into a product.
You can learn more about Philipe Fonseca on Instagram.
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Top Image: Courtesy Philipe Fonseca
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