Brands Isola Design

Isola Design Group provides visibility and opportunities to independent designers, design studios, and brands worldwide. The venture runs both Isola Design, the community platform featuring profiles, project portfolios, and direct messaging for the exchange of ideas, and the recently launched Isola Studio, a consultancy studio for future-thinking design brands and organizations.

Isola Design (www.isola.design) is the world’s first digital and physical platform connecting independent designers and studios with industry professionals, brands, curators, journalists, and clients. Its dedicated curatorial team selects projects with a focus on sustainability, innovation, and handcraft.

Founded in 2017 in Milan, Isola Design District immediately became one of the main official areas of the Milan Design Week, with special attention to international and emerging designers. Isola Design also organizes various in-person events under the umbrella of Isola Design Festival, which takes place throughout the year, hosting dozens of exhibitions, hundreds of exhibitors, and thousands of visitors.

Since 2019, Isola Design has participated in the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven, becoming the first Italian design district to participate in a foreign event. Isola Design expanded its borders even further in 2022, when for the first time it led a curated group of designers to the United Arab Emirates for Downtown Design during Dubai Design Week, and in 2023 by taking part in Material Matters at the London Design Festival and Tanween, Ithra’s Conference of Creativity, the largest creativity platform in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Launched in 2021 with more than 1.500 designers from 65+ countries and 2,600+ projects published, Isola Design offers a community for creative people around the globe through its digital platform, with dedicated profiles and portfolio pages. The digital platform aims to spark direct community interactions, discussions, and the sharing of expertise.

In 2024, Isola Design Group founded Isola Studio (www.isola.design/studio), the new consultancy lab for design brands, organizations, and institutions. Dedicated to creating innovative solutions, Isola Studio shares its multifocal vision with design professionals, startups, companies, and event organizers. Already active in a hybrid form across many countries that are part of the global Isola Design community, Isola Studio has initiated international calls to connect design brands, from lighting to product design, with emerging talents. It has also crafted special setups for Italian companies with branches in Europe and the Middle East, as well as international organizations such as B&T (Turkey), iGuzzini (UAE), Ithra (Saudi Arabia), Masquespacio (Spain), Monkey47 (Germany), Re-Mat (Italy) and The Good Plastic Company (Netherlands), to name a few.

In June 2024 Isola Studio launched its first international design residency, Nitaj (www.isola.design/nitaj), an intensive programme dedicated to lighting design. Conceived for Sama Design – a product design and art studio based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – the residency began in Milan and culminated with an exhibition  in Jeddah showcasing the works created by each participant.

Moreover, via the upcoming Marketplace by Isola, each verified designer and creative studio will get the chance to sell their physical products, digital assets, and NFTs.