EMPLOYER – GALANTE DESIGN STUDIO
2023 – PRESENT
ROLE – INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER
DURATION – 2.5 YEARS
Can an object evoke a sense of place as strongly as a building does?
The Atlas Obscured Collection was conceived by Architect and Creative Director Ted Galante to define a place, while also articulating its evolution. The Collection features furniture and home goods products composed of four layers of laser cut maps, stacked together to create an historical narrative for any city. My role was to translate concepts and direction from the Creative Director into production-ready consumer goods.
Wall Map, Paris
Wood Chair, New York City Midtown
Your City, Your Story
The Atlas Obscured Collection consists of four products, Aluminum Chair, Wood Chair, Wall Map, and Mapkin. These products are made with four layers of city maps, each representing a different year, embedding the objects with the historical narrative of the city.
Aluminum Chair, London
The Aluminum Chair features map layers laser cut in aluminum. Both the frames and the map layers are meticulously heated and bent by hand to achieve a dramatic form. CNC machined stainless-steel brackets provide reinforcement and bear the name of the city. The chair is powder-coated and can be used for lounging indoors or outdoors.
Wood Chair, Singapore
Designed as a dining chair, the Wood Chair features solid wood frames precisely milled on a CNC machine, and inlaid plywood map layers that are laser cut. Special design elements include the carefully crafted front bend where the map seamlessly curves around the front of the chair, and the tattoo, a significant location in the city inlaid into one of the back legs.
Wall Map, Boston
The Wall Map is a fine art object crafted from high-quality plywood with a hardwood veneer. The map layers are stacked together and edge-banded to create a seamless form that appears to float in front of the wall thanks to the custom-designed mounting hardware.
Mapkin, Boston
The Mapkin is a meaningful, beautiful, and functional napkin holder. The four map layers are laser cut from mirror-finish stainless steel and are carefully formed and assembled.
PROCESS
The process begins with researching the history of a city, identifying significant dates, and sourcing historical maps. The maps are georeferenced, digitally traced by hand, and laser cut. Each product in the collection consists of four layers of these maps, with present day as the top layer, and each subsequent layer diving further into history.
POP-UP GALLERY
Atlas Obscured Collection Pop-Up Gallery
The Galante Design Studio Atlas Obscured Collection Pop-Up Gallery was in a Harvard Square storefront from October 2024 to February 2025. I designed and installed window and interior wall graphics, created gallery labels, and assisted in developing the gallery layout and selecting wall images.
E-COMMERCE WEBSITE
Home Page
Atlas Obscured Collection Page
Atlas Obscured Collection Page
Example of Product Page
Example of Product Page
I spearheaded the effort to create an e-commerce website for Galante Design Studio, and lead the full design process utilizing Shopify and working within the established brand guidelines. It was essential to ensure the concept behind the Atlas Obscured Collection is clearly communicated and that the story of each city is presented to engage the viewer with the meaning embedded in each product.
PRODUCT BROCHURE
Designed to physically accompany each product in the Atlas Obscured Collection, I created product brochures, working within the established brand guidelines, to provide the origin-story of the collection. It clearly communicates the historical narrative of the specific city represented in the product, incorporating historical images to enhance the storytelling.
