An audiovisual series devoted to iconic design objects
ICONIC DESIGN[S] is a short-form audiovisual series created and developed by Olivier Felix Isselin and Maxime Golay under the MGOFI Production label.
Conceived as a cultural format with a strong visual identity, the series explores the intelligence of form through objects that have become lasting landmarks in our material culture. At the crossroads of design, visual culture, and storytelling, each episode offers a clear, concise, and demanding reading of an iconic object, approached not as a simple product, but as a form charged with use, history, imagination, and thought.
The project
Some objects pass through time without losing their obviousness. They remain present in our interiors, in public spaces, and in our collective memory. By being constantly seen, they sometimes end up no longer being truly looked at.
ICONIC DESIGN[S] starts from this familiarity in order to return to what matters: why do these objects still matter? What did they invent? What do they tell us about an era, a way of living, a relationship to progress, comfort, beauty, or industry?
The series does not treat design as a decorative field or as something reserved for specialists. It approaches it as a form of language: a way of thinking about the world through objects designed to serve, endure, attract, simplify, or transform our uses.
Each episode seeks to reveal what, in an object, belongs at once to necessity, form, and collective memory.
A short, visual, and demanding form of writing
ICONIC DESIGN[S] is conceived as a brief series, but not a minor one. Here, short form is not a shortcut. It is a discipline.
In 2 minutes 30 seconds, each episode builds a concentrated narrative around one object. The aim is not to accumulate information, but to find the right form to convey what matters most: a context, an invention, a line, a gesture, a legacy.
The series is built on:
- sober and structured writing,
- a strong attention to the image,
- a precise staging of the object,
- clear narration,
- a cultural approach that remains accessible without oversimplifying.
The format combines on-screen presence, careful framing, contextual imagery and, depending on the episode, brief contributions from designers, editors, executives, historians, or specialists.
What the series tells
Through each object, ICONIC DESIGN[S] tells more than the story of a famous form. It reveals a meeting point between creation, technique, society, and imagination.
An iconic object is never only beautiful. It responds to an era, to a use, to an evolution of materials, to a vision of everyday life. It condenses a way of inhabiting the world.
The series is interested in that rare moment when form ceases to be anecdotal and becomes self-evident — to the point of entering the shared landscape for good.
Format
- Premium short-form series
- 10 episodes × 2 min 30
- Hosted on screen
- Cultural series with a strong visual identity
- International adaptation potential
Pilot
The pilot is devoted to the Tolix A Chair, created in 1934 by Xavier Pauchard.
An emblematic object of French industrial design, the Tolix chair perfectly captures the spirit of the series: a form that appears simple, yet was born from a logic of fabrication, use, and modernity, and has since become a universal reference.
The pilot was shot in France with a particularly refined formal treatment, in a visual approach consistent with the project’s overall ambition.
Positioning
ICONIC DESIGN[S] is intended for a broad and curious audience, sensitive to objects, forms, images, and what they reveal about the contemporary world.
By virtue of its format and positioning, the series can find its place:
- on cultural or general-interest broadcasters,
- on digital platforms,
- in premium editorial environments,
- in both French-speaking and international distribution.
It is built on a simple and distinctive proposition:
to make design into an accessible, visual, and embodied narrative, without reducing it either to specialist commentary or to mere entertainment.
Development and professional presence
The project has already entered a first concrete stage of development and circulated in international professional contexts.
ICONIC DESIGN[S] has notably:
- been presented at MIPCOM,
- been selected at Seriesland in Bilbao,
- and will also be present at the Cannes Marché du Film within the Europe / Creative Europe MEDIA stand.
These steps confirm the project’s potential in terms of distribution, market positioning, and international development.
Creation and production
ICONIC DESIGN[S] is created and developed as a duo by Olivier Felix Isselin and Maxime Golay under the MGOFI Production label.
Olivier Felix Isselin
Art direction, writing, conception, directing, editorial vision
Maxime Golay
Development, production, on-screen presentation, embodiment of the format
MGOFI Production is their audiovisual and cultural production label.
For broadcasters & partners
The pilot, presentation materials, and development information are available on request for broadcasters, producers, distributors, partners, and industry professionals.
For any screening request, project presentation, or professional inquiry:
If you want, I can also give you a more native, more premium English version, slightly tightened for a broadcaster-facing page : contact@iconicdesigns.tv
