A Welcome Limitation
Design Everything With Limitations on display at Aram (image: Kane Hulse).
In 1972, Charles Eames used his short film Design Q&A to expound a view of design as being a discipline whose task is to operate within “[the] sum of all constraints”. Asked by his interlocutor, the curator Madame L’Amic, to enumerate these constraints, Eames offered up what may have seemed like a comprehensive list. “Constraints of price, of size, of strength, of balance, of surface, of time, and so forth.”
This week, however, a new initiative suggests that Eames may have missed a few. Design Everything With Limitations is an exhibition opening at Aram in central London, showcasing 131 objects created by 103 new designers within the UK, all of whose forms have been fundamentally shaped by the limitations within which designers work. Yet while Eames’s constraints pertained to material properties and commercial realities, Design Everything With Limitations has broadened the idea out to also encompass the lived realities facing designers attempting to break into professional practice: constraints of time, equipment, space, finance and access to material.
The project is an initiative launched by Design Everything, a not-for-profit collective that seeks to platform emerging designers, as well as creating a community to help raise awareness of, and discussion around, the barriers to professional practice that many new designers face. While the group – which is steered by designers Sammi Cherrryman, Lewis Duckworth, Jacob Marks, Eleanor Murphy, Tabatha Pearce Chedier and Izi Thexton – organises year-round programming such as manufacturing visits, social meet-ups and an ongoing community group chat, it has become particularly known for its annual, open-call exhibitions staged during the London Design Festival. In 2024, 19 designers created functional objects for the Kindred music and cultural space in east London, while 2025’s A Seat at the Table saw 36 designers create seating that could be packed into the back of a Luton van for a roving exhibition that toured different sites around the city – a pointed reflection on the absence of opportunities and platforms for new voices amongst the design festival’s official programming.
Image: Kane Hulse.
Design Everything With Limitations takes these same concerns into the realm of gallery space. To showcase the increased scale of the 2026 initiative, the Design Everything Team (supported by George Boyce and Sancho Hernandez Rosales) have assembled a fictional flat within the basement gallery of Aram, every component of which was selected through an open call that asked for works “which each embody a form of restriction in their conception or production[…] Shining a spotlight on how limitations[…] influence and inspire design outcomes, and therefore tell a story of the current state of the industry we as emerging designers find ourselves entering.” Across the space, informal walls constructed from wooden frames that have been hung with fabric (a lightweight and minimally invasive construction method, allowing for materials to be reused after the exhibition closes), divide Aram’s open-plan gallery into the functional rooms of a flat, in which all 123 object can be moved around or used however visitors deem fit. Each object’s story of limitation is told through process material, live demonstrations, and an accompanying booklet, providing an insight into the challenges facing new designers and the resourcefulness with which they have responded: a domestic world in which coat racks are assembled from scraps, quilts sewn in a single day, coat-hangers are bent by hand in the absence of machinery, and stools are assembled from materials easy to carry on public transport.
It is a gallery display that carries its own tacit criticism of the design gallery model – a world that typically vaunts rarefied objects produced by established names. With Design Everything With Limitations, the collective hope to present a show that is accessible, interactive and, crucially, honest about the reality that underpins the works on display. In this respect, it is a show well matched to Aram, an institution whose design store has supported a not-for-profit gallery since 2002, and whose curatorial focus on process, as embodied in its long-running series of Prototypes and Experiments shows, initiated by Daniel Charny, has long been heralded as a vital platform for new designers. To explore the show and its implications, Disegno convened a roundtable discussion hosted in the gallery space, bringing together Design Everything’s Lewis Duckworth, Jacob Marks, Eleanor Murphy and Tabatha Pearce Chedier, alongside Grace Eden, Aram’s creative manager. An edited version of that conversation follows below.
Image: Kane Hulse.
Disegno Last year’s show focused on chairs, playing with the symbolism of new designers needing a seat at the table of the wider industry. So where has this year’s focus on creating a working and living space within Aram’s gallery come from?
Jacob Marks That idea was originally born from the invitation from Aram to exhibit here. We were looking at the spaces upstairs, and we thought there could be quite a nice parallel between the [domestic] scenes that they curate in the shop with their furniture, and us creating our own, which could be a little bit rougher and a little bit more emblematic of the practices that actually go into creating a product.
Lewis Duckworth When you come into the Aram Store and see those displays, you imagine yourself living in that kind of space because it can be very aspirational. But Aram’s gallery is down in the basement – it’s more behind-the-scenes and a space that’s representing the roots of what you see in the store. So we felt that this exhibition could use that layout to reflect on the realities of living and working as a designer. I mean, obviously this flat is still a flat you would want to live in – it’s filled with amazing designed objects – but it’s also about how people are actually living with their design practices.
