Artificial Objects: JOAN Design’s AI-powered research project is a trove of fantastical furniture

Within the sea of generative AI content, there are some gems out there, created by those with the AI know-how to bring out the most interesting, surreal and unexpected results from a prompt. Artificial Objects is one such outcome. A research and design project created and curated by New York City’s JOAN Design – a branch of JOAN Creative – it provides answers to the questions, ‘How could we use AI in industrial, fashion, and architectural design? And how can generative artificial intelligence supercharge the creative process?’ Characterised by playful, unusual pieces of furniture that blend seminal examples of design history with novelty, the objects JOAN Design devised stretch the imagination of how material and form can harmonise. The famous Wassily Chair meets Jolly Rancher. A Bellini Camaleonda-esque sofa made from prescription pills. A challah bread sofa fresh from the oven? Yes, please! “Physical design is much easier to explore,” Creative Director Anjela Freyja tells us, explaining why they opted for industrial design over graphic design as a medium for exploration, “whether it be fashion design, architectural design, or in our case industrial design. It doesn’t depend on specific design systems and can actually benefit from that abstract generative thinking. And on a personal level, as a designer and a design historian, I have a great passion for furniture and object design and it felt like a great medium to play with.”