An artist at heart and industrial designer by trade, with a keen interest in new technologies, Joachim Froment moves from one project to the next with rare ease and a solid, unfailing vision. Working at the design and tech agency Futurewave, which he co-founded in Brussels, he develops products for Walloon companies and foreign brands such as Flos Bespoke and, soon, Rado. In his own words, he’s not interested in selling dreams, but in creating them.
Why did you choose to become a designer?
I’ve always drawn a lot. On the one hand, I have an artistic streak and, on the other, I’m passionate about science and inventions. From my teenage years, I drew new types of trains to invent, etc. It was only later that I became aware of the profession of designer. When I started at La Cambre, I was steered towards specialising in drawing, but I didn’t like the sometimes intangible aspect of art. The symbiosis between art and technology, giving meaning to everyday objects using new or traditional processes, is what motivated me to train as a designer.
You have a degree in Industrial Design from La Cambre in Brussels and in Product Design from the Royal College of Art in London. What did you learn from these two schools?
La Cambre is an excellent school for perfecting your artistic maturity. During my master’s degree in Design Products at the Royal College of Art in London, I learned about technical supervision and the relationship that industrial designers must create between the product and the user — an exercise in empathy. I was lucky to have renowned teachers. Sir Kenneth Grange (co-founder of the leading agency Pentagram, editor’s note) was one of them.
You were born in 1993 and readily cite designers from the 1990s and 2000s as your inspiration, such as Ron Arad and Konstantin Grcic, who also graduated from that school…
Yes, and Sir James Dyson too. They all have a connection with a practice that is close to both drawing and industry. No matter the generation — designers are either in one or the other — I think these two disciplines go hand in hand. The agency Futurewave, which I co-founded five years ago, emerged from this observation.
What remains to be created today, in the midst of an environmental crisis?
I think that’s a question all designers should ask themselves: “What gives me the right to design a new chair?” That’s why technology is a real tool today, not just an option in product design. In the face of rapid societal change, we need to create an attachment to objects, and technology helps us do that. For me, this is important because we need to build long-term relationships. With this in mind, we need to distinguish between emotional obsolescence and technical obsolescence, and I dream that Futurewave products will have a form of longevity. Emotional obsolescence is more important; it even guides technical obsolescence: once you no longer want an object, unfortunately you throw it away or replace it.
Who is Futurewave?
We are a team of around 25 employees, including electronic engineers (hardware and software), mechanical and industrial engineers, strategists, designers, industrial designers and UX designers for the user experience of the products we develop. Diversity is key to our daily work. Usually, in-house design teams are very polarised, which is exactly what we want to avoid. We’re able to do our job well through collaboration.
How did you work with international brands such as Sony and Adidas?
For Sony, we helped develop sensors for their involvement in the automotive industry. (This is an area of their business that is not very well known to the public.) For Adidas, which does a lot to incorporate eco-design in its products — but not only that — it involved using 3D printing technology with recycled plastic to create furniture and interiors, such as showrooms and one of their headquarters in Berlin (the designer had already created the ‘Strat’ series of chairs in eco-plastic, editor’s note).
And in Belgium, with Cowboy electric bikes and Ionnyk digital frames?
We contributed to the technological development of Cowboy’s battery system, optimising its performance and robustness in a product with a very sleek design. We worked on various electrical components, Bluetooth, cellular connectivity (2G and LTE standards) and GPS for data acquisition, while also taking care of the complex RED and FCC compliance and safety certifications. For Ionnyk, we handled the entire product design and industrial and technological development. The result is a smart, robust and minimalist object with optimised production costs.
With this brand, what are your latest projects developed with Walloon companies?
Futurewave worked extensively with Wallonia in its early days, and we continued with Botronics, based in Nivelles, with “iXi”, the first intelligent golf buggy with autonomous driving thanks to artificial intelligence (AI). “Bled”, a shop selling local food products accessible via an app, and “Kando”, a wireless electronic box to assist carers in nursing homes, followed.
What are they looking for from Futurewave’s services?
Every company and start-up that approaches us wants our work to have a positive impact on their business: reduce production costs, increase visibility for sales, improve product performance through technology, etc. In addition, Futurewave also helps its clients find technical solutions for their products that can be patented. This is part of our service.
What technologies designed by Futurewave for its customers have been patented?
An innovative locking mechanism for “Locky”, a new bicycle rack system that is more durable than traditional metal systems, and other innovations developed this time in the medical sector (which remain confidential at this stage), as well as customised embedded intelligence.
With Futurewave, you also work on projects that are open to editing. Why?
Futurewave’s ‘speculative designs’ are ideal kinds of products to encourage brands to explore new uses, types and materials, and to inspire them to bring them to life one day! For example, we’ve already produced prototypes of a 3D-printed metal alloy bike (“Alyx Bike”) and a smart assistant for people with Alzheimer’s, which stimulates memory by reactivating personal memories via personalised AI (“Memoria”).
Tell us about one of your latest creations: Livre, a screen built into the wall.
The Livre project is an exploration of new forms of interaction between technology and domestic intimacy. It’s a TV and audio station in the form of a foldable screen that blends into the interior décor. The idea was born out of a paradox: we love what screens bring us, but we hate their passive presence in our homes. The major technical challenge was to fold an OLED screen without creating a visible crease, drawing inspiration from mechanical systems used in other sectors, such as Dyson’s hair straighteners. In this context, technology is synonymous with performance, and design with experience.
As an independent designer, you have just completed two projects, one for the Bespoke division of the Italian company Flos, and another for Swiss watchmaker Rado…
My work is divided between technological products for Futurewave and, on my own, the creation of luxury objects, furniture and lighting. One of the latest creations for Flos Bespoke, “Jour d’été”, is a short or long pendant lamp that combines an integrated LED system with a new fabric from Kvadrat. All the electronics are concealed and the fabric evokes the image of sheets drying in the summer sun… For Rado, the project that will see the light of day is a new collection of ceramic watches based on the iconic “True Square” model. Thanks to the brand’s very first Rado Star Prize which I won at London Design Week in 2017 (with the ultra-thin 0.6 chair in laminated wood and carbon fibre, editor’s note), a connection was made.
Is your identity as a designer tied to Belgium?
I feel European first and foremost! (I have roots in Brussels and Flanders.) In general, I would like Brussels to finally take its place on the European design scene, like Copenhagen, which has set itself apart from cities such as London and Milan. The talent is there and very active, but few Belgian companies are calling on it to challenge their creative and production methods. They remain very closed to collaboration and do almost everything in-house. Meanwhile, the international community applauds Belgian designers and praises their creativity, even in other fields related to technology for the healthcare sector. With Futureware, I am committed to changing this.