Disegno What exactly do you mean by this being “rougher” than the displays elsewhere in the store? Aram and other high-end design stores obviously present a rarefied view of design, so how do you want to play with that idea?
“We’re saying that these pieces are created alongside and through limitations, but they’re still beautiful and they’ve still got a presence that should be shown.”
Tabatha Pearce Chedier Maybe it’s not exactly “rougher”, but it is about showing the kind of problems that you actually face in making something as an emerging designer. It’s about showing a type of design where things may go wrong during the making process – whether through limitations on time, or space, or equipment or whatever – and you have to just go with that.
Eleanor Murphy It really says this with the name – “Design Everything With Limitations”. A lot of people think of limitations as negative, but we’re treating them as a major positive. We’re saying that these pieces are created alongside and through limitations, but they’re still beautiful and they’ve still got a presence that should be shown.
Lewis Aram did its own prototype show a long time ago [Prototypes & Experiments I, 2008], so it’s a space that has always been supportive of this kind of reflection on process. A lot of the objects we’re showing are essentially working prototypes, with people having used strange tools and processes that you wouldn’t use in conventional manufacturing. But that’s what gives them character. You get these slight nuances in the way that something’s been cut, or the way in which something isn’t perfectly straight, which then becomes part of the design.
Image: Kane Hulse.
Disegno Grace, Lewis touched on Aram’s history in this area and Jacob mentioned how the project began with an invitation from Aram. Why did you want to explore this topic?
Grace Eden Basically, we were very, very impressed by A Seat at the Table – both the actual exhibition and the concept behind it. So we found Design Everything interesting and felt that they aligned with the sort of exhibitions that Aram puts on – and especially those that we did in the past. When we had a conversation it became obvious that they wanted to use the space in a way that matched how I would like to see this space being used. I would like to get back to it being quite loose and a space where ideas can come to life, and for those ideas to exist within a broad spectrum of possibilities. I also want it be a place of activity, and to have the quality of a sketchbook, rather than hosting more editorial-style exhibitions. The gallery should be accessible to everyone, so its exhibitions need to have that kind of energy to them.
Disegno Within all of that, there’s a certain critique of what design exhibitions often are.
Jacob I guess we increasingly find that there’s a shallowness to some design exhibitions. You see one on Instagram, and then you’re like, “Do I actually need to go now?” You’ve consumed it all through the images. There is also a question of access. I’m in the design world, I know people in it, so I should feel comfortable going to design exhibitions. But you sometimes go into one and it still feels awkward – you know, you’re stood there looking at an object on a plinth, with a gallery assistant watching over you. We think that’s a real shame because we could be using exhibitions to be asking what design is for and what it can do. Having less formal exhibition spaces where you can actually touch things, move everything around, sit on something and converse in a more informal way seems a better way to get to the heart of what objects can do.
“I’m in the design world, I know people in it, so I should feel comfortable going to design exhibitions. But you sometimes go into one and it still feels awkward.”
Tabatha We’re trying to bring accessibility back into things. Like Jacob said, sometimes as an emerging designer you go to exhibitions when they’re hosting a private view. Now, obviously you weren’t actually invited, because you’re only an emerging designer, but you go anyway because you admire the designers and the work you see is always incredible and inspiring. But afterwards, you sometimes feel, “Oh my God, am I ever going to reach that level?” It doesn’t feel accessible. With this, we were really trying to do the opposite. We were trying to say that this is an open call, free to anybody. You don’t have to have money to be part of it, you just need to have a piece that you want to show. The whole point is that we want community to be a big part of this.
Lewis Which is why there’s no sense of an overarching style in the object selection. It’s all about variety and showing the different sides of design.
Disegno How do you handle that ambition? Conceptually, it’s laudable, but when it comes to actually curating a show, that kind of generosity can become difficult. Do you need to wrangle all of these objects in some way so that they cohere?
Eleanor If I think about my own home, I’ve got so many random objects that don’t necessarily go together, but they’re still all in one space where they’re being used and lived with. They all have their own presence and they have relationships with each other. They stand on their own, but they actually make the space once they’re all in there together. I think that having very different things, and less of an overall stylisation, can lead to more characterful conversations with objects.
Image: Kane Hulse.
Disegno So how do you see your role in this project? Are you curators of the exhibition, or does “curators” have too many connotations that you would rather avoid?
Eleanor We’re facilitators.
Lewis That’s the term we’ve gravitated towards as the years have gone by. It’s the idea of facilitating space and opportunities to network or platform people. We’re enabling things to happen more than we are actually curating those things. I mean, obviously there’s an element of curation in that we all voted on what was in the show after the open call, but even that was led by whether the object fit the brief, rather than any kind of curatorial agenda.
Tabatha I think we’re interested in embracing the chaotic nature of things, because it’s through that diversity that things actually end up working together.
