“Good design is primarily design that lasts. Design must have something to say. It must be able to improve our quality of life, and it must be meaningful. But for me, design is not just about function. It is also about feelings, and I like if it provokes a little and can challenge our way of life.”

Artist and designer Jaime Hayon introduced good design to the world with fantastical work that animates the environments it inhabits, with vivid colors, surprising forms, and a whimsical curiosity. A provocateur with a dynamic zest for life, Hayon imbues each work of art and object of design with flakes of his own personality, creative and energetic. The skateboarding and graffiti culture which shaped his early life penetrates his work to this day, as seen through intense hues and furious shapes that define the pieces he creates with precise detailing and poetic vision.

Born in Madrid in 1974, Hayon studied industrial design in Madrid and Paris before joining the team at Fabrica, Benetton’s communications research center in Treviso, Italy, where he soon oversaw the design department and left his mark with work that seamlessly blended the flamboyant with the streamlined. After opening his own studio in 2001, Hayon began creating comprehensive interiors for leading hotels, museums, restaurants, and retail establishments all over world, while crafting colorful and elegant furnishings for name-brand manufacturers like Cassina, Fritz Hansen, and Magis. His lighting fixtures for Parachila, Metalarte, and Swarovski also made waves, illuminating a refinement that sings to the soul tempered by a touch of whimsy.

Now working out of his home studio in Valencia, Spain, with offices in Italy and Japan, Hayon develops a prolific line of design objects and art for the home, including rugs, ceramics, fabric, wallpaper, tabletop décor, bathroom fixtures, shoes, timepieces, and of course, furniture and lighting. Some of his most notable pieces unite comfort and beauty in a luxurious and harmonious interplay of generous proportions and serene visual expression, as with the Ro chair, whose uplifting tones and wrap-around shell provides a sense of sculptural elegance and refuge, or with the Favn sofa, which in Danish means “embrace,” and whose princely frame envelopes the user with feelings of homeliness and tranquility.

Winner of the National Design Award of 2021 and named Designer of the Year 2016 by Elle Décor Magazine, Hayon been hailed as a visionary in contemporary design by Times Magazine and boasts a noble portfolio of works in the permanent collections of prestigious institutions, like the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany and the Design Museum in London. A monograph of his work of the past 20 years, recently published by Gestalten, highlights the notably positive impact this designer has had on the landscape of contemporary design, with eclectic and enduring work that often blurred the lines between art, decoration, and design. With a reverence to hand craftsmanship and rigorous quality of work, Hayon continues to explore expressive and unexpected forms in his art and designs that invoke a sophisticated elegance while noticeably embracing a passion for play.