Interview with Sebastián Ángeles

Design is improvement. For me, design is everything that improves our lives through a specific function. It improves our experience, our environment and ultimately the way we live.

I enjoy designing freely, creating objects and spaces without limitations where I can fully express my vision. I believe creators have the responsibility to guide culture toward what feels meaningful and valuable, because we dedicate our lives to understanding form, experience and functionality.

Some projects are more personal and expressive, but I will always care about creating objects that establish a deep interaction and emotional connection with the user.

My favorite designs are probably the Antony Chair by Jean Prouvé and the Panton Chair by Verner Panton.

I love designing chairs because they are among the objects closest to the human body. Chairs can be expressive, simple or technically complex, but they will always be judged by both their comfort and their beauty. That balance represents the essence of design itself.
These iconic pieces are beautiful, functional and emotionally expressive. They were also highly ambitious for their time from a technical perspective. I admire the way innovation was pursued in service of meaningful design, and I aspire to create objects that achieve a similar balance between complexity, beauty, reproducibility and functionality.

For me, material is never the starting point. Form dictates the material, how it should exist and what it should become.

I work frequently with wood because it is a noble and timeless material with emotional warmth. I also enjoy working with bronze and aluminum because of their incredible sculptural possibilities and ability to capture complex forms.

Working with materials is about understanding them, respecting them and using them according to their strengths and nature.

Creativity comes in waves. There are moments during the day when ideas suddenly appear, and the real luck is having the tools or opportunity to develop them immediately.

Usually, ideas emerge when I feel calm or inspired by travel, exhibitions, films, music or conversations. Creativity is never exactly the same process twice.

Form is extremely important to me. I believe design should offer something that does not already exist.
There are already countless four-legged chairs and familiar typologies, so I constantly ask myself: why create more of the same?

I focus on creating pieces where complexity responds to comfort, stability and emotional expression. The concept must always be deeply connected to the final form.

When I design, I often feel a sense of certainty that almost feels magical. There are moments during the creative process where I feel deeply connected to what I am doing, as if I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

The difficult part comes when doubt appears, but I try to remain connected to that original feeling of purpose and intuition.

There is no better feeling than seeing an idea become reality. Watching a creation finally exist physically is incredibly emotional and rewarding.

People are often drawn to my work because of the balance between form and comfort.

Every curve and gesture in my designs responds either to emotional expression or ergonomic necessity. Because the pieces are visually complex and sculptural, they naturally attract attention, but their success ultimately depends on how they make people feel and interact with them.

Expression, comfort and originality. I always ask whether the design communicates something emotionally and whether it offers a perspective that feels unique.

Designers have a very important responsibility because we create objects that consume resources, occupy space and shape the environment around us.

Many products today are designed with very short life cycles. I believe we should design for future generations, creating objects that can be repaired, preserved and appreciated over time.

This can be achieved through high quality materials, timeless forms and emotional narratives that encourage people to value and care for their objects instead of discarding them easily.

Technology will continue evolving and production will become increasingly accessible, but I believe ideas will become even more important.

The future belongs to human ideas capable of emotionally connecting with other humans. As processes become easier and more automated, meaningful design, emotional value and originality will become more valuable than ever.

Even today, despite technological progress, people continue searching for vintage clothing, vinyl records and timeless objects because analog experiences and emotionally meaningful pieces continue to resonate deeply with us.

Last year was incredibly important for my practice. I exhibited at Salone Satellite in Milan, later during 3daysofdesign in Copenhagen, and afterwards in New York through Dórica. We closed the year during Design Week Mexico with a large scale intervention and functional sculptural installation for Design House.

Earlier this year, I also participated in several exhibitions during Mexico City Art Week connected to the same body of work.

The next step is to create an even larger exhibition, perhaps during Art Week Mexico or by returning to Milan again in the future.

I am deeply inspired by things that do not necessarily have a physical form, such as sound, emotions, memory and the passage of time.

I constantly look for new ways to express ideas through sculpture, music, reading, conversations and films. Sometimes inspiration comes from discovering unexpected connections between different disciplines or concepts, which later evolve into strong ideas for collections or objects.

I would describe my work as a contemporary reinterpretation of Art Nouveau.

