Can Design Make a Difference?

This is the question asked by Orange22 Design Lab's Blank Canvas Project, who commissioned some big-time designers to lend their talents and leverage social change. Each designer will create a new edition of Orange22's indoor-outdoor Botanist furniture -- which are all finished with a VOC-free powder coating process -- and Orange22 will match the designers' royalty with a gift to a social cause of their choice.

On the hook for new designs are Karim Rashid, Yves Béhar and a host of other accomplished designers, who are all currently hard at work on their new creations; the altruism-driven designs will be unveiled later this year at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York City.

Orange22's original Botanist line-which includes a cocktail table, end table, and bench-features intricate surface patterns cut with water-jet technology. Each sleek, metal form begins its life as a Blank Canvas . "We designed the structures to be strong and versatile enough to sustain any pattern we could imagine," says Dario Antonioni, founder of Orange22. "Now, the industry's most celebrated designers will do the dreaming."

Will they dream big enough to leverage meaningful social change? We'll be at ICFF to see them unveiled, and time will tell if the designs can make a difference. ::Orange22