Debonademeo designs Aedo sofa with blind people

Luca De Bona and Dario De Meo, founders of Debonademeo and art directors of Adrenalina, have created the Aedo sofa through a co-design process with blind and visually impaired people. The project began a year before its presentation at the last Fuorisalone. The designers collaborated with the Istituto Francesco Cavazza in Bologna and the Museo Omero in Ancona, the world's first public tactile museum. Workshops involved students of all ages and visual impairments, who built sofa models from materials like wood and rubber. The resulting modular sofa features rounded forms for a sense of enclosure, a recessed base to prevent tripping, cushions with braille inscriptions that slide to reveal storage pockets, and a circular cushion for pets with a crater that can hold a cup. The name Aedo refers to ancient Greek bards, often blind, inspired by the gods. De Bona noted the project was a journey into light and color, not darkness. De Meo emphasized the emotional experience of working with diverse participants. The designers also studied how participants interacted with existing sofas and traced their movements to create a "blind Vitruvian man" for ergonomic insights.