“Furniture is my great passion.” Few German designers have shaped the international design landscape in recent decades as much as Konstantin Grcic. Now, for the first time, he has stepped into the role of producer with his new label, 25kg, which was first presented in Milan. But the label is not intended to compete with established manufacturers. A conversation about designing beyond market expectations, the current state of the furniture industry, and the role of AI in the design process.
Interview by Jasmin Jouhar
Designing Tomorrow – a series of interviews with the minds shaping our future. Leading designers and experts in research, development and innovation give an insight into their work and thinking. They share their views, doubts, ideas and visions. Tackling topics such as innovation, responsibility, circular economy and artificial intelligence – and how these developments are redefining their profession.
At this year’s Milan Furniture Fair, you presented two pieces under the name ’25kg’, marking your debut as a producer. What motivated you to take this step?
I never wanted to be a producer. I’ve always seen myself as a designer. However, in recent years, I’ve become increasingly aware of how much the creative scope of industrial projects has narrowed. Many ideas can no longer be realised within the usual commercial framework. Nevertheless, there are designs that I consider important because they stimulate thought and offer new perspectives. At the same time, new opportunities have emerged, such as alternative production methods, smaller production runs and direct distribution. I’ve been carrying the idea of starting my own small label around with me for some time.
What prompted me to take action were two concrete projects that I developed over the past year. Incidentally, 25kg stands for the founding year, 2025, and my initials. But I also like that it can be read literally as a unit of weight. It suggests that this label is about physical things – THINGS, as I call them. Things with substance; things that express attitude; things that don’t necessarily follow market trends.
’25kg is a space for personal statements and designs that go beyond commercial expectations’
– Konstantin Grcic
Thing_01: a three-legged stool designed by Konstantin Grcic for his new label, 25kg. © Konstantin Grcic Design.
What kind of things?
“Thing_01” is a three-legged standing stool made of stainless steel. You can sit or lean on the horizontal pipe, just as you might instinctively do with a railing. Everyone has done this gesture before. The design is radical and uncompromising: there is no conventional seat or cushioning. I immediately knew that no manufacturer would go for it, which made me want to do it even more.
“Thing_02” is a chair made of hot-dip galvanised steel tubing, with a natural stone seat. Once again, I aimed for extreme simplicity and rawness in the materials and design. The chair is suitable for indoor and outdoor use — it’s robust and heavy, and built to last. 25kg is not intended as an alternative to the companies I usually work with. It’s neither a protest nor competition. Rather, it occupies a space that the industry, for understandable reasons, can’t or won’t fill. 25kg occupies precisely that space: a space for personal statements and designs that go beyond commercial expectations.
Thing_02 – Chair made of hot-dip galvanised tubular steel and a seat made of natural stone, designed by Konstantin Grcic’s for his new label 25kg | © Konstantin Grcic Design
Why are the pieces for 25KG intentionally raw and simple?
There are two reasons for this. Firstly, it is difficult to push through materials and finishes that are considered ‘raw’ or ‘imperfect’ in the industry. Everything is expected to be flawless and uniform. However, attitudes have changed, and knotty solid wood is now considered natural and beautiful. Surfaces are allowed to show wear and tear and develop a patina — they tell a story. While this is still often problematic in the industry, as a small label, I can embrace this authenticity and appreciate it. This approach also makes quality control far easier. I don’t need to flag every tiny scratch. Instead, I can focus on ensuring a smooth production process. For example, although our welds are technically perfect, I consciously embrace the heat discolouration on the material and even find it aesthetically pleasing.
The furniture industry has invariably constituted a cornerstone of your studio. Do you still identify with this area of work, or have frustrations now taken over?
I love working in the industry and completely identify with it. Furniture is my great passion — and that includes not only the objects themselves but also the companies, the people behind them, the entire ecosystem. Of course, you can feel that the industry is in a tough spot. Economically, the global market has shaken many business models. But there’s also a conceptual crisis: where are the real ideas for the future? And how can we tackle them with creativity and courage? Sometimes I feel a bit like a fan of a second-division football team who watches loss after loss — but still stays loyal. Maybe that’s the real attitude: sticking with it even when it’s hard. One important realisation I’ve had over the years is that I’ve become much more selective about who I work with. I also try to be more involved in project strategy —not just as a designer, but by asking fundamental questions about the what, the why, and the how.
In 2014, the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein presented the solo exhibition Panorama, for which the museum team collaborated with Grcic on the conception and design. / © Vitra Design Museum
‘AI reawakens our imagination of how things could be. In the furniture industry, for example, I’ve noticed a great deal of hesitation in recent years — almost a fear of the new. AI could shake things up again. It makes it easier to push boundaries.’
