In an era where Instagram captures more attention than glossy catalogues, designers are increasingly engineering objects for their shareability. At idd Cologne 2025, held October 26–29, organizers underscored how social media does more than propagate trends, it can resurrect and recontextualize classic design. Based on insights from Design Hub Cologne, four defining elements are emerging as the digital furniture era’s “viral triggers.”
1. Visible Tactility
To succeed online, furniture must look as though you can almost touch it. Even through a screen, users must feel a texture or depth. A prime example is the Hortensia Armchair, which went viral in its digital rendering stage and then entered production via Moooi. Covered in over 20,000 petal-shaped fabric pieces, it embodies the notion that visual texture can override material expectations.
2. Bold Colors & Color Blocking
Bold palettes and color-blocking, hallmarks of the “dopamine décor” movement are everywhere from upholstery to vases. They offer instant visual impact and work well in the fragmented layout of social feeds. Consider Globo by Raw Color or Zaven’s multitone Scoop vase: their saturated, clean transitions make them natural eye magnets in digital spaces.
3. Playful Curves
Soft contours, fluid profiles, and joyful exaggeration produce pieces that read as sculptures but function as furniture. Mirrors like Ultrafragola (by Ettore Sottsass) and Curvy (Gustaf Westman) bend light and expectation. Similarly, Westman’s Wavy Chair combines simplicity with whimsy ideal for flatlays and vertical feeds alike.
4. Anti-Functionalism & Quirkiness
Designs that make viewers pause or do a double take often inspire higher engagement. These include objects whose function is obfuscated or exaggerated such as Westman’s Baguette Holder or Terje Ekstrøm’s radical Ekstrem Chair for Varier. Their deliberate absurdity piques curiosity and invites sharing.
At idd Cologne 2025, visitors will see these themes in context, traversing a spectrum from dopamine aesthetics to minimalist restraint. The show offers a firsthand lesson in how social media dynamics and creative daring now sit at the heart of interior innovation.
Source: 77° Global Furnishings Media
