What happens when design meets problems that don’t exist?
deTour 2026 is delighted to welcome Matty Benedetto—product designer, inventor, and the digital creator behind “Unnecessary Inventions”. Known for his playful, unexpected creations that have captured a global online following, Matty turns seemingly frivolous ideas into a powerful contemporary design phenomenon.
In this talk, Matty unpacks his creative journey of transforming absurd concepts into functional prototypes, compelling visual stories, and a thriving design business. Echoing the festival theme “Better, Not Perfect” and his interactive installation “Department of Everyday Problems”, the session explores how humour operates as a rigorous design tool, how imagination reframes the act of problem-solving, and what it truly means to build a meaningful career out of ideas nobody asked for.
Chilai Howard is a mixed-media artist and designer focused on experimental moving images, spatial art, and mixed-media installations. His works have been exhibited in Tate Modern, ZKM, and MOCA Taipei. He founded the award-winning creative studio NNNNNNN. in 2010, and received Best of the Best from Red Dot Design Award (2025), Agency of the Year from the The HKMA/ViuTV & Now TV Awards for Marketing Excellence (2024), Award for Young Artist (Media Arts) from the 17th Hong Kong Arts Development Awards (2023) and more.
Matty Benedetto is a renowned U.S.-based product designer, inventor, and internet creator. He is the founder of “Unnecessary Inventions”, a brand dedicated to creating humorous product concepts that solve problems nobody actually has.
Through short-form and long-form videos across social media, Matty has built a global following by documenting his delightfully “unnecessary” inventions—from functional objects with unexpected twists to everyday items reimagined with playful tactics. Operating at the intersection of design, comedy, and digital culture, his work transforms the mundane into the marvellous, inviting audiences to question the boundaries of utility, design, and necessity.
His practice blends product design with storytelling, using humour and imagination to challenge how we think about everyday objects.