email: hello@youssef.works
instagram: @juice_bassil
are.na: link
I am a product / industrial designer based in Beirut, Lebanon, and a graduate of ECAL in Switzerland.
My approach is drawn from my observations of contextual realities (manufacturing, cultural, societal, archetypical…) because I strive for my projects to embody a sense of self-evidence through their form and materiality.
To me, essentiality should not be an aesthetical pursuit, but rather a tool for efficiency and narrative clarity. I aim for this approach to carry through the entirety of my practice –in artisanal, industrial, spatial, curatorial, and academic endeavours.
– Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA) – 2019
MA in Product design
– École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne (ÉCAL) – 2024
– Dubai Design Week – 2021
Etat de Siège
– Galerie Tanit – 2022
Moments of Strength
– Downtown Design, Dubai – 2022
Beirut. The Eras of Design
– MUDAC, Lausanne – 2023
Creative Liaisons
– Life Lebanon UK – 2023
Under Design Lebanon
– Fuorisalone, Milan – 2023
ÉCAL x Horgenglarus x senior-lab
– Design Days Lausanne – 2024
We Will Survive
– MUDAC, Lausanne – 2024
(with Exil Collective)
– Architectural Digest Middle-East – 2021
AD50 Honorees
(with Exil Collective)
– Architectural Digest Middle-East – 2022
Last Updated August 2025
(or the Smartest Dumbphone)
All alternatives to smartphones today replicate the typologies of the pre-iPhone era of devices.
What is the right device for a world longing to disconnect?
With Erwan Bouroullec & Camille Blin.
(or the Dumbest Smartphone)
Society has developed a strong reliance on smartphones for many everyday things like navigation, transport, music, banking and payments… And while these tools have streamlined parts of our lives, we pay for them with our attention and data – the average adult spending a total of around 24 hours staring at their phones every week.
This project draws the best features from multiple familiar typologies to “dumb down” the modern device: giving us access to essential smartphone features that make our lives more convenient without the need to pay for them with our attention and well-being.
With Kim Colin (Industrial Facility).
A flat-packed, user-assembled, and affordable chair made in Lebanon. ec-01 is designed around local manufacturing limitations and adapted to production in small workshops with basic tools – making the most of each one of the craftsperson’s actions and gestures.
Part of the Beirut: the Eras of Design show at MUDAC - Lausanne (2023), and the MUDAC permanent collection.
A cane designed to break the stigmas around walking sticks by bridging the gap between ergonomics and desirability.
With Sam Hecht (Industrial Facility).
An ultra-lightweight stool crafted from a two-millimetre-thick sheet of aluminium.
Its generous curves—echoing the familiar forms of monobloc furniture—provide structural strength to a material typically known for its suppleness and softness. The result is a striking balance of organic shapes and stoic metal, creating a piece that stands out as a unique typology while still efficiently blending into spaces.
With Tomás Alonso.
PB2223 - Creator is a compact and multifuntional pen meant to complement PB Swiss Tool’s extensive catalog of high-end tools. An easily pocketable tracing device, it benefits from the company’s signature magazine storage system to provide access to three precision bits on the go.
With Augustin Scott de Martinville (Big Game).
Inspired by an olive-wood stool my grandfather built half a century ago using materials and tools available to him. Made with the materials and tools available to me today.
Produced by Ghazar Mamigonian.
Commissioned by Almaz (LB) for the LIFE Education Programme auction (UK).
A joint system for modular furniture that eliminates the need for tools during assembly and disassembly thanks to its snap-fit mechanism. Extruded out of aluminium, it requires minimal manufacturing processes, ensuring consistency and affordablity all while remaining 100% recyclable.
With Ville Kokkonen.
A series of brutal objects shaped by emotional distress for the chillest of scenarios.
Presented as part of Exil Collective’s launching collection at Dubai Design Week (2021).
© Youssef Bassil 2025