Alice Fisher Argues Design Exhibitions Should Let Visitors Touch and Sit on Furniture
In a Dezeen opinion article, journalist Alice Fisher critiques design exhibitions that promote a look-but-don't-touch approach, commending those who encourage tactile interaction. She reflects on her experience at a London department store in the 1990s, where a display toilet underscored the urge to connect with furniture. Fisher acknowledges that design festivals often discourage touching, sharing her own habit of using a "surreptitious finger" to explore materials. She highlights interactive works by Paul Cocksedge, Alison Brooks, and Waugh Thistleton at the London Design Festival (LDF). This week, the AHEC exhibition Wood for the Trees will also be featured at LDF, which runs from 12 to 20 September 2026. Fisher concludes by questioning whether touching is too much for designers to allow.
Key facts
- Alice Fisher is a London-based lifestyle journalist and former lifestyle editor at The Observer.
- Fisher argues that look-but-don't-touch design exhibitions are unfulfilling and that interaction should be allowed.
- She recalls a 1990s summer job at a London department store where a display toilet was used for its intended purpose.
- Paul Cocksedge, Alison Brooks, and Waugh Thistleton created interactive wooden installations at past London Design Festivals.
- The AHEC exhibition Wood for the Trees debuted at Copenhagen's 3 Days of Design in June and will appear at LDF this week, featuring rocking benches by Benchmark.
- At 3DD, Vipp and Mesura collaborated on a 60-person conversation pit in lemon linen, with visitors encouraged to climb in via swimming pool-style ladders.
- Lina Ghotmeh's Metamorphosis in Motion at Milan design week filled the Palazzo Litta courtyard with a magenta maze.
- Charlotte Taylor's Home from Home at 3DD 2025 was held in an apartment at Noura Residency on Sankt Peders Stræde, where Taylor lived during the festival and was filmed by strangers.
- The article was originally written for Dezeen Dispatch magazine for LDF 2026, taking place from 12 to 20 September.
Entities
Artists
- Alice Fisher
- Paul Cocksedge
- Alison Brooks
- Waugh Thistleton
- Lina Ghotmeh
- Charlotte Taylor
- Antoine Billore
Institutions
- Dezeen
- London Design Festival
- 3 Days of Design
- American Hardwood Export Council
- Benchmark
- Vipp
- Mesura
- Artemest
- L'Artisan Parfumeur
- Noura Residency
- The Observer
- The Guardian
- Financial Times
- Palazzo Litta
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Copenhagen
- Denmark
- Milan
- Italy
- Sankt Peders Stræde
Sources
- Dezeen —