Yanko Design\u2019s new podcast, Design Mindset, is fast becoming a Friday ritual for design enthusiasts around the world. With a mission to uncover the principles and personalities that shape our built environment, the show doesn\u2019t just scratch the surface. Each episode peels back the layers of the design process, revealing the values, dilemmas, and cultural forces that drive the world\u2019s most influential designers. Whether you\u2019re a student, practitioner, or simply a fan of thoughtful innovation, Design Mindset offers insight that goes beyond the glossy final product.<\/p>\n
For its latest episode, the podcast welcomes Luca Nichetto, one of Italy\u2019s most celebrated contemporary designers. Born on the glassmaking island of Murano and now leading Nichetto Studio between Venice and Stockholm, Luca has become synonymous with a rare blend of poetic craft and Scandinavian rigor. His work, ranging from traditional Murano glass to global furniture icons, has been exhibited and produced worldwide, but what truly sets him apart is his relentless focus on empathy. This conversation reveals how Nichetto\u2019s roots, experiences, and worldview have shaped a philosophy that places people, not just objects, at the heart of design.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
For Luca Nichetto, empathy isn\u2019t a marketing buzzword or a step in the design-thinking playbook. It\u2019s the \u201conly secret ingredient\u201d that brings meaning to objects and unites the many hands involved in making them. As he shares, \u201cEmpathy is not just nice to have in design, it\u2019s everything. The only secret ingredient that you can put in the project that you are doing, and if there is also fun and there is a passion, you bring people together with you to be able to create something that makes sense.\u201d His belief is that objects lacking empathy are reduced to mere function \u2013 beautiful perhaps, but ultimately empty.<\/p>\n
Nichetto\u2019s approach to empathy extends beyond the user to include every collaborator in the process. He sees every project as the formation of a small, temporary community \u2013 suppliers, artisans, clients, and the eventual users. \u201cEvery time that we are designing something, we are not only designing an object, we are also able to create a little community. Most important, we are also able to create jobs,\u201d he explains, highlighting design\u2019s social impact. For Nichetto, empathy is the glue that aligns everyone\u2019s efforts, creating both purpose and pride in the finished product.<\/p>\n
Growing up in Murano, Nichetto was immersed in a culture where craft is both tradition and innovation. His grandfather was a glassblower, his mother decorated glass, and Nichetto himself began selling drawings to local factories while still a teenager. This early exposure was less about the romance of glass and more about learning the \u201clanguage\u201d of making \u2013 the necessity of trust, the need for fast, clear communication, and the humility to listen to those shaping your ideas with their hands. \u201cBeing clear, quick, and considerate enables translating vision into craft without arrogance,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Murano also taught him about the speed and risk inherent in glasswork \u2013 where a missed moment can ruin hours of effort, and feedback is immediate. This environment forced Nichetto to develop a design process that\u2019s both decisive and deeply respectful of the craftsperson\u2019s expertise. These lessons, he notes, have stayed with him no matter the material, medium, or scale of the project. For Nichetto, design is always a dialogue \u2013 a process of constant negotiation between vision and reality, head and hands.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Nichetto\u2019s journey eventually took him from the intimacy of Venetian craft to the structured world of Scandinavian design. After moving to Sweden about 15 years ago, he faced what he calls a \u201ccrisis of identity.\u201d Initially, the homogeneity and efficiency of Scandinavian design felt at odds with his Italian roots. \u201cScandinavian design prioritizes function, sustainability, recyclability, and product lifecycle, leading to homogeneity,\u201d he observes. However, rather than abandoning his heritage, Nichetto found new strength in embracing both traditions.<\/p>\n
He now describes his practice as a fusion of \u201cfunctional rigor and storytelling.\u201d Objects, in his view, should be both useful and full of character. \u201cObjects must be functional and have strong character (not merely form) to build relationships with users; otherwise, no reason to design \u2018another chair,\u2019\u201d he argues. This synthesis allows him to create pieces that resonate emotionally while meeting the demands of modern life. He resists fleeting trends and globalized sameness, drawing instead on personal memories, client stories, and cultural references, even Japanese cartoons from his childhood, to give each project its own identity.<\/p>\n
