It’s our mission to make the world a better place through design, and we approach our collaborations thoughtfully with a focus on strategic thinking, inclusivity, and sustainability. We nurture talent within the studio and choose to work with partners who share our values to pave the way for a positive tomorrow.
The LAYER studio in East London is where we bring your ideas to life. We have a workshop equipped with 3D printers, laser cutters, industrial sewing machines and material libraries; dedicated zones for research and development; powerful technology that we use to create cutting-edge visuals; and collaborative spaces where we craft evocative design stories.
We are a team of industrial and digital designers, engineers, strategists, and branding specialists from around the world. We collaborate across disciplines to create holistic experiences. Fueled by our unique perspectives, we uncover new ways of looking at the world and discover behavioural insights that drive our human-centred approach.
Benjamin Hubert is an award-winning British design entrepreneur, founder and Creative Director of LAYER. He established LAYER in 2015 as a platform to represent the studio’s multi-layered approach to design and its growing roster of creative partners. Leading a team of 30 creatives, he remains firmly involved in the creative output of the studio.
We are seeking Lead Industrial Designers to join the team in the London studio. You will have a record of exceptional design thinking on ground-breaking projects, excellent client-facing skills, and a minimum of 8+ years industry experience. You will not only be at the top of your design game, but also possess an innate business sense.
Deadline 31.07
We are seeking Mid-Level designers to join LAYER. You will have a track record of exceptional design thinking, 3D CAD and visualisation skills, and a positive outlook. We are looking for Industrial Designers with 3 years experience (after internships). You will be part of a highly motivated team working on groundbreaking projects in a supportive studio.
Deadline 01.09
We are seeking two interns for a 6-12 month paid internship. This internship will provide the opportunity to learn from our talented team and collaborate on every stage of the design process. Our Internship programme is paid pro rata at national living wage, and you will need to have an outstanding portfolio of student work.
Deadline 31.03
LAYER has won the Crypto, Blockchain, and Web3 category of the prestigious Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards for Ledger Stax, a wallet for storing cryptocurrency. “Now, cryptocurrency has a sleek physical accessory that lives up to its proponents’ revolutionary aspirations,” said the judges. “Knowing that crypto can confuse and dismay those who are unfamiliar, the device’s design is intentionally and painstakingly intuitive.”
LAYER has won the Crypto, Blockchain, and Web3 category of the prestigious Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards for Ledger Stax, a wallet for storing cryptocurrency. “Now, cryptocurrency has a sleek physical accessory that lives up to its proponents’ revolutionary aspirations,” said the judges. “Knowing that crypto can confuse and dismay those who are unfamiliar, the device’s design is intentionally and painstakingly intuitive.”
LAYER has designed a poop bag dispenser, poop bags, and five interactive dog toys for leading dog brand Earth Rated. The toys offer various interactions – Fly, Tug, Fetch, Treat, and Chew – and subtly reimagine classic typologies. The new products celebrate the brand’s sustainable values and are part of an extensive rebranding project led by LAYER.
LAYER has designed MIRA for leading projector brand XGIMI, a next-generation short-throw projector that revolutionises home entertainment. The projector – which incorporates audio and smart TV – is defined by its discreet fabric-wrapped form that challenges the visual dominance of the conventional “black box” television in our living spaces.
LAYER has won the Packaging category in the Core77 Design Awards for the Earth Rated rebrand. The new packaging complements branding work and six new products, with 50 pieces of sustainable packaging and point-of-sale displays and 33 total SKUs across 17 formats. Each piece is defined by elegantly reduced forms that minimise material use, and generous volumes of green that evoke the legacy of the brand to stand out on often crowded shelves.
Vale – a new sustainable seating collection by LAYER for KFI Studios – won three awards at NeoCon 2023. The chairs and stools won a Best of NeoCon, HiP Award, and a Metropolis Likes Award. This recognition is testament to the sustainable credentials of the new collection, which is defined by a PET felt shell made from recycled plastic bottles.
The new Earth Rated branding and packaging design by LAYER has recently been awarded first place in the prestigious Dieline Awards 2023. The project was awarded the top place in the ‘Home, Shopping, and Other Markets’ category. The playful new identity has repositioned the sustainable dog brand, empowering it to enter new segments of the pet market and expand their core offering.
LAYER has designed Ensemble, a collection of modular glass centrepieces for the iconic Swedish glass brand Orrefors. The interchangeable architectural forms have been designed to celebrate the traditional glassworking techniques that Orrefors is known for in a new, contemporary way. Ensemble is Orrefors first collaboration with an established non-Scandinavian designer in more than a decade and its first with LAYER.