– Konstantin Grcic
AI is a huge topic right now. Do you see it as an opportunity for innovation?
Of course, AI already plays a role. It would be wise for us all to engage with it seriously. Companies are using it to optimise processes, logistics and data management, and the range of applications is extensive. In our studio, we currently use AI in relatively simple ways. Tools such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek and DeepL have become an integral part of our everyday workflow. We also sometimes use image generators such as Midjourney or Stable Diffusion for quick visualisation in the design process. I don’t yet see AI as a genuine “design tool”. However, it is often the mistakes that are the most interesting: images that are illogical, physically impossible, or just plain odd. It is precisely from chance, disruption and errors that new things can emerge. AI can provoke those moments. It reawakens our imagination of how things could be. This imaginative capacity has been lost in many areas. In the furniture industry, for example, I’ve noticed a great deal of hesitation in recent years — almost a fear of the new. AI could shake things up again. It makes it easier to push boundaries. The risk is minimal — if something doesn’t work, I can just delete it. But the creative process has begun. To me, that’s the real value.
So, in your studio, you use AI as just another tool in the design process?
Exactly. Like many others, we’re still in an exploratory phase and don’t use AI constantly, nor do we feel we have to. But whenever we do use it, it immediately sparks a discussion. You’re either surprised, confused or even outraged, but something always happens. Prompting itself is an art form that challenges our intelligence and creativity. Only with a smart, precise prompt will you achieve truly interesting results. I approach the topic with curiosity, but also with a certain caution. What fascinates me is how rapidly this technology is evolving. Its capabilities seem to change almost daily. This is both exciting and unsettling.
You founded your studio in 1991. Was it more exciting to be a designer back then—or now?
The 1990s were definitely an exciting time. When I started out after studying at the Royal College of Art in London, it felt like anything was possible. I had big dreams and strong ideals. It wasn’t easy at first, but the direction I wanted to go in was crystal clear. That’s probably different today. Young designers have many more possibilities, and the definition of design has expanded hugely. Today, studying design can lead in so many directions — from classic product design to social processes to speculative or digital formats. That’s incredibly enriching, but also demanding. I sense a certain disorientation among many students — something we didn’t really experience. We had fewer options, but perhaps also fewer doubts. Which era was better or more exciting is hard to say — every time comes with its own challenges and freedoms.
‘One common misconception is that designers can save the world. They can’t. However, they are part of the processes that shape change, and that is significant.’
– Konstantin Grcic
In light of the multiple crises we are facing today, would you say that your role as a designer has changed?
Not really. The role of designers hasn’t fundamentally changed. It’s just talked about differently today and is perhaps taken more seriously. One common misconception is that designers can save the world. They can’t. However, they are part of the processes that shape change, and that is significant. Design is distinguished by its project-based, solution-oriented thinking, which is analytical, practical and reflective. It combines imagination with feasibility. The idea that designers have a responsibility, whether in terms of sustainability, social justice or resource awareness, isn’t new. In the past, this sense of responsibility was often unspoken and taken for granted. Today, it’s explicitly acknowledged, and that’s a good thing. The important thing is this: we must design with the utmost care, knowing the traces we leave behind.
Is there a project you wish someone would ask you to take on — but no one has?
Oh, there are many! (laughs). But specifically, I’d love to be involved in mobility projects in whatever form they might be. Mobility is one of the most exciting issues of our time because it lies at the intersection of technology, society, infrastructure, the environment, and personal lifestyle.
Designed by Konstantin Grcic in 2021, the Re:Move electric cargo scooter was developed in collaboration with Polestar and Cake to enable the quiet transport of goods on cycle paths. | Photos: Wallpaper*, © Polestar
Konstantin Grcic established his own design studio in Munich in 1991, following his studies at the Royal College of Art in London and his training as a cabinetmaker at the John Makepeace School for Craftsmen in Dorset. He now lives and works in Berlin. His clients in the furniture and lighting industries include Magis, Vitra, Flos, and Plank. Grcic also curates and designs exhibitions for institutions such as the Vitra Design Museum, Milan’s Triennale Design Museum and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. In 2016, Konstantin Grcic was honoured as Personality of the Year by the German Design Council. From 2020 to 2024, he held a professorship at the University of the Arts Hamburg (HFBK).
About the Author
Jasmin Jouhar is a freelance journalist based in Berlin, Germany. Her areas of expertise include design and brands, architecture and interior design. She writes for various German-language trade and general media, including the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the online platform Baunetz and the magazines Schöner Wohnen and AD. She also presents industry events and is responsible for corporate publishing projects. Jasmin Jouhar is committed to promoting young design through coaching, workshops and lectures.
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