Sep Verboom, The Socially And Environmentally Conscious Belgian Creative

Collaboration, community and craft are the keywords in the design philosophy of Sep Verboom, the socially and environmentally conscious Belgian creative who has made a career out of reassessing the task of a designer. Writer Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle digs deeper into his progressive design philosophy, collaborations with artisan communities around the world, sustainably-driven intiatives and the importance of rethinking the role of a designer – not as a mere form giver but as a connector of existing expertises in indigenous communities.

- Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle

A designer of his generation, Sep Verboom is both local and global and preoccupied with ecological and social issues, not just as a producer and innovator, but as someone who inspires and aspires to make the world a better place as well.

The Ghent-based creative is at once a designer and a social entrepreneur, less concerned with the result and more with the context in which it takes place. Focused on showcasing sustainable and ethical substitutes to standard industrial production, and favouring low-tech approaches dependent on centuries of savoir-faire, he wants people to know the origin of products, from who made them to the materials they’re made from.

Instead of designing for established furniture manufacturers, he founded Livable in 2015. It works on projects involving in-depth research leading to innovative solutions – generally in cooperation with organisations and institutions, local governments, NGOs, curators and industrial design partners.

“There are a lot of career-driven designers who focus only on the aesthetics and the economic side,” Sep notes. “Eventually, these people will notice that they have to reinvent themselves; it is already happening now.

“Believing in a balance between the economic, social and environmental impact we create, I have always been convinced that there is a lot more to our profession.

“The conventional career path is not working any more. Big-name furniture manufacturers feel the heat to change course and future-proof designers embrace the fact that we need to work together with a wider range of expertise.