award winning design services
PENELOPE FORLANO- PROFILE
My interest in design stemmed from the opportunity to enrich and improve our most routine daily experiences, by bringing expression and art into our everyday environment and objects whilst responding to our needs in a positive way.
I believe that all good design must respond to ‘real life’ functionality, lifelong use and aesthetic appreciation and environmental sustainability. My ‘design for life’ philosophy encompasses this with designing for emotive needs and artistic expression. A design’s visual integrity is just as important as the sensory quality, memory associations, functionality and creating a feeling of discovery and connection with the user. As a result my works, with a distinct attention to detail, are enduring and engaging.
Principal and designer of Forlano Design, the design consultancy practice.
Partner and designer in Composite Design, furniture design and manufacturing business, with Glen Oldfield, partner and manufacturer.
Penelope also lectures on design at Curtin University in the Department of Architecture and Interior Architecture.
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Appl. Sc. (Interior Design) with distinction, 1997, Curtin University of Technology
Tertiary studies in Art and Design, SMCTAFE, Australia
Part studies in Bachelor of Fine Arts (Design) UNCG, U.S.A.
AFFILIATIONS
International Federation of Interior Architects / Designers
Design Institute of Australia; member and past councillor (WA Chapter)
FORM: Contemporary Craft and Design
Australian Network for Art and Technology
Interior Design Educators Association (Aust.)
CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS
2006 · Australian Design Award in Furniture and Lighting for the Lux table
· Awarded MMM Grant, Australia Council for the Arts for Wild Creeper
· Co-Curator and Exhibitor of ‘Riches of Isolation’ exhibition in Milan, Italy and FORM
Galleries, Perth.
· Perth Design Cluster exhibitor at FORM Galleries, August 2006
· Floor Talk for the Design Institute of Australia at FORM Galleries, May 2006.
· Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence for the 'Riches of Isolation' project.
2005 · DIA (WA) Award of Merit (1st)- Furniture Category for Lux table.
· Awarded Second prize for ‘Design of the Year’ National Launch Pad Awards
· Furnitex exhibitor at FORM stand, Melbourne Exhibition Centre, VIC.
· Saturday in Design exhibitor, Sydney.
· Vice-Chancellor’s Excel Award, nominee for 'Designing Futures in Contemporary Practice'.
· Invited Juror for DIA Design Awards Interior Design categories.
2004 · Invited by international jury (including Alessandro Mendini and Guilio Castelli) to exhibit
works for the Milan International Furniture Fair; Salone Satellite.
· Executive Dean of Humanities Award; Curtin University of Technology
· Saturday in Design exhibitor, Sydney.
· Awarded ArtsWA Grant, VACB Grant, NAVA Grant for solo exhibition in Milan, Italy.
2003 · JEC International Awards; finalist in the Design category
· DIA (WA) Award of Merit (1st); Furniture category for Linea 1200 table