Design Dept® studio reimagines artificial botanicals as design objects

Artificial plants have long occupied an uncomfortable space in design culture. Dismissed as cheap stand-ins for the real thing, they’ve been relegated to patio corners and seasonal displays, their plastic leaves and garish hues announcing their inauthenticity from across a room. But water restrictions, demanding pets and the realities of modern living have created space for a different conversation about synthetic greenery. Fauxliage has emerged to fill that gap, asking what artificial botanicals might become if designed with the same intention as any other object meant to inhabit a carefully considered interior. Los Angeles-based Design Dept® studio approached the project as an exercise in repositioning an entire category. “Artificial plants often feel disposable and decorative rather than designed,” explains Ali Martín Carrillo Filsoof, Founder & Creative Director. “Our task was to build a brand that signals credibility, realism and intention. We focused on clarity, restraint and a system that positioned these botanicals as enduring design objects.” The logomark draws from Art Nouveau tile design, translating that period’s characteristic fluidity into contemporary geometry. Organic forms curve and flow within a square or rectangular frame, the enclosure serving as a subtle reference to the architectural spaces these botanicals will occupy. “Art Nouveau tile work gave us a way to express natural fluidity through controlled form,” Filsoof notes. “Fauxliage needed something organic, but not literal. The period’s focus on rhythm and curvature felt aligned with how plants grow.” That balance of movement and structure becomes the visual anchor for the entire system, setting a tone that feels intentional without being rigid.