The joint has always been an often dismissed but attractive element for designers, explored in its most practical forms, such as in Rietveld’s Zig-Zag chair, as well as in its conceptual aspects, for example, in the book U-Joints by Andrea Caputo and Anniina Koivu. FRAME by Benedetta Licini it takes articulation and places it at the center, as the physical manifestation of an object’s intelligence. Benedetta Licini is an Italian product designer based in Copenhagen and previously in Milan and Barcelona. FRAME is her latest project, unveiled at Milan Design Week 2026, in the Salone Satellite, the section of the main exhibition dedicated to designers under 35 and curated by Marva Griffin.
A rigid stainless steel structure interconnects with modular inserts of iridescent silicone, cold vs. warm, fixed vs. flexible, industrial vs. body. The articulation between the two is not minimized, but acts as an active threshold that becomes legible. By allowing the object to reveal itself, FRAME unfolds a design problem that is not one of style, but of honesty and expression of the visible or invisible forces that hold things together.
FRAME © Benedetta Licini
FRAME © Benedetta Licini
FRAME © Benedetta Licini
FRAME © Benedetta Licini
FRAME © Benedetta Licini
FRAME © Benedetta Licini
FRAME © Benedetta Licini
FRAME © Benedetta Licini
FRAME © Benedetta Licini
FRAME © Benedetta Licini
FRAME © Benedetta Licini
FRAME © Benedetta Licini
FRAME advocates that articulation should be visible rather than hidden. Where does this fascination come from? What made you see this item differently?
Benedetta Licini:
“The belief that the joint should be visible comes from a reflection on the relationship between structure, function and design language. In most products, the connection point is hidden because it is considered a purely technical element, something that must be covered to maintain a supposedly clean form. With FRAME, I wanted to reverse this perspective: observing construction systems, I realized that it is precisely in the articulation that the object’s intelligence manifests itself. It is the point where material, power and function meet, and therefore also the place where the work expresses itself most honestly.
The different visibility of this element arose from the interest in design languages in which the construction is not hidden, but becomes an integral part of the aesthetic expression. I began to think of articulation not as a detail to be resolved and then hidden, but as an element capable of creating identity, rhythm and recognizability. FRAME starts from this very idea: it makes the beginning of construction visible, turning a technical element into a design statement. Thus, the articulation ceases to be a simple means and becomes the narrative and the formal fulcrum of the entire work.’
Your work often focuses on conveying emotional aspects through physical elements. How would you describe your process? How do you choose which materials to work with?
Benedetta Licini:
“My process usually begins with observation rather than creating form. I begin by identifying a constructive or functional element that is usually considered purely technical, and then I explore its latent expressive potential. I am interested in understanding how a physical element can communicate something beyond its function, intensity, balance, precision, fragility, resistance. From there, the design develops through a dialogue between structure and perception. I work through prototyping, testing how proportions, connections and interactions of materials can create not only performance, but also an emotional response. For me, emotion in design doesn’t come from decoration. emerges when an object clearly reveals the logic behind its construction.
Material selection follows the same principle. I choose materials for their structural properties, but also for the way they express strength, weight and connection. Each material has its own language: some convey intensity and precision, others warmth or permanence. The choice depends on what narrative the work needs to communicate. In FRAME, for example, materials were chosen for their ability to make articulation legible and honest. I wanted the connection to be perceived not as a hidden technical necessity, but as a visible moment of interaction between elements, something capable of imparting both rationality and character.“
FRAME sits between object and infrastructure, meaning it doesn’t fit neatly into a product category. Was this ambiguity a difficult decision or was it the natural choice for the project?
Benedetta Licini:
“Rather than a difficult decision, this ambiguity arose as a natural result of the design process. FRAME was never designed with the intention of fitting neatly into a pre-defined product category. Instead, it gradually developed around the exploration of articulation as a structural and conceptual element, and with it, the relationships between parts. From the beginning, the focus was not on designing a product that belonged to a particular typology, but on building a system capable of making visible a constructive logic. In this sense, forcing FRAME into a fixed category would have reduced its conceptual scope.
Its position between object and infrastructure derives directly from its structural nature: it has the presence and scale of an object, yet operates with an infrastructure mindset, where connection, support and relationships between elements become central. It does not exhaust itself in a single function, but instead suggests a broader system, almost a constructional grammar that can be extended beyond its immediate configuration.
This intermediate condition is, in my opinion, one of the most important aspects of the project, as it challenges rigid product classifications. I was interested in exploring a space where the object is not only a finished, autonomous artifact, but also a manifestation of an open logic, a fragment of a potentially larger system. In this sense, ambiguity was never a compromise or uncertainty, but the coherent result of a research process that aimed to blur the boundaries between product and structure, between functional object and constructive principle.“
Milan Design Week is becoming increasingly commercially saturated, often making it difficult to showcase research-based processes. How was your experience at Salone Satellite?
Benedetta Licini:
“My experience at Salone Satellite was moving and revealing. It is located in a much larger ecosystem that is increasingly shaped by commercial dynamics and this inevitably affects the overall perception of Milan Design Week. However, in this context, Salone Satellite still represents a unique space where research-based approaches can find visibility and dialogue.
As a young designer, I was acutely aware of this tension between visibility and market orientation. On the one hand, there is an increasing pressure for product-driven immediacy, awareness and results. On the other hand, there are projects that come from slower, more exploratory processes that are harder to categorize but often more meaningful in the long run. What I found valuable about Salone Satellite was precisely the ability to place FRAME within this research-oriented layer. It enabled conversations that went beyond the object itself and focused more on the underlying intentions, systems, and design logic.
At the same time, experience has also made it clear how important it is to protect spaces for experimentation. When the context becomes too saturated, there is a danger that the narrative will shift too quickly towards the commercial outcome, leaving less room for process-based work to fully communicate. For me, the value of participating was not only the exposure, but also the opportunity to test how a project based on structural and conceptual research is received in a real, fast-moving design environment.“
What would you like to see more of from the industry at the next Milan Design Weeks?
Benedetta Licini:
“I would like to see more attention not only to materials research, which is undoubtedly critical, especially given the environmental and construction challenges we face, but also to a deeper reflection on the functionality of objects. In recent years, the debate has rightly focused on material innovation, sustainability and new technologies. objects that function cleanly, coherently and necessarily.
Therefore, I would like the next Milan Design Week, and Salone Satellite in particular, to maintain a stronger balance between material experimentation and functional design. Not as two separate fields, but as two dimensions that inform each other. An object can be innovative in terms of its materials, but it should also be understandable in terms of its function and rationale for its use. In this sense, I believe that the value of design fully emerges when research and functionality move forward together, without one overpowering the other.”
The show has become, over the past decade, one of the most heavily commercialized spectacles in the design calendar. brand activations, luxury installations, social media ready launches. In this context, Salone Satellite occupies a pressing role as a platform intended for designers under 35, seemingly protected from the commercial logic that dominates the main exhibition, but inescapably close to it.
For emerging designersthe economics of appearing in an exhibition like Salonebetween production, transport and labor costs, are significant and fall disproportionately on those with the least institutional support. The question of who can participate in the debate about the future of design is inseparable from the question of who can afford to appear. Research projects like Licini are becoming increasingly rare as their primary focus is qualitative rather than profitable.
However, research projects are fundamental to sustaining the design discipline moving forward. FRAME is a research theory and a prototype, a system and a range of possible objects, an argument about visibility and an open question about where this leads. Whether it becomes a commercial product, a body of work or simply a clear statement of intent from a designer at the start of her practice, it shows that there is much more to cultivate in design than style and business.