Operating studios in both Italy and Sweden and working with clients as far afield as China and the US, Nichetto has developed a keen awareness of how culture shapes design. Each context brings its own expectations and norms. In China, for instance, he encountered a kind of deference that led teams to follow his instructions too literally, leaving little room for creative initiative. \u201cI was so frustrated of that. I was almost screaming, you know, why are you not trying?\u201d he recalls. Over time, he realized this behavior was rooted in deep respect rather than passivity. \u201cWhat I learned is you need to understand the culture you are working in, to adapt your communication and expectations accordingly,\u201d Nichetto says.<\/p>\n
In contrast, Italian collaborators often assert their own vision, requiring him to adopt a different approach \u2013 sometimes persuading, sometimes yielding, but always listening. For Nichetto, true empathy means adjusting not only your design but also your process and your leadership style to fit the people you\u2019re working with. This flexibility is, he believes, a prerequisite for authentic design that honors both local craft and global collaboration.<\/p>\n
Nichetto is adamant that an object\u2019s beauty is meaningless if it doesn\u2019t address a real need. \u201cBeautiful objects are useless if they don\u2019t solve real human problems. Empathy means understanding actual needs beyond stated wants; honoring humans strengthens aesthetics,\u201d he insists. For him, the designer\u2019s job is not to create eye candy or win awards, but to improve lives in tangible ways.<\/p>\n
He describes design as a mission \u2013 a way to inspire future generations and create a legacy of thoughtful, impactful work. \u201cI prefer work that evokes love or hate (\u2018black and white\u2019) over pleasing everyone. I seek long-term inspirational legacy over short-term awards or ego boosts,\u201d Nichetto explains. This philosophy is evident in his refusal to chase trends or dilute his vision to appeal to everyone. Instead, he strives to create objects that will matter decades from now, not just look good in this year\u2019s catalog.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Nichetto likens the role of the designer to that of an orchestra conductor, balancing an array of sometimes competing interests \u2013 sales, warehousing, customer behavior, craft, packaging, and price. He\u2019s not afraid to challenge a client\u2019s brief if it misses the real problem, and he\u2019s committed to nudging every project forward, even if progress is incremental. \u201cDesigner as orchestra director balancing sales, warehouse, customer behavior, craft, packaging, price. Identifies real problems versus client\u2019s brief and pushes improvements, even \u2018one millimeter\u2019 forward,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
This orchestration requires empathy not only for the end user but for everyone involved in the journey from idea to object. Nichetto frames even difficult negotiations and compromises as opportunities for learning and growth, advocating for solutions that serve both human needs and business realities. In his view, design\u2019s true value lies in its ability to bridge gaps \u2013 between people, between cultures, and between the present and the future.<\/p>\n
As the episode wraps up, Nichetto distills his philosophy into a single, actionable takeaway: \u201cBefore you worry about how something looks, understand who will use it, how they\u2019ll feel when they interact with it, and what problem is it actually solving in their life. That\u2019s the difference between decoration and design.\u201d It\u2019s a call for designers to focus less on aesthetics and more on meaning; less on trends and more on lasting impact.<\/p>\n
For those eager to follow his work, Nichetto points listeners to NiketoStudio.com and his Instagram, with a new studio website launching soon. His career stands as a reminder that great design is not just about making things pretty \u2013 it\u2019s about making them matter, for everyone involved.<\/p>\n
Design Mindset continues to deliver these in-depth, thoughtful conversations every Friday, only on Yanko Design. Whether you\u2019re designing, commissioning, or simply appreciating, Nichetto\u2019s story is proof that empathy is the secret ingredient the world needs most.<\/p>\n
The post \u201cEmpathy is The Only Secret Ingredient\u201d: Why Luca Nichetto Thinks Pretty Design Isn\u2019t Enough<\/a> first appeared on Yanko Design<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yanko Design\u2019s new podcast, Design Mindset, is fast becoming a Friday ritual for design enthusiasts around the world. With a mission to uncover the principles and personalities that shape our built environment, the show doesn\u2019t … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n