Our Team
We are a family-run branding studio based in Innsbruck, sharpening what makes businesses distinctive, what they stand for and how they connect with people.
We combine international experience with a genuine understanding of people, markets, cultures, and lifestyles. We examine projects from every angle and guide them from the initial strategic planning stage to final implementation. We create clarity by asking the right questions and bringing structure to complex processes. We approach both strategy and creativity with care and precision. Our clients benefit from having one trusted partner, a clear foundation, and solutions that continue to deliver results over time.
Our international Circle of Competence connects our core team with a close network of trusted specialists. For each project, we bring in perspectives and capabilities that add real value. The result is a flexible, well-coordinated team tailored to the strategic, creative, and technical needs of each project. For our clients, this means having access to the right expertise, efficient collaboration, and complete solutions from one trusted partner.
Our History
Three Generations. Three Businesses.
One Shared Passion.
It all began in the 1970s in the heart of Innsbruck’s Old Town at Haus Kilga on Seilergasse 15, where our studio remains today. Our grandparents opened a business that combined Italian furniture design with a café called “Cappuccino.” Long before the term "concept store" existed, they created a place where design was part of a social, welcoming experience.
In 1988, the second generation built on this concept by founding the Kilga furniture agency. What began as a retail business evolved into an international sales agency representing renowned design brands, such as Minotti, Poliform, and Tom Dixon. Our focus extended far beyond the products themselves. It was about understanding brands, recognizing cultural relevance, developing a refined aesthetic perspective, and building lasting relationships with the people behind the brands.
Design Network, founded by Markus and Lorenz Kilga in 2018, marks the next chapter of this story. The experience of two generations now finds new expression in contemporary brand strategy, brand design, and corporate design. Together with an international team, we continue the family’s passion for design and communication, helping brands understand their potential and move forward with strategic clarity. We respond to changing markets with creative sensitivity and a deep understanding of people and culture.
People
Circle of Competence
Markus
Kilga
Market Network & Brand Relations
Markus Kilga has been familiar with the international furniture and design market for over 30 years. As a long-standing partner of exclusive retailers and global design brands, he possesses a profound understanding of the market, people and business.
At Design Network, he contributes his extensive industry expertise and a well-established international network in the fields of furniture, design, retail, and manufacturing.
Alina
Schartner
Colour Forecasting & Trend Direction
Alina Schartner specialises in design consulting, trend forecasting, and colour, product, and interior design. Drawing on her expertise in colour psychology, surface design, and international trend research, she creates brand-specific concepts, trend stories and colour schemes for the interior and lifestyle industries.
Alongside her independent work and her role as a RAL COLOURS brand ambassador, she provides inspiration, analysis, creative direction, and creative mentoring to the Circle of Competence.
Andreas
Ablinger
People Profiling & Communication
Andreas Ablinger is a certified PCM trainer and profiler with a deep understanding of personality, communication, and human behaviour.
Within the Circle of Competence, he helps companies