Known for work that sparks joy and humour, Jaime Hayon‘s commitment to craftsmanship and creative innovation has earned him collaborations with major brands, including BD Barcelona Design, Magis and Wrong Shop, elevating him as a leading figure who merges art with design.
Born in Madrid in 1974, Jaime Hayon can boast one of the most glittering careers in contemporary design. Immersed in Madrid’s anything-goes energy from a young age, he describes his neighbourhood as a “borderless fairground” — a place where he first experienced the joy of collaboration and cultural exchange.
Trained in industrial design, his work blends bold shapes, colours, and motifs across design, sculpture, painting and installations. In 1997 at the age of 24, he arrived in Treviso where he joined Fabrica, an experimental design and communications research centre founded by Benetton, directing the design department until 2003. It was here that Hayon honed his distinctive style, defined by exuberant creativity and playful sophistication, and began his enduring collaboration with BD Barcelona on the Mail Me project.
“I believe that design should provoke emotions. Design should make you feel good and most of all – create happiness."
– Jaime Hayon
Jaime Hayon’s first major collaboration for BD Barcelona Design was the Showtime Collection which was released in 2006. The Showtime Chair is celebrated for its durability and timeless aesthetic. Merging home-like warmth with the ergonomic functionality of a task seat, BD Barcelona reissued the chair in September 2025, revealing a design simplified in structure, refined in its lines and enhanced with a sophisticated palette of finishes. The Monkey Side Table is a useful sculpture and forms part of the Gardenias collection for BD Barcelona. The table carries Hayon's distinctive whimsical hallmark. Made of solid architectural concrete for indoor and outdoor use.
A series of side tables, Explorer 1, 2 and 3 are inspired by the playful and are reminiscent of jellybeans. This childlike inspiration has at the same time a very elegant beauty which generally is characterised in Hayon's designs. It’s about new shapes, different objects within the market that are converted into emblematic pieces because these tables are not only functional but sculpturally strong.
This ceramic collection carries Hayon's unmistakable character and humour, evident in the name Happy Susto, meaning "fright" in English. Their purpose is a decorative one, but these objects carry both emotional and artistic value.
In 2015, Hayon designed the Milà Chair for Italian studio Magis. With pieces inspired by the facade of Gaudí’s famous Casa Batlló and reflects the elastic, dynamic forms of Catalan modernism, the Milà collection is expressive and rich in movement. Crafted from a durable mix of air-moulded polypropylene and fiberglass, the chair is stackable, lightweight and suitable for both indoor and outdoor use, while the table’s sinuous form comprises an angled tubular steel frame with die-cast details.
Jaime Hayon continues to push creative boundaries and shape the global contemporary art and design landscape.
