Formafantasma on Geo-Design, Radical Pedagogy, and Sustainable Web Design

Studio Formafantasma, named Designer of the Year by Wallpaper*, discusses their rigorous analytical method and focus on ecological, historical, political, and social forces in design. They lead the Geo-Design master's program at the Design Academy Eindhoven, directed by Joseph Grima, which examines the relationship between design, production, and environmental crisis. The studio collaborated with Studio Blanco on a low-energy website hosted on GreenGeeks, using system fonts, minimal graphics, and clean code to reduce carbon footprint. They address criticism of greenwashing, emphasizing the site is a demonstration of feasible personal environmental impact reduction. Formafantasma distances themselves from being heirs to Enzo Mari, sharing his thinking but not his formal clarity obsession. They engage in digital pedagogy via Casa Mondo (curated by Maxxi and Domitilla Dardi) and Design Emergency (curated by Paola Antonelli and Alice Rawsthorn). For 2021, their keywords include non-human, ethics, compromise, idealism, authenticity, innovation, and mud. Looking ahead, they plan to develop both more commercial and more radical projects, hoping to find similar attitudes in the business world. Their studio marked its first decade in 2020.