Event: Thought for Humans – Salone del Mobile.Milano 2025 First Insights

09_Communication Campaign 2025_Thought for Humans

All text & imagery courtesy of Salone del Mobile.Milano

The new “Thought for Humans.” communication campaign for the 63rd edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano, devised by Dentsu Creative Italy, takes us back to the origins of design, reminding us that its main expression and dimension is the fact that it was made by and for people: every project responds to the needs, the values and the experiences of human beings. In fact, everything we see, touch and experience at the Salone is design rooted in the everyday, which aims to improve quality of life, sublimating the relationship between body, matter and space.

Amplifying and driving this vision is the concept of connected intelligences, which Dentsu Creative Italy explored when designing the campaign, underscoring the fact that design is never the fruit of a single mind, but the result of a dialogue between different skills, perspectives, and disciplines. The interconnections between people, technologies and materials generate a collective creativity, capable of dealing more effectively with the challenges of the present and the future. “Thought for Humans.” can be seen as the concrete result of connected intelligences. Design ‘for humans’ could not exist without a collaborative network that brings together multidisciplinary skills, innovative materials, and sustainable technologies. Equally, the principle of connected intelligences makes sense given that human beings are the focal point around which all these interactions revolve.

If “Thought for Humans.” represents the ‘why’ of design – a goal centred on human beings and the improvement of their life experiences – connected intelligences are the ‘how’: the way in which this goal is achieved, harnessing the power of collaboration, multidisciplinarity, and innovation to create meaningful and sustainable solutions.

01 Workshop by Robert Wilson
03 Workshop by Robert Wilson

The involvement of a photographer, specifically a visual artist such as Bill Durgin, known for his ability to deconstruct and reinterpret the body, represents an innovative choice for the Salone del Mobile.Milano, marking a turning point in the Salone’s communication approach. This decision fits perfectly into the dialogue between the concepts of ‘Thought for Humans.’ and ‘Connected Intelligences’, as photography is a tool capable of creating immediate emotional connections. Through Bill Durgin’s shots, the campaign does not merely present design as an object or function, but explores its deeper essence: its relationship with human beings. Durgin shows how wood, metal, fabric, and bioplastics merge with the human skin, making the message of sustainability, harmony, and connection tangible. Photography also gives visual form to the concept of connected intelligences: the images show how human and material intelligence can come together in a synergetic dialogue, reflecting the very essence of contemporary design.

Photography, as a universal language, makes the campaign message immediately comprehensible to a global audience. Through photographic images, the Salone communicates values that transcend language and cultural barriers, making its vision accessible and attractive to all. This new approach underlines how the Salone continues to be a cultural platform capable of innovating, connecting and looking to the future.

04 Room and Secrets
05 Imagining Prometheus

Bill Durgin said: “The photographic work for this project was constructed with attention to detail, trying to capture the essence of the relationship between body, materials and light. After years of physical distance, the new campaign celebrates a return to touch, bringing attention back to the connection between the human body and design.” The choice of materials used – wood, metal, fabric and bioplastic – is not random, but profoundly linked to the values of the Salone del Mobile. These materials, symbols of sustainability and innovation, have been chosen also to clearly convey this message.

Luca Adornato, Director of Marketing and Communication at the Salone del Mobile.Milano commented: “With this campaign we have chosen to take a further step along the communication path we have undertaken in recent years. After last year’s project involving Artificial Intelligence, in which we explored and represented in the abstract the relationships with our community, this year we have embraced photography: a universal and timeless language, capable of conveying concreteness and making our message immediately comprehensible at global level. Through photographic images, the Salone communicates and illustrates the value of the connection between man and matter, making it accessible and attractive to all. This new approach underlines how the Salone continues to be a platform capable of innovating, connecting, and looking to the future. We wanted to celebrate the beauty of matter and its ability to merge with the human body, underlining how crucial it is for contemporary design to be sustainable and projected, responsibly, towards a future that is as ethical as possible.”

06 Everyone to the table
07 Perchance to Dream

Bill Durgin added: “Thought for Humans is exactly what great design should be. As human beings, we are confronted by design every day. Everything around us is designed by someone for someone. Great design is not only aesthetically pleasing, it brings joy to our daily interactions, to moving through spaces, making breakfast, working or sitting around a table with family. Designing furniture, I learnt how designers study the human body, our movements, our abilities, our postures, all to make life easier. Design is rooted in the human anatomy and feeds on the continuous interaction with it.”

Concludes Rigo Chief, Strategy Officer of Dentsu Creative Italy: “Being able to support and work with the Salone del Mobile has been a real honour. Design plays a central role in our society and in our lives. It is a deep, indissoluble connection that we wanted to celebrate with a simple, immediate concept and communication, capable of reminding everybody of its importance.”

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