Elena Salmistraro on Design After Lockdown

Elena Salmistraro, a product designer, artist, and illustrator, founded her studio in Milan in 2009 with architect Angelo Stoli. Known for her eclectic, hyper-colored style blending art and design, she has worked with major national and international brands. In 2017, she won the Best Emerging Designer Award at Salone del Mobile and was named World Ambassador of Italian Design during Italian Design Day, promoted by Triennale di Milano with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Cultural Heritage. In 2018, she became Ambassador of Brera Design District for FuoriSalone and won the Icon Award at Marmomac for her project Marea. During the pandemic, which coincided with the birth of her second child, she experienced a mix of positive and anxious emotions. She believes design approaches and content will remain largely unchanged, though she hopes for slower timelines. She asserts that designers have always been ready to engage in strategic discussions but are often overlooked. Her future research will continue exploring form through image, drawing from contemporary visual inputs.