Grace But, to my mind, you have collectively curated it. This exhibition is the story that you want to tell, and the open call asked everyone to tell the story of their limitations. The pieces have been chosen in part based on what they said about those limitations.
Disegno I want to come onto those limitations, but this idea of working as a facilitator rather than a curator seems resonant for Aram too. The gallery has, over the years, been an important facilitator for a lot of new designers’ careers. It’s had formal curators, but “facilitation” is not a bad way of describing what Aram has done.
Grace No, not at all. I would position Aram as a facilitator too.
Tabatha And a lot of people applied to this how because they were like, “Oh my God, I never thought I would be in Aram.” We had more than 500 applications and I think that’s in part because everybody was like, “I need to get in on this.”
Grace I think that speaks to the unique position of what Aram has been able to do in the past, because this gallery is a non-commercial space. The building as a whole is a commercial business, but this specific area doesn’t need to turn a profit, which really does differentiate it from a lot of other galleries.
“We’re not anti-institutional, it’s just that we don’t feel like we have access to a lot of these institutions.”
Disegno There aren’t many platforms like that, but does showing in Aram influence the message of Design Everything in any way? Your platform has, until now, been anti-institutional in some of its messaging or perhaps critical of the way in which many design institutions currently operate. But Aram is itself an institution within the design world. Does being here affect what you’re doing?
Eleanor I think we still have the same message, and as a platform we’re still trying to support emerging designers. With the van last year, we only did that because we didn’t have a space and we didn’t have the money to be part of LDF [London Design Festival]. Actually, we’re still not an official part of LDF because we don’t think that institution has changed and they’re not supporting emerging designers enough for us to feel like we can back them at this moment in time.
Lewis But that show last year was itself supported by institutions like FORA, Coal Drops Yard and Cromwell Place. We have always worked with people, and that’s actually how we first got in contact Aram for A Seat at the Table – we approached them to say, “Do you have space for us to park?” We’re not anti-institutional, it’s just that we don’t feel like we have access to a lot of these institutions. Like Eleanor said, we still have the same message, it’s just coming through a different avenue now. It’s still all about platforming and accessibility.
Disegno Do you feel that Design Everything can be condensed down into that one message? What’s interesting about the work that you’ve done is that it feels rich enough that people could look at it and take away different ideas and emphases.
Jacob It might sound a bit contrived, but we have these three alliterative pillars: people, platform, progress. People is about building a community, which is a big thing we felt was missing in the industry. Platform has, so far, mainly been about the exhibitions we’ve done during the design festivals, and giving people the opportunity to exhibit. Progress is a little bit looser, but it’s talking about more systemic things. So whether that’s the financial barriers that exist for emerging designers or other structural issues, we feel that we need to be having those conversations, because they’re not really happening at the moment.
Image: Kane Hulse.
Disegno Is the show’s emphasis on limitations drawn from that remit?
Lewis When we did the first show with Kindred, we went round to each exhibitor’s studio and interviewed them about what it’s like to be a maker or a designer in London.Those stories became the backstory to that project, because it was amazing to see all these objects that were so beautifully created, but were coming from the craziest spaces.
Jacob Limitations are so intrinsic to the experience of being an emerging designer. The thing we get most exercised about is the juxtaposition between what you see online – a nice object – and the struggle that a designer has gone through to actually make that happen. There’s an inequity to that. I find things really difficult as a designer, and I’m from a very middle-class background, so just imagine how difficult it is if you don’t have that kind of financial support behind you. You asked earlier what being in Aram allows us to show. We think it’s a lot about saying, “Look, we’ve actually been able to do an exhibition despite all the hurdles.” It enables us to show these stories about the barriers that people in the profession are facing. I think it’s important that the title is “Design Everything With Limitations”.
Lewis Yeah, it reads as one. You can design everything in spite of the limitations. It’s talking about a limit, but lots of people are pushing those limitations right to the edge, like designers who are literally prototyping on their commutes to work, or pushing their time limitations to the nth degree.
Jacob Lewis’s piece is a good example of that positively affecting the outcome, because it’s creating something that would never have happened otherwise. He’s made these bent aluminium tube hangars, which normally would have a very clean radius. But Lewis didn't have the equipment to do that, so he did it with a DIY jig instead, which means that they’re kind of crimped. But that crimp became the language of the piece.
Eleanor In my own practice I’m also finding that limitations are giving me other avenues to go down. If I had the right machinery for everything I wanted to do, things would be super easy. But because I don’t, I’m having to figure out lots of new things, which I wouldn’t otherwise have been able to explore.
“There is a perception that Instagram is about getting to see into the inner workings of things, but maybe that isn’t the reality.”
Disegno Do you think there are sufficient channels for new designers to discuss these challenges? It seems like there is a lot of pressure in the industry to only present work that is deemed perfect, or to discuss work in a very idealised, commercially acceptable way.
