Jaime Hayón’s collaboration with Magis spans more than two decades, shaped by a shared belief that design should be imaginative, distinctive and made for everyday life. Together, they explore colour, form and function to create objects that balance utility with a sense of surprise.
At Magis, Jaime Hayón’s imaginative approach finds a natural home.
For Magis, experimentation and play have always been central to its approach. The brand works with designers from across disciplines to challenge convention and bring a fresh perspective to everyday objects. Few capture this spirit quite like Jaime Hayón, whose work brings together art, furniture and fantasy with a distinctive sense of colour, character and curiosity.
Known for his playful forms, unexpected details and sense of humour, Jaime gives everyday objects a strong sense of personality. His collaboration with Magis, which spans more than two decades, is a natural meeting of minds, resulting in designs that are functional, imaginative and full of character.
As Magis celebrates 50 years of design, we look at the creative partnerships that have shaped the brand over the years. Jaime's long-standing relationship with the Italian brand is a clear expression of Magis’ spirit of curiosity and innovation — and what can happen when there is room to experiment.
How do you approach creating objects that are not only practical, but also bring character, joy and personality into everyday spaces?
For me, design is never just about resolving a function—function is simply the starting point, the baseline ticket to ride. Once an object works, your real job as a designer begins: to give it a soul, a heartbeat, and a sense of humour.
I always start with emotion and narrative. I draw constantly in my sketchbooks, unearthing organic shapes, expressive lines, and whimsical character profiles. When you bring those elements into an everyday object—whether it's a chair, a mirror, or a side table—you transform it from a cold, utilitarian tool into a companion. Everyday spaces can easily become monochrome and serious, so I use fluid curves, rich tactile materials, and explosive colours to break that rigidity. When someone looks at a piece I’ve made and smiles, or feels an urge to reach out and touch it, that’s when I know the design has succeeded.
How do you find the right harmony between craft, technology and production?
My approach is what I call "extreme craft." I never just hand off a cold 3D CAD file to a factory and wait for the prototype. I go directly to the workshop floor. I sit with the artisans, drink wine, share food, and get my hands dirty testing the limits of wood, glass, ceramics, or injection moulding. We use modern technology to achieve flawless technical execution, but we guide that tech through the eyes and hands of the maker. That friction between raw human intuition and industrial production is where the magic lives.
It’s a delicate dance, but I see craft and technology as dynamic partners. Craft brings the human heart, the subtle imperfections, and the historical knowledge of how materials behave. Technology provides precision, scalability, and the freedom to push physical forms to new extremes.
Jaime Hayón
Milà Chair
Milà is an expressive and light collection that is very rich in movement, inspired by the facade of Gaudí’s famous Batlló house and based on the forms and the principles of Catalan modernism: elastic and dynamic.
Shop Milà ChairMagis is known for working with designers who challenge conventional approaches to materials and manufacturing. How did this shared philosophy influence the development of the Milà Chair?
Working with Eugenio Perazza and the Magis team is always a fantastic adventure because they are completely fearless when it comes to pushing industrial boundaries. With the Milà Chair, we wanted to create something that felt completely unprecedented in the world of gas-assisted air-moulded plastic.
Historically, plastic chairs were very rigid, linear, and utilitarian. But I wanted to translate the expressive, rich dynamism of Catalan Modernism—think of the fluid, organic architecture of Gaudí—into high-volume industrial moulding. Magis was willing to dream with me and tackle that immense technical challenge. We spent endless hours refining the moulds to ensure those delicate, sweeping, dynamic lines didn't buckle or lose their elegance during the quick-injection process.
The result is a chair that feels almost like a lightweight, sculpted skeleton made of movement and air, yet produced at an industrial scale.
Archeo
Archeo turns the weathered character of an unearthed artefact into a versatile side table or casual stool. Irregular, time-worn geometry, with a stone-like surface, gives this compact indoor-outdoor piece the presence of a small sculpture.
Shop Archeo
Your new piece, Archeo can be used as a side table, stool or sculptural object. What was the original inspiration behind the design, and how did the concept evolve into its final form?
Archeo was born from my obsession with ancient artifacts and visual archaeology. I’m fascinated by ancient totems, ceremonial vessels, and historical folklore—objects that held deep symbolic presence in public life centuries ago.
I wanted to create a modern totem for contemporary living—a piece that blurs the lines between art sculpture and functional furniture.
Jaime Hayón
It started with simple watercolour gestures in my sketchbook, playing with stacked geometric volumes and rounded, architectural profiles. As we prototyped, we intentionally kept the typology open and fluid. Is it a stool? A pedestal? A side table? It can be all of those things depending on how you live with it. Archeo brings a sense of mystery and ritual into a room; even when it’s completely unused, it stands proudly as a sculptural character.
How do you think about longevity and creating pieces that can be appreciated across generations?
I think that true sustainability and longevity start with emotional durability. If a product is mass-produced using trendy, throwaway aesthetics, people replace it in two years because they have no emotional bond with it. But when an object possesses character, exceptional craftsmanship, and a compelling story, people fall in love with it, cherish it, and pass it down.
To make something timeless, you have to balance bold visual identity with extraordinary quality. I work with manufacturers who take pride in extreme precision and durability—whether it's fine porcelain, solid wood, cast metal, or heavy glass. When a piece is built with uncompromising structural integrity and possesses a distinct personality that transcends quick fashion trends, it naturally earns its place across generations.
What continues to inspire you, and what new ideas or directions are you excited to explore next?
What keeps me inspired is a refusal to get comfortable! The moment you think you’ve mastered something is the moment your creativity dies. I get inspired by everything—a walk in nature, an ancient encyclopedia, a conversation over coffee, or flipping through traditional folk art.
Right now, I am deeply immersed in my private painting and large-scale fine art practice. Spending days in the studio painting on canvas gives me total, unadulterated freedom without commercial briefs. I'm also really excited about exploring massive public installations and immersive architectural environments where art, landscape, and human interaction completely overlap.
Jumping into new materials I’ve never touched before, starting from zero, and proving that "impossible" ideas are actually possible—that’s what wakes me up excited every single morning!
Discover more of Jaime Hayón’s distinctive design language and his celebrated work for BD Barcelona Design here.
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