DESIGN I NVESTMENT
EFFICIENT DESIGN
Design Investment explores how to provide viable and relevant
design solutions in ever-shorter product development times
W
hen Mark and I started Design
Investment in 2004 we shared
the idea of providing intelligent
and sustainable design in a fast-changing
global environment. We both had a
transport design background and a
passion for sailing and flying, so we
launched ourselves into applying this
passion in aviation,” recalls Alexandra
Collins, co-founder of the studio.
The partners found that the very
technical aerospace industry offered vast
opportunities for new designs and
innovations, and they feel they have
already made a mark. “We have shaped
some market-leading products, come up
with challenging concepts and left our
design footprint in this world,” says Collins.
The June 2019 issue of Aircraft Interiors
Magazine featured Air France’s new A330
business class seat, which formed a key
part of an overall redesign of the entire
cabin, and was developed in a mere 17
months as a high-level customisation
project of Stelia’s Equinox 2D seat.
Introduced in early 2019, the seat has
since become available as a new catalogue
product from Stelia, named Elysium.
“The Air France project represents what
our studio became known for – customised
design solutions for airlines on existing
products. But there is more to our work
in our studio near Geneva,” adds Collins.
aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
072 ANNUAL SHOWCASE 2020
With airline project development times
getting shorter and shorter, and as a
design studio aiming to provide fresh and
inspiring design solutions that answer
airlines’ need for keeping their brand
promise, the Design Investment team
decided to dedicate time for creativity.
This time allows them to explore ideas
independently from day-to-day projects,
to work out how they can contribute to
improving the passenger experience,
or even how to change it altogether.
“These R&D projects allow us to
experiment, dream and let our creativity
loose in the search for new design
answers. The results influence our design
projects and also often spark ideas that
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