ecopixel translates children’s drawings into functional recycled plastic objects

children’s drawings shape recycled plastic objects by ecopixel

Ecopixel translates children’s intuitive drawings into functional objects made entirely from recycled plastic in a design research project developed in collaboration with The British School of Milan and Asilo Infantile ‘Domenico Boldrini’ (Lago Maggiore). Presented at Galleria Rossana Orlandi during Milan Design Week 2026 with the support of Nicoletta Brugnoni, the collection explores how instinctive forms can be preserved through industrial production processes and sustainable material systems.

Rather than teaching children conventional design methods, the project invited participants between four and seven years old to imagine objects for their own environments through drawing workshops focused on material awareness, sustainability, and intuitive creativity. Nearly forty drawings were produced during the workshops, from which three objects were selected for development: Mushroom Lamp, Spot Light, and Poised Flower Vase.

Mushroom Lamp designed by 7-year-old Valeria from The British School of Milan | all images courtesy of Ecopixel

ecopixel preserves the irregular forms of children’s drawings

Instead of correcting or redesigning the children’s sketches according to adult design standards, the design team at Ecopixel treated the drawings as direct blueprints for production. Original proportions, irregular forms, colors, and compositional logic were maintained throughout the manufacturing process, requiring the development of custom rotational molding systems capable of translating non-standard geometries into functional industrial products.

The resulting objects occupy a space between instinctive drawing and industrial fabrication. Produced through rotational molding using recycled and recyclable thermoplastic materials, the collection retains visible traces of Ecopixel’s material process through textured surfaces, embedded color fragments, and irregular tonal variations generated during recycling.

Valeria’s sketch was transformed into an Ecopixel product

recycled plastic becomes a medium for experimentation and reuse

The project also examines recycled plastic as a continuously transformable material rather than a secondary or downgraded resource. Throughout the workshops, children approached recycled matter without distinctions between virgin and reused materials, focusing instead on possibility, experimentation, and transformation. One child participant summarized this perspective during the process, stating that ‘materials only become waste when we throw them away.’

Presented at Galleria Rossana Orlandi with the support of Nicoletta Brugnoni following Milan Design Week 2026, the project opened broader discussions around sustainable production, design education, intuitive creativity, and alternative forms of authorship within contemporary design practice.

Flower Vase ‘Poised,’ designed by 4-year-old Valentino from the Asilo infantile di Musadino, Lago Maggiore

4-year-old Valentino’s original sketch for Flower Vase ‘Poised’

Spot Light designed by Max from The British School of Milan

Max’s sketch of his chosen ecopixel design and color

British School of Milan Year 4 pupils’ designs from their waste plastic project with Ecopixel

4-year-old students from Asilo Infantile ‘Domenico Boldrini’ – Musadino, Lago Maggiore, sketching

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banner created by children at the British Design Museum to raise awareness

Valeria and Max, designers from The British School of Milan

Professor David explains plastic recycling using an Ecopixel lamp

tooling to produce the Mushroom Lamp of Valeria industrially

project info:

name: Mushroom Lamp, Spot Light, Poised Flower Vase
designer: Ecopixel

design team: Valeria, Max, Valentino

school collaborators: The British School of Milan – Sir James Henderson Asilo Infantile ‘Domenico Boldrini’ – Musadino, Lago Maggiore

exhibition: Galleria Rossana Orlandi with the support of Nicoletta Brugnoni

location: Porto Valtravaglia, Italy

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom