01
Find the idea
Every project begins with a name, and every name is an omen. We look for the elementary form, the zero point from which everything else follows.
E.g. site visits, research, concept and creative direction
testatonda — creative studio in Turin: design, exhibitions and visual installations
An offbeat studio
based in Turin
Creative studio · design, exhibitions, visual installations
testatonda designs objects, exhibitions and visual installations around one (head)strong idea.
01
02
Design the object
Like the round-head nail, forged by the patient repetition of craft, our objects join function and refinement. We give the idea a body, and test it with our hands until it holds.
E.g. product design, prototyping, materials and manufacturing
03
Build a world
Around the object we build the space it deserves. We seek harmony between people and the places they live in, and we find beauty in gaps and uneven details.
E.g. exhibitions, visual installations, events and brand activations
04
Let it live
An object is finished only when someone uses it. We open the doors and let people complete the work: the space fills, the light changes, the story goes on without us.
E.g. openings, events, brand activations, photo shoots and the second life of every piece
Our work spans museums, festivals, retail, visual installations, fashion, outdoor and furniture.
Feng
ProductGebrüder Thonet Vienna
Arched panels held between slender rods: a screen that divides a room without closing it.
ProductGebrüder Thonet Vienna
Arched panels held between slender rods: a screen that divides a room without closing it.
Ronin
ProductZavaLuce
Totem cones and drifting samurai: a collection of floor, pendant and wall lamps.
ProductZavaLuce
Totem cones and drifting samurai: a collection of floor, pendant and wall lamps.
Trespade collection
ProductK-Way
Steel tubes and woven steel straps. Shot in K-Way suits, by Ivan Cazzola.
ProductK-Way
Steel tubes and woven steel straps. Shot in K-Way suits, by Ivan Cazzola.
Feng, at home
ProductGebrüder Thonet Vienna
The screen in a living room, filtering the light without hiding it.
ProductGebrüder Thonet Vienna
The screen in a living room, filtering the light without hiding it.
Feng, the screen
ProductGebrüder Thonet Vienna
Three views of the screen: black frames, striped panels and brass-tipped rods.
ProductGebrüder Thonet Vienna
Three views of the screen: black frames, striped panels and brass-tipped rods.
F4 collection
Product
Tables, console, chair, bench and a mirror cabinet, all in one single pink.
Product
Tables, console, chair, bench and a mirror cabinet, all in one single pink.
Gioco
Product
A round mirror balanced on a marble sphere and a brass rod. Tilt it and it plays.
Product
A round mirror balanced on a marble sphere and a brass rod. Tilt it and it plays.
unoxuno ktchn
Product
A whole kitchen on one round copper top, with a light above the cook’s head. Shown at Isola Design Gallery, Milan.
Product
A whole kitchen on one round copper top, with a light above the cook’s head. Shown at Isola Design Gallery, Milan.
Ronin Field
ExhibitZavaLuce
An army of wave men building a Japanese garden without ornaments. Lamps that have lost their masters. Isola Design Festival, Milan Design Week 2023.
ExhibitZavaLuce
An army of wave men building a Japanese garden without ornaments. Lamps that have lost their masters. Isola Design Festival, Milan Design Week 2023.
Ronin, the shoot
ProductZavaLuce
The floor lamp with the models: blue and black discs held like umbrellas, leaves or halos.
ProductZavaLuce
The floor lamp with the models: blue and black discs held like umbrellas, leaves or halos.
Skin
ExhibitCopernico
A beach chair drawn on a napkin, grown into a system of chairs. The fabric is plastic, the texture is that of summer memories fading in the sun. Isola Design Festival, Milan Design Week 2023.
ExhibitCopernico
A beach chair drawn on a napkin, grown into a system of chairs. The fabric is plastic, the texture is that of summer memories fading in the sun. Isola Design Festival, Milan Design Week 2023.
Benches
ExhibitFlashback Art Fair
Plywood benches in one colour, set against the painted corridors of Flashback Art Fair in Turin.
ExhibitFlashback Art Fair
Plywood benches in one colour, set against the painted corridors of Flashback Art Fair in Turin.
The red room, backstage
Exhibit
Smoke, lights and the F4 collection on set, before the red gels went on.
Exhibit
Smoke, lights and the F4 collection on set, before the red gels went on.
The red room
Exhibit
A set lit in red: our furniture among arcade cabinets, mirrors and feathers.
Exhibit
A set lit in red: our furniture among arcade cabinets, mirrors and feathers.
Trespade, the collection
Product
Armchair, sofa, stool and side table in polished steel tubes and woven steel straps, with a mirror-glass top.
Product
Armchair, sofa, stool and side table in polished steel tubes and woven steel straps, with a mirror-glass top.
F4 collection, chair
Productwith Viola Gesmundo
A chair and a side table from the F4 collection, painted by hand by Viola Gesmundo. The video follows her at work.
Productwith Viola Gesmundo
A chair and a side table from the F4 collection, painted by hand by Viola Gesmundo. The video follows her at work.
Trespade, on grass
ProductK-Way
The armchair on a square of lawn, waiting for the rain.
ProductK-Way
The armchair on a square of lawn, waiting for the rain.
We also build installations for brands, galleries and fairs.
Enzo Mari’s table, set in motion
ExhibitGebrüder Thonet Vienna · Milan
Gebrüder Thonet Vienna presents a table by Enzo Mari. Around it we built an installation: a bicycle wheel with four gloved hands, turned by a motor, pointing at the table.
ExhibitGebrüder Thonet Vienna · Milan
Gebrüder Thonet Vienna presents a table by Enzo Mari. Around it we built an installation: a bicycle wheel with four gloved hands, turned by a motor, pointing at the table.
Bench, Gnambox edition
ProductGnambox
A special edition of our bench for Gnambox: all white, with two yellow knitted cushions.
ProductGnambox
A special edition of our bench for Gnambox: all white, with two yellow knitted cushions.
Prima Risonanza
ExhibitSpaces Porta Nuova · Milan Design Week 2026
Sound sculptures hung in steel frames on the rooftop of Spaces Porta Nuova: an exhibition by day, a live performance at sunset.
ExhibitSpaces Porta Nuova · Milan Design Week 2026
Sound sculptures hung in steel frames on the rooftop of Spaces Porta Nuova: an exhibition by day, a live performance at sunset.
Nomen omen
testatonda is named after the round-head nail: the small piece that joins iron and wood, and here joins three different people.
Valter Cagna, Nicolò Corigliano and Matteo Minello. Three designers, one of us from the humanities. We work in a former carpentry shop in Turin, where we prototype in wood and iron.
We look for elementary forms, and we find beauty in gaps and uneven details.