My approach is rooted in observing nature, invisible phenomena, organic complexity, golden proportions and ergonomics. I combine these inspirations with contemporary technologies such as 3D modeling and 3D printing, later translated through artisanal production processes.

This relationship between observation, art, technology and craftsmanship defines my practice.

I live in Mexico City, a vibrant place filled with culture, creativity and diverse artistic perspectives.

One of the greatest advantages of designing in Mexico is the incredible craftsmanship culture. Here, it is possible to collaborate closely with highly skilled artisans and small workshops that are open to experimentation and ambitious technical challenges.

I have had the opportunity to work with stone, bronze, wood and glass through deeply enriching collaborations.

Mexican culture is also strongly connected to spirituality, symbolism and intangible ideas, and that sensibility naturally resonates within my work. In many ways, I try to honor ancestral perspectives and reinterpret them through contemporary design.

I work independently, though collaborations with companies are usually structured through royalties or creative partnerships.

I believe companies should seek designers who are genuinely disruptive, people with unique visions and distinctive forms that cannot easily be replicated.

A strong designer should understand materials, manufacturing processes and culture, while also being capable of pushing the market toward more meaningful and valuable ideas.

My process begins with visualizing an idea internally for a long period of time. Afterwards, I move into sketches, sculptural explorations and 3D modeling.

Once the concept feels clear enough, I develop prototypes through 3D printing and continue refining the object until it is ready for production.

The longest stage is always the conceptual one. I need to fully understand the essence of an idea before moving forward physically.

A pen, a notebook and everything else comes afterwards.

I like taking my mornings slowly. I enjoy exercising because it clears my mind and helps me feel balanced. I appreciate good coffee and the morning light entering my home.

Later, I go to my studio where I supervise ongoing projects and develop new ideas. I try to create something every day, even if it never becomes a finished product, because the creative exercise itself keeps me inspired and mentally active.

Recently, I have also been learning music production, so a large part of my evenings is dedicated to that practice.

Be original and have something meaningful to say. Sometimes we feel the urge to create simply for the sake of creating, but over time I realized that ideas become stronger when they are carefully developed and grounded in purpose.

I would also encourage young designers to build independent paths whenever possible. Many opportunities may depend on industries or companies, but there is always a small personal idea capable of becoming the beginning of something much bigger.

Design has the power to improve people’s lives in meaningful ways. Many people underestimate how valuable it is to love the spaces and objects around them, but those emotional relationships deeply affect daily life.

As designers, we have the responsibility to contribute positively to human experience. It becomes negative when we stop taking that responsibility seriously.

Original, expressive and comfortable.

Creativity combined with discipline.

I am inspired by sculptors such as Brancusi and Noguchi. I use Rhinoceros for 3D modeling, while 3D printing plays an essential role in understanding proportions, forms and prototypes physically.

Beyond software and tools, my greatest resources are observation, curiosity and experimentation.

Design takes time, but I have learned to create enough structure in my life to allow space for creativity.

Over the years, design has also become a mental practice that constantly exists in my mind, even before ideas become tangible objects.

It can take a single day or several years. Every object has its own rhythm, complexity and process.

“How do you come up with so many ideas?”

Exhibiting at Salone Satellite in Milan was one of the most important experiences of my career so far.

It allowed me to understand the global response to my work and realize that the emotional impact of the pieces transcended nationality and cultural context. The reaction to my work in Milan was incredibly positive and deeply meaningful to me.

I have collaborated with important architecture and interior design studios in Mexico, developing projects for hospitality brands such as Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Montage and Hilton, among others.

I love designing furniture, but lately I have become increasingly interested in smaller objects and accessories because they tend to create a very intimate emotional relationship with users.
People often develop strong sentimental attachments to smaller objects.

I am currently developing many new products for my other brand Dórica, as well as a new bronze collection inspired by invisible phenomena, but explored through a completely new visual language.

For Dórica I work with an incredibly talented team, especially on the technical side of development and production. However, the creative direction and conceptual resolution of the designs always come from me because the ideas are deeply personal and specific.

My new collection is still in development, but I will soon release a new wooden chair for Dórica that I am very excited to share.

People can visit my studio in La Condesa, Mexico City, contact us through hola@sebastianangeles.com or follow my work on Instagram at @sebastian__angeles.

Thank you for the award and for creating a platform that allows designers to share their work internationally.