VALENTIM sofa

Solid wood sofa

Graduated in Design from the University of Aveiro, Joana Santos and Hugo Silva are the resident Designers. Their areas of intervention include equipment, graphic and web interface design. They develop integrated Design solutions, involving strategic thinking, technology and identity.

Joana has a special taste for graphic design and craftwork and her work process has always a practical approach. Hugo cannot stay without his sketchbook and seeks for inspiration in the everyday things. Together, they develop narratives and explore emotions through colours, forms, technologies and materials. The results are products with more than what meets the eye – each piece has its singular details, its own story and an ecological approach.

Hugo Silva, a native of Braga, defended his master’s dissertation as part of the SAPO / UA Laboratory, in the SAPO Campus project, with the theme “From the thinkable to the impossible: Design intervention in the development of a university portal”, which was nominated “the best multimedia application for the education” in 2009. He worked as an Interaction Designer at CreativebitBox and B-Around and collaborated with the Providência Design studio on projects such as the Troia Museum and the Penafiel Museum, whose last was considered the best Portuguese Museum of the Year in 2010. Hugo cannot stay without his sketchbook and seeks for inspiration in the everyday things. At DAM he manages the creative development of the DAM products, where his creative skills are central for the brand’s development.

Joana Santos lives in São João da Madeira and is graduated and mastered in Design by the University of Aveiro. She defended her master’s degree with the theme “Information design and intermodality in transport in Aveiro”. In 2009, she presented her research at IIID Traffic & Transport, at Tech Gate Vienna, Austria. She collaborated in the foundation of the first Junior Company of the Aveiro’s region, the Aveiro Smart Business, and in the Federation of Junior Companies of Portugal. She also collaborated with different companies, developing branding and graphic communication projects. Joana has a special taste for graphic design and craftwork and her work process has always a practical approach. At DAM she participates in the creative development of the different DAM products.