Studio Catinca Tilea

Catinca Tilea is a design studio that operates in the fields of industrial, interior and retail design. Founded by concept designer Catinca Tilea, the studio analyses the full cycle of a product, from idea, to product use, to disposal of material. Projects vary from physical objects – both industrially manufactured and unique pieces – to idea outlining and strategy. Designing the process The main focus is designing with the process in mind. Broadly seen as the path from the idea stage to the end user, the process of a product involves a lot of players apart from the designer, each of them determining a bit of what the product becomes by the time it gets to the user. In this context the studio introduces features through design that activate certain groups of players at different times in the broad process. Through this the design stage turns into a collective experience where people from other disciplines or users themselves become – consciously or not – crucial for completing the design. Designing the process allows creative results with multiple futures depending on the people they come across. Moreover, it creates the impact necessary for design to stay relevant. The process has the ability to improve social behavior, local economy, politics and sustainability. What is what and who is who? Designing the process is also a way of questioning the boundaries of the professional framework. In our current Digital Age where any device user can throw his/her craziest dream online and let it be made real, Studio Catinca Tilea embraces this transition of craft and technology and introduces it into the studio’s practice. Design is by the people and for the people.