Apple's second Designers of Tomorrow exhibition opens in Paris with the theme of 'presence'

Apple has unveiled the second edition of its Designers of Tomorrow showcase, an exhibition built around the theme of "presence" that opened today at the Hôtel de Maisons in Paris. According to Apple's newsroom post, the program is organized in collaboration with Design Miami and curated by Rodman Primack, the former longtime creative director of Design Miami.

Four designers, one theme

Apple says the theme grew out of a recognition of how busy modern life has become, and asks what still holds people's attention. Four designers and design studios each created an original piece in response, using furniture and lighting to invite reflection and engage the senses.

Egyptian Danish architect Salem S. Charabi contributed a lantern called The Eminence of Light, built from stacked date palm fronds, banana paper and a limestone base. Apple says he did all of the sketching and 3D modeling on a MacBook Pro.

Brooklyn-based designer Isabel Rower presented Padded Chair 1860, which draws on 18th- and 19th-century papier-mâché furniture and pairs a high-gloss finish with a beaded fringe along the seat. Yoonjeong Lee and the studio Parafernalia, run by Genki Matsumura and Sebastián Zorrilla, round out the lineup. Apple's post describes the tools each designer used, from iPad and Apple Pencil to Procreate, Messages and FaceTime for remote collaboration between Monterrey and Mexico City.

How Apple fits in

The showcase is also a way for Apple to highlight its products in creative work. Primack says in the release that Apple products have become a through line shared by designers across disciplines and cultures, and that they integrate "seamlessly" into any workflow. Apple adds that its tools help designers at every level capture, refine and share ideas.

The participants were chosen by a jury of international design figures, including Alexandra Cunningham Cameron, Fabien Cappello, Jennifer Dunlop Fletcher, Minjae Kim, Hun Chung Lee, Marion Mailaender, Nifemi Marcus-Bello, Jennifer Roberts and Apple's Molly Anderson. Apple says they were selected for storytelling, material innovation and craft.

Why it matters

The exhibition is not a product launch, and it arrives a week before Apple's October 28 event in Los Angeles. It does show how the company continues to position the Mac, iPad and iPhone as everyday creative instruments, a message it regularly pairs with new hardware. Apple's newsroom post includes more detail on each project and photography of the finished pieces.