LAYER has designed Vale for KFI Studios. The sustainable collection of chairs and stools is defined by a pressed felt shell that is created using recycled PET bottles. This innovative, material-driven approach celebrates the studio’s sustainable mindset to design, which prioritises thoughtful materiality and considers how furniture can be responsibly recycled at the end of its usable life. Vale launched in June at NeoCon in Chicago.
LAYER has recently won a host of prestigious awards. Viture ONE has won at the CES Innovation Awards, Red Dot Design Awards and iF Design Awards; the Calma chair for Andreu World won the Red Dot Best of the Best; and Connectivity Concept by LAYER in collaboration with the Deutsche Telekom Design Team has been awarded an iF Design Award.
LAYER has designed a powerful portable battery pack for Samsung that takes inspiration from the natural world and human behaviours. The design evokes soft stone-like forms and utilises a palette aligned with interior design, driving a new expression of technology. The monolithic silhouette and bold typographic element creates a simple yet ownable expression.
LAYER has created a playful new identity for dog brand Earth Rated. The extensive, two-year rebrand includes a new brandmark, holistic branding system and design language, a collection of 6 products made from recycled and natural materials, and 50 pieces of sustainable packaging and point-of-sale displays.
Connectivity Concept designed by LAYER in collaboration with Deutsche Telekom Design has been awarded Gold in the International Design Awards (IDA). Connectivity Concept is a family of products that reimagines smart technology and connectivity for the home. IDA celebrates visionary design – and we couldn’t be prouder to be recognised.
LAYER has collaborated with Croft – a start-up creating a blueprint for an enduring, scalable, green-hydrogen economy – to bring hydrogen power to consumers. LAYER led the industrial design and engineering of Nanocartridges to power retrofitted vehicles and a Nanoplant to recharge the Nanocartridges.
LAYER has created a brand identity and holistic branding system for US hydrogen-power start-up Croft, including an impactful brandmark, tone-of-voice, CMF strategy, and packaging. Like the products, the branding is crafted to feel visually ordered and pragmatic, and acts as a metaphor for the journeys that Croft empowers users to take.
LAYER has designed two new coffee machines for Korean brand Kanu. The machines – Breeze and Urban – celebrate a visually soft, Mid-Century design language that integrates with home interiors. The reduction of form, pared-back palette, and intuitive functionality elevate the perception of the appliance and create a better coffee experience.
LAYER has created Keia, a sustainable brand, packaging and edible project for a microdosing subscription service. Keia reimagines microdosing, shifting its perception from an underground trend to mainstream wellness solution that combines medicine, nature, and wellbeing. The service features three products that create new experiences for consumables.
LAYER has recently designed Ampi for Vitra, a super-compact desk accessory that dramatically increases access to power for charging various devices. It provides induction charging on the top surface, and USB-A and USB-C connectivity and two mains outlets inside. Ampi is the first collaboration between LAYER and Vitra, and has been in development for two years.
Experience design agency LAYER and founder Benjamin Hubert are the subject of an upcoming monograph published by Phaidon and written by design commentator Max Fraser. The book traces Benjamin’s journey from graduation to establishing and subsequently expanding his own studio. In doing so, it offers a candid and insightful account of the design industry.
LAYER recently celebrated the launch of a monograph on the studio’s work with an exhibition at Material Matters for London Design Festival 2022. The book – which is published by Phaidon and written by design commentator Max Fraser – was brought to life with a showcase of more than 30 projects that show the breadth and diversity of the studio’s work.
LAYER has recently been honoured twice in the prestigious Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards. The VITURE One smart glasses designed by LAYER for start-up VITURE won the ‘On the Rise’ category; and Connectivity Concept designed by LAYER in collaboration with Deutsche Telekom Design was honoured in the ‘Best Experimental Design’ category.
Pendler is a compact urban e-bike that combines high-performance technology with a finely crafted aesthetic to create a new vision for urban commuting. Pendler comes with several modular accessories that enable users to carry luggage and access devices safely while riding. The compact wheelbase and relatively small 20-inch wheels allow for easy storage.
Connectivity Concept is a family of smart telecom products designed by LAYER in collaboration with Deutsche Telekom Design. The collection comprises six products – a router, mesh repeater, set-top box/soundbar, camera, set-top box, and remote. Each device features gentle geometric forms, discreet interfaces, and crafted materials.