Tabatha I think this show represents that issue in the sense that people who don’t know the exhibiting designers might come around and just be like, “Oh, really nice stuff.” If we weren’t also including the process behind those pieces, they wouldn’t understand that people have made these things this way because they don't necessarily have access to workshops or they only have limited time or budgets. On a personal level, I think things like that can help me feel more comfortable in my own practice, because I’m quite harsh on myself about feeling like I always need to buy the right tools and all that kind of thing. This has helped me look at everything the other designers have done and just think, “I can’t believe they made that in their bedroom with a screwdriver and it’s so good.” It helps me feel OK about being a bit more creative with what you’ve got access to.
Lewis I don't think there are many spaces that support that, which is also due to that feeling of inaccessibility in coming into design. There are all these super clean-cut shows where everything feels so out of reach and so out of touch with reality – that can definitely be off-putting.
Grace It’s interesting to hear you all saying that you feel everything is presented in a very glossy, perfect way, because I was going to ask you about Instagram. Do designers not see that platform as a way to reveal the inner workings behind their products?
Tabatha I think it depends on the process. I personally feel quite embarrassed to share where I’m making my things, because I feel like I need to look more legit.
Jacob Even when people share things, there’s still a bit of a gloss to it. You might share, you know, a nice closeup of a DIY jig, but you wouldn’t share a shot with your tea in the background, which might actually be the reality of where you’re having to live and work. I think there’s still a limit to it.
Eleanor What you’re doing might not always feel polished, whereas social media has become so professional that you feel like you need to live up to it. There’s a lot of pressure, and I sometimes struggle to even post things there because I think everyone else’s stuff looks so good by comparison.
Image: Kane Hulse.
Grace But people are crying out for honesty. When we go on factory trips to the brands whose products we sell, we’re always told, “Strictly no pictures.” But I think that’s what people would actually love to see. There is a perception that Instagram is about getting to see into the inner workings of things, but maybe that isn’t the reality. With factories, they’re so concerned about people copying, that they don’t want to show anything, but I do think people want to see that kind of reality.
Lewis We’re not fans of gatekeeping. We try and advocate sharing knowledge and experience and manufacturers and skills. People troubleshoot in our community chat and they share the factories and processes that they’ve worked with, and I think it would be lovely if we could all trust each other enough that you can share a process, which people can then work with differently. We’re not competing against each other directly because we’re all different people. In this show, everybody has the same thematic limitations, but they’re so nuanced in their personal experience of those that they will never reach the same outcome. No one’s the same and it’s nice to celebrate that and to be more comfortable with it. That's what we want with people’s experience of the show too: it’s something to experience in-person, and it should feel like something is happening here, rather than it just being this static facade of design. It wants to feel liveable and lived in. We want people to actually sit here and have a conversation.
Disegno How will you try and encourage that? You have this idea of it being “lived in” and encouraging people to not treat the objects as precious, but the rules and social coding of galleries can be difficult to overcome.
“It’s not a gallery per se. It’s a flat because a flat is somewhere you feel welcome, and where you don’t feel as if you can’t touch anything. You should feel invited in.”
Eleanor The first step was to make sure that all the objects in here are functional and that people can interact with them. They’re not going to break and nothing is too precious, because it is meant to be an environment you’re free to explore and actually use.
Tabatha I would hope that the sense of it being a flat will help break the barrier too – it’s not a gallery per se. It’s a flat because a flat is somewhere you feel welcome, and where you don’t feel as if you can’t touch anything. You should feel invited in. I want people to feel “OK, what's this about?”
Lewis We definitely want people to have a sense of agency within the space and to be able to think, “Oh, I don’t like how this piece has been placed,” and to be able to ask themselves questions about why that might be. So, if they want to move a chair to the other side of the room or use anything, they can – that’s a way of engaging with and thinking about design. It’s a way of letting people be more decisive in a gallery space. You can actually engage with design and get a feel for how an object was made, and whether you could live with it, or whether you could make something yourself after having seen it.
Eleanor We're hoping the public will do all of that and really feel at home and feel like they can interact with the space. I’m speaking for us all here, but we’re all creative and we all have an interest in how stuff is made. So when we go to exhibitions, we tend to touch things or, if it’s “do not touch”, we’ll still be looking underneath and trying to find out more about it. We’d like to bring that kind of behaviour out of other people too.
Grace It would be amazing if people visit and then, later on, send you photos of them making things that they felt able to try after having experienced this.
Tabatha One of the main things we’re really hoping that people will take away is that you can make actually things at home.
Lewis That’s the positive side of limitations. I don't have a workshop, but I've got a hot glue gun and some masking tape, and that can be enough. It’s about advocating the positivity of limitations and being inspired by them.
Introduction Oli Stratford
Design Everything With Limitations is on display at Aram until 10 October 2026.