The word useful appears neutral, almost benign. It belongs to the language of practicality and common sense. Yet usefulness is never merely descriptive. To call something useful is to place it inside a system of values, goals, and power. Useful for whom? For what? And according to which vision of society? 

Contemporary culture has raised the concept of usefulness to the level of a moral imperative. With the advent of industrial capitalism, the concept of worth could be quantified: time had to be productive, the body had to be efficient, life had to be economically rational. The useful citizen was the one who could reduce life to its productive output.  Usefulness as a political discourse translates into the language of necessity. Policies, reforms, and sacrifices are all necessitated by necessity. Once things are deemed useful, there is no need to debate.

“What is considered rational or useful is never neutral; it is always tied to a particular system of values and a specific form of social order.” 

The concept of utility is central to design. The manner in which utility is ascribed has a rich history of being associated with problem-solving and maximization. This is how certain notions of utility have become normal. However, design is not merely a reaction to societal values. In actual fact, it is a tool for producing those values. This is done through the mediums of interface, systems, and space. It is through this mechanism that societal values regarding politics and cultures are actualized.

UTIL operates consciously within this terrain. Founded in Lisbon in 2017 by Manuel Amaral Netto and Tomás Carvalhas, the brand takes usefulness not as a slogan, but as a position. The name itself—useful in Portuguese—signals a commitment to clarity, necessity, and restraint.

Shots by @maxverret

UTIL designs durable, functional storage furniture made from high-quality materials, shaped by the simplicity of everyday life and the need to focus on what truly matters. Rather than chasing novelty, UTIL’s architecturally influenced collections are conceived to endure and adapt. Each piece is designed to last a lifetime, resisting the logic of planned obsolescence that dominates contemporary furniture production. Collaboration with like-minded international designers and manufacturing in Portugal allow fine craftsmanship to coexist with industrial precision, anchoring usefulness in both material quality and long-term relevance. By extending the idea of usefulness beyond mere function, UTIL frames design as an ethical practice—one that values longevity over consumption, adaptability over trend, and essentiality over excess. In doing so, usefulness becomes not an instrument of efficiency, but a way of shaping everyday life with intention.

Simone Lorusso: The word “useful” has historically been used to measure human worth. When you chose UTIL as a name, were you thinking about usefulness as a criterion imposed on people as much as on objects?

Manuel Amaral Netto & Tomás Carvalhas: We don’t think of usefulness as an adjective - a label where people or things are useful or useless- we think of the verb, to use. How things are used, by whom and to what end. We were thinking about what people value (rather than what they are worth) and about how belongings and spaces can be full of uses.

"Expansive curiosity about day-to-day lives and total banality captures us well."

SL: If UTIL could be introduced through a quote rather than a description, which author, thinker, or voice would best capture its position—and why?

MA & TC: A quote attributed to Ettore Sottsass comes to mind: "There are those who design chairs for offices and those who dream of cities where everyone's happy. There are times in which you put on a jacket and shoes and go out to the cinema, and other times when, lying on the bed with eyes wide open, you wonder what's happening at that particular moment on the outskirts of Hong Kong, in those overcrowded houses”. This mixture of extreme, expansive curiosity about day-to-day lives and total banality captures us well.

SL: UTIL is rooted in Portugal while operating within a global design discourse. What cultural values does Portuguese craftsmanship allow you to defend—or reassert—on an international stage?

MA & TC: The Portuguese are talented at predicting potential problems, which is useful during the design process. A local, non-outsourced connection with manufacturing means visits, dialogue, and problem-solving are all person to person. We also aren’t tied to industrial protocols like minimum orders, which helps keep a lean stock and avoid overproduction. We’re a small country, after all!

SL: You describe usefulness as a position rather than a slogan. In a society where usefulness is equated with productivity and efficiency, what version of usefulness are you consciously resisting?

MA & TC: AI is often sold through the lens of productivity and efficiency. When it comes to how UTIL products are photographed and how we want to visually communicate, we are consciously resisting AI generated imagery; we are interested in things in the material world, in the display and protection of material reality.

Shot on the left by @maxverret

SL: By designing furniture meant to last a lifetime, you challenge a culture of acceleration and disposability. Do you see durability primarily as an aesthetic choice, a political stance, or a moral obligation? 

MA & TC:  All three. Durability implies aesthetic choices at the level of materials; it implies a political stance insofar as it is inherently anti-obsolescence and durability is a moral obligation in a world at a choking point with the disposable debris.

SL: In a design culture obsessed with novelty and visibility, what does it mean to design furniture that deliberately avoids spectacle and trend? Can invisibility itself function as a form of resistance?

MA & TC: The relationship between visibility and invisibility is interesting. When we design the product, when it stands alone in the showroom, it's naturally visible, or meant to be seen. But it should become invisible through use, that is, storage furniture becomes a stage for the display of belongings, or becomes just one part of a whole room.

SL: When future generations look back at the idea of “useful” that guides UTIL today, what do you hope they will see?

MA & TC: We hope they’d sense honesty… no bullshit.

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Words: Simone Lorusso