The Calma collection of office chairs by LAYER for Spanish furniture brand Andreu World will launch at NeoCon in Chicago. The soft, gentle form of Calma purposefully challenges the often technical language of office furniture. The chair is available with a high or low back and there are mesh, timber, and upholstered versions.
The O6 task chair designed by LAYER for Allsteel recently launched at NeoCon in Chicago – where it won the Best of NeoCon Sustainability Award. The name of the new chair comes from the rounded “O” shape of the backrest – the defining characteristic of the chair – and the six key interactions that enable the user to configure the chair for ultimate comfort.
Connectivity Concept is a family of smart telecom products designed by LAYER in collaboration with Deutsche Telekom Design. The collection comprises six products – a router, mesh repeater, set-top box/soundbar, camera, set-top box, and remote. Each device features gentle geometric forms, discreet interfaces, and crafted materials.
LAYER will launch Rostrum and Sabot – two modular sofas for Croatian furniture brand Prostoria – during Milan Design Week 2022. The ultra-modular sofa systems, called Rostrum and Sabot, strike a balance between domestic design language cues and hyper-modular workplace seating to cater for both residential and office environments.
LAYER recently designed the Viture One smart glasses for Viture, a San Francisco-based start-up founded by Google and Apple veterans. The super-slim, cutting-edge glasses display a 120-inch virtual screen in front of the users via the lenses of the eyewear. Viture launched the project on Kickstarter and has raised close to £2.5M (US$3.1M).
The LightVision meditation headset for US start-up Resonate has launched at Design Miami. The headset features an LED light matrix that allows powerful meditation to be attained simply and effortlessly. The design of the Resonate headset sets a new standard for meditation, with a calming, minimal design language that encourages a restful state of mind.
LAYER has created a collection of side tables for Spanish furniture brand Andreu World, which will launch at the upcoming NeoCon event in Chicago. TRIADA is a pair of die-cast aluminium tables for hospitality and workplace environments, designed with a minimalist identity to fit into a variety of contexts. The collection takes its name from the tripod leg.
The Crop collection of outdoor chairs for Allermuir recently won a Best of Neocon Gold award in the Outdoor Seating category at NeoCon. The collection takes its name from the rolling fields of crops found in the British countryside, which are represented by the flowing parallel wires of the seating forms. Crop was 12 months in development.
Prestigious Danish brand Bang & Olufsen created a home concept in their flagship store in Copenhagen during 3daysofdesign. The space allowed visitors to experience exceptional sound and learn more about how Bang & Olufsen is enabling a future where electronic products from different time periods can be connected to deliver a lifetime of music.
LAYER has designed a collection of glass vessels for Empathic – Discovering a Glass Legacy, an exhibition at Venice’s Punta Conterie gallery. The Granule collection comprises five large vessels that celebrate the rich tradition of Murano glassworking. Each piece is crafted using a variety of different techniques – including sfumato, incalmo, and vetro fuso.
LAYER founder, Benjamin Hubert, recently took part in a live talk with Andreu World CEO, Jesús Llinares, and Dezeen editor-in-chief, Marcus Fairs, for the LDF. The talk coincided with the launch of Conversations About Work, a new book by Andreu World that takes an inside look at the working practices of eight renowned designers.
LAYER has designed Capsula Mini, a compact assistant for Mail.ru, Russia’s largest internet company. The smart assistant is the embodiment of the Mail.ru voice assistant, Marusya, and it has been designed to drive engagement with the company’s services, which range from e-commerce and instant messaging services, to social networks and online gaming.
We’re delighted to announce that the Beosound Balance speaker designed by LAYER for Bang & Olufsen has recently been awarded an iF Design Award. Created with a passion for music, design, and craftsmanship, Beosound Balance is inspired by interior objects to redefine home audio. It features a soft, rounded silhouette in interior-first materials.
LAYER has created Beosound Emerge for luxury Danish consumer electronics brand, Bang & Olufsen. The super slim, sculptural speaker is designed to seamlessly sit on a shelf in the home, alongside books and other domestic objects, with a small footprint that belies the impressive acoustic output.
LAYER has designed a suite of products for health and wellness start-up Never Go Alone. The collection is designed to empower users to visibly take ownership over their health and safety, and the packaging design is driven by observed human behaviours and environmental concerns. An identity that differentiates from a medical-driven marketplace.
LAYER has created the NGA face mask as part of the inaugural collection for wellness start-up Never Go Alone. The innovative layered mask takes inspiration from the design language of athleisure, with a seamlessly bonded construction and adjustable features that offer exceptional comfort. The outer layer is a knitted fabric that conceals a PM2.5 filter.
