Salvatore (Totò) Catalano

World-class designer, Salvatore Catalano, called Totò by his friends, studied architecture and industrial design at the University of Palermo and already during his studies he collaborated as a designer at his father's construction engineering studio and started an agency of graphics and communication.

Subsequently he obtained a degree in Transportation design at the European Institute of Design in Turin and already during his studies he collaborated as a freelancer creating illustrations for automotive magazines, designing exhibition stands and collaborating in the preliminary studies of Fiat Panda 2003, the New Mini 2001 and the RollsRoyce Phantom of 2003 (proposing the naming used and the idea of the doors folding opening, now in the brand's DNA).

In 1998, he was hired by Fila Sport in Biella as a footwear designer, working on any type of category (advanced design, sports and urban). After a year and a half he was hired as an innovation designer at Adidas, where he remained for five years working in Italy and Germany.

In 2005 he returned to work as a freelancer in the nautical, architectural and obviously footwear sectors, both sports and fashion.

In 2011 he collaborated as creative director with the Brazilian Grupo Dass, also personally managing some projects and creating collaborations with the European Institute of Design in San Paolo and the Biorobotics Center of the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies of Pisa.

Back in Italy, he returned to the automotive sector as a senior designer for Stile Bertone in Turin, the oldest Italian automotive design studio, working as a multi-role designer on car, yacht, train, architectural and product design.

Another time in Palermo since 2015, he founded Onde Design Consulting, a design agency specializing in the design of footwear, cars and products, but also in home design, graphics and communication.

The today main activity is linked to that initial and more creative phase of design, where new concepts are identified which then evolve into reality, more agile to follow from a distance. But obviously it is possible to follow the project also in the development and prototyping phase, with expert partners in the various sectors involved.