Ambiente Designer 2024: Elena Salmistraro curates ‘The Lounge’ – an ode to humorous design

According to Forbes Magazine Italia, she is one of the most successful women in Italy and AD Germany, France and Italy have listed her among the 100 most important design personalities for years: The artist and product designer Elena Salmistraro from Milan is known for her imaginative, colourful and cheerful artworks. Her designs have won numerous international awards and can be seen in exhibitions and museums worldwide. After studying at the Brera School of Art, she graduated in fashion design in 2003 and in industrial design at Milan Polytechnic in 2008, where she still teaches today. In her design studio in Milan, founded in 2009, she devotes herself to numerous projects in the fields of architecture, design, graphics, art, and fashion. Always recognisable: her idiosyncratic, energetic and eclectic style. Salmistraro has already worked with well-known companies such as Apple, Alessi, Disney, Ikea, Lavazza, Microsoft, and Nike. She draws her inspiration from different cultures, myths and traditions, from nature, fashion and street art. "Milan, as a European design metropolis, has really shaped my style and my eye for aesthetics. The influences of Italian design, innovation and tradition can always be found in my projects," explains Salmistraro. "My work touches on various disciplines - I mainly create installations and product designs. Sustainability plays a major role here: I use natural materials such as ceramics, wood, stone or marble and develop high-quality, durable and timeless designs. Collaborations with local architects, designers and craftsmen is important to me - so my products are all 'Made in Italy'."

“The Lounge” by Elena Salmistraro

For Ambiente 2024, the artist and product designer curates a new special presentation with selected products from exhibitors: ‘The Lounge’ is a humorous art installation that playfully breaks down the rigid perspectives of contemporary design. With this special presentation, Salmistraro creates a thematic interface between interior design and hospitality and invites visitors to Galleria 1 to immerse themselves in her colourful world. "Design is fluid, it’s constantly changing and follows the society and its needs", Salmistraro says. "Ambiente is a very important showcase for design and innovation on a European level as well as worldwide. It’s diverse, it focuses on relevant topics such as sustainability and is an important hub for exchange between experts, companies, craftsmen and designers. Ambiente really needs to be experienced", explains Salmistraro. With ‚The Lounge‘ as a public space, she represents this constant change and diversity: Lounges are hybrid, designed meeting spaces in hotels or airports - places of transition and brief lingering. This is where people work, read, eat and pass the time while travelling. These multi-optional living spaces will become increasingly important in our dynamic society with its hybrid lifestyles. Under the title ‘A Serious Game’, Salmistraro's special presentation pushes boundaries, shows alternative visions and poses the question of the pursuit of happiness. "Colours and unusual colour combinations are a fundamental element of the project: they give it its character and its own energy, convey emotions and tell a story," Salmistraro reveals. Her aim: to bring a smile to the viewer's face. "I want to have an emotional impact on people and make them feel good. That's what drives me: Bringing people together and communicating with them through my designs," says the designer.