Davide Dante Valerio

Working independently across industrial design, digital design, branding, and technical projects.

Built and led the design team as the agency grew, recruiting and onboarding designers, mentoring the team, and helping people take ownership of their projects while keeping work consistent across the department. I introduced shared workflows, templates, file structures, and documentation to make remote collaboration easier and give the team a clearer way of working. I also developed a system that turned production data into a live dashboard, giving the company a clearer view of output and billing.

• Developed campaign concepts and visual identities for political parties, foundations, and NGOs, mainly across social media. • Created templates, graphics, motion content, and presentation material. • Built visual systems that could stay consistent across multiple formats and deliverables. • Contributed to the development of the agency’s own visual identity and presentation materials.

Worked with Cosmonauts & Kings as a freelancer before joining the agency full-time. I developed two digital campaigns for major German political parties, including a two-month European election campaign with static and animated social-media content. The collaboration led to me joining the team as Senior Designer.

Developed office-furniture and desking-system concepts informed by research into German design aesthetics and changing workplace environments. Conducted market and behavioural research into co-working spaces, looking at how people used shared workplaces and what that could mean for future office products.

Developed two product collections and several consumer-electronics products from early concepts through prototyping and technical development toward production. The work balanced ergonomics, internal hardware, manufacturing constraints, cost, and usability, using 3D printing, CNC machining, silicone casting, and user testing before tooling. I worked with manufacturing partners in China and built a 3D library of standard hardware to define internal layouts earlier and reduce back-and-forth.

Worked on two short product-development projects: a self-initiated chair and an early air-quality monitoring device. For Varsavia, I developed the concept around CNC tube bending, tested the backrest with physical prototypes, and explored manufacturability with production partners. For Hawa Dawa, I developed the first housing for an air-quality sensor, taking it from concept exploration to a working 3D-printed prototype presented at Impact Hub Munich’s 8 Billion Lives challenge.

Worked on a configurable furniture system sold through a parametric online configurator and AR interface. I developed new features, including storage elements and a configurable TV opening, defining how they should adapt across changing dimensions and layouts. I also used market and anthropometric research to define requirements for drawers, doors and shelving, working closely with software, UX/UI, engineering and production to align physical product logic with the digital configurator.

Developed furniture and lighting from design handover through prototyping, technical development, certification, and production release. I translated designers’ concepts into manufacturable products, refining geometry, joints, materials, and assemblies in Rhino and resolving issues with suppliers. I coordinated manufacturers in Germany, Austria, and Italy, reviewed prototypes, carried out quality checks, and managed documentation, packaging, instructions, and UL certification for North America.

Worked directly with Benjamin across furniture, lighting, and accessory projects for international clients. I contributed to the Pelt Chair for De La Espada, Garment Lounge Chair for Cappellini, and Container Lamp for Ligne Roset, refining proportions, materials, construction, and manufacturability. The work moved between sketches, physical mock-ups, 3D modelling, technical drawings, material research, and production documentation, using prototypes to test ergonomics, joinery, and construction.

Worked in a small team on consumer electronics and furniture, including the Google Nexus Q and Watson’s Tonic office system. For Nexus Q, I contributed to geometry, proportions, CMF, finishes, and material details within the established product direction. I also led development of the custom audio and power cables, from concepts and 3D modelling through prototypes and CMF specifications, using physical samples to communicate finishes to the manufacturer. I later co-signed the cable patent.

Contributed to the development of early furniture pieces for Branca Lisboa, working mainly on plywood products. I also took part in the concept development for Portugal Fashion 2009, creating 3D typographic installations for the runway environment.

furniture design, strategic design, semiotics