I graduated in graphic design at the Ealing School of Art in 1970, then working at various design studios & agencies around London. Although this was extremely interesting and diverse field of work, I had in mind to work with 3D design. Together with my interest in cars I pursued a course in automobile design and was successful in attending the Royal College of Art, sponsored by the Ford motor Company. Graduating in Automotive Design in 1976. The following 8 years were spent developing my skills & experience with Ford in the UK & Germany. By 1983 I decided it was time to take a challenge and moved to a small design consultancy working with industrial design. In 1984 I was lured back into the car industry as a consultant designer to Saab Automobile of Sweden. Based in the UK for a few years. In 1990 I became a senior designer with Saab in Sweden and by 1995 I was exterior design manager at Saab. Saab had captured my soul but the company was sadly & frustratingly dying by 1999. By 2000, I joined Volvo cars at their design centre as a chief designer. I was responsible for a team including exterior, interior, colour & materials development. In 2004 I left Volvo and took up the roll as transport design director at Umeå Institute of Design. During this time I was responsible for developing the course plans and practical guidance of students in the design process and methodology. One main focus being on human centric design but encouraging exploration without preconceived ideas on what the result should be. My basic philosophy is about honest design with honest materials. Good design is form and function in balance. In most cases one does not succeed without the other, but design always revolves around people. This is a real challenge in the automotive industry where traditional views on vehicle aesthetics still prevail.

Tony Catignani …. "Design is serious fun"  "Futuristic, Realistic" "A great sketch is not always a great design" ….. updated 2020