Nomad System Cardboard: A Classic, Reimagined

Posted by Jaime Salm, MIO Culture Creative Director

In 2008, we introduced a product that was unlike anything else in the furnishings market. It was flat-packed, made from cardboard, and designed to create space where there was none. We called it Nomad System, and It quickly became one of the first modern cardboard room dividers built for creativity and flexibility… A tool for shaping interiors, supporting creativity, and bringing structure to the in-between places of our lives.

Fifteen years later, Nomad is still doing that work, only now, it’s doing it with improved materials, refined details, and a renewed commitment to the values that inspired it in the first place.

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Designing for Cardboard, Not Around It

The origin of Nomad System is a story we love to tell because it reminds us why we design. While exploring prototypes for a space-making concept, we mocked up the forms using cardboard. We weren’t testing the material; we were testing the scale. But something about that first version worked. It felt right. The proportions were strong, the pieces stood up, and they connected easily using a notched geometry.

At that moment, we realized that the solution was already in front of us. Instead of treating cardboard as a stand-in, we chose to design for it. Not as a compromise, but as a deliberate design decision. It was a material we knew well from our family’s history in packaging. We understood its strength, its resilience, its beauty, and its environmental advantages. By embracing its limitations and capabilities, we created a product that was strong, elegant, and deeply accessible.

By embracing cardboard as a sustainable room divider material, we redefined how temporary walls could look and perform.

A Global Tool for Creative Space

Nomad has always been more than a product. It is a system that allows people to define space on their own terms. It assembles without hardware or tools, just notched modules that interlock by hand. Its simplicity makes it adaptable. Its visual clarity makes it timeless.

Over the years, Nomad has appeared in homes, offices, classrooms, retail stores, trade show booths, and exhibitions. It has been used in film and television sets, behind photo shoots and product launches, and even as stage dressing behind some of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces. From dorm rooms to design studios, from corporate lobbies to artist workshops, Nomad has helped people shape space with ease and intention.

That widespread use is a testament to its flexibility. It works equally well in temporary and permanent settings. It responds to real needs.

Why We Updated the Product

As part of a larger review of our product catalog, we recently revisited Nomad System with fresh eyes. The goal was not to change the concept but to improve how it performs and delivers in today’s context. We looked at material quality, manufacturing techniques, visual performance, and logistics. The upgrades that emerged from this process were thoughtful, specific, and rooted in the original purpose of the design.

What’s New

We upgraded the material by increasing the paperboard weight. The new version feels more substantial and holds up better in repeated use, especially in high-traffic environments.

We improved our print and finishing process by partnering with a manufacturer that specializes in high-quality visual products. Colors are richer and more consistent.

We refined the die-cutting to improve the look and feel of the interlocking notches. Assembly is smoother and even more satisfying.

We redesigned the shipping box to better protect the product while telling our company story. The instruction manual has been replaced with a scannable QR code that leads to digital resources, reducing paper waste and improving accessibility.

We are now working with a regional logistics partner located just miles from our Illinois manufacturing facility. This reduces our shipping emissions, shortens delivery distances, and improves our quality control process. The product is designed, made, and packed in the USA, supporting local economies and minimizing environmental impact.

And we’re keeping our commitments. Each cardboard partition is recycled and remains FSC certified, and our manufacturing partner holds SFI certification. These standards ensure responsible sourcing, ethical production, and a transparent supply chain.

A Design That Feels Inevitable

Nomad System has always felt like a design that needed to exist.  It continues to set the standard for what a sustainable cardboard room divider can be.It is a product born from clear thinking, honest materials, and practical needs. It does not try to be more than it is, and that is exactly why it continues to resonate.

It is accessible in every sense. It is affordable, easy to assemble, visually flexible, and rooted in a material that people recognize. It invites participation. It empowers users to define their own environments. It brings beauty to utility.

Fifteen years later, Nomad remains both timely and timeless. Its design continues to meet the evolving needs of people who move, change, and adapt their spaces regularly. And its presence still sparks curiosity and conversation—proof that the simplest ideas are often the most transformative.

Thank you for being part of this journey. We are excited to share the next decade of cardboard architecture with you—one room, one module, and one inspired space at a time.