Defne Koz, Designer Between Milan and Chicago

Defne Koz: design born between Milan and Chicago

Defne Koz is a designer whose forms carry an emotional charge. Defne Koz creates work that extends beyond functionality by combining aesthetics, technology and tactile experience. As co-founder of Design Defne Koz Marco Susani, Defne Koz leads large-scale projects with subtle meaning across furniture, lighting, digital devices, sensory interfaces and industrial products. Every project carries a defining quality: being “tangibly intelligent”.

Defne Koz studied at Domus Academy in Milan, and Defne Koz began her professional career at the legendary studio of Ettore Sottsass. The experience shaped her respect for culture, colour and the idea of an object as a medium for expression. Defne Koz later founded her own studio in Milan and began working with leading brands worldwide. Defne Koz creates objects that are recognisable at first sight while retaining their humanity in everyday use.

Today, the design duo of Defne Koz and Marco Susani is based in Chicago and develops projects that consider every detail, from the physical material to the user’s interaction with an object. Defne Koz’s clients include Alessi, Italamp, FontanaArte, Foscarini, Vitra, Xerox, Swarovski, Nestlé, Nissan, WMF and dozens of other companies across very different industries.

Collaboration with Italamp holds a special place in Defne Koz’s portfolio. Defne Koz applies her sensitivity to form and light to the language of decorative lighting. Light becomes more than a function in these designs, becoming a sensory experience that reflects her vision of creating an impression rather than simply an object. Defne Koz believes that good design should be technological and warm, able to evoke emotions and memories while remaining genuinely human.