A Lifehack for Product Designers: How to Show Your Work “in Action”
Many product designers face the same question: how can you showcase your work to clients if you don’t have a showroom? How do you let people not only see an item in a photo, but also experience it in real life—touch it, and imagine it in their own home? An excellent example of this approach was presented by designers in London during the London Design Festival 2025. Instead of a traditional gallery or exhibition hall, they created an atmospheric space where their objects became part of a real interior.
Curator and designer Emma Louise Payne invited ten makers — Atelier Thirty Four, B.C. Joshua, Brogan Cox x Nat Maks, Daniel Mullin, David Irwin, Gather Glass, Granite & Smoke, among others — into her atelier-home Seventy-Six, located near Hyde Park. Together they organized the exhibition “The objects we live by”, which demonstrated how design naturally weaves into everyday life.
Instead of pedestals and display cases, everything was arranged as in a lived-in home: designer ceramics adorned a set dining table, original textiles were laid on the bed, handcrafted lighting softly illuminated the bedroom and dining area, while bespoke furniture seamlessly fit into a study.
Each floor of the five-story townhouse has become an exhibition space. Objects were not highlighted with spotlights, but existed within a natural setting: a chair by the fireplace, a jug on the kitchen table, a rug in the bedroom. Visitors could not only “look” at an object but feel what it’s like to live with it—how it changes the atmosphere, supports daily rituals, and becomes part of everyday life.
On the lower ground floor, which also serves as Payne’s working showroom, a small “catalogue” was presented, including information about each designer, links to their websites, and additional examples of their work. It resembled a mini-gallery within the house—informative, yet warm and personal. This format turned out to be not only original, but also refreshingly honest: instead of presenting objects as “exhibits,” designers showed how they truly live within a space.
Lifehack for designers: if you don’t have a showroom, join forces with colleagues and create a “living home” or “living interior.” Present your work in a real environment—bedroom, kitchen, study. Provide short descriptions, add website links and photos. This builds trust and helps clients not only see an object, but also imagine how it could fit into their own life. Such an approach works better than any renderings or exhibition stands: it shows not just the object itself, but also its story, atmosphere, and emotion.
The cover shows a dining table from the exhibition “The objects we live by”.
The photos in the article from the personal archive of the magazine’s editorial staff. The article is prepared by Olga Goldina.