Object Stories

Who commissions objects and why do they do so? Without their commissioners, most of the objects in Commissions & Commissioners would never have existed. Commissions take a range of forms in the design world. Private individuals can order furniture for a specific house while companies can retain designers on the basis of a market strategy. For their part, governments can have promotional gifts designed or else they can support designers by means of commissions. Since the second half of the twentieth century, more designers have opted to make work autonomously, without being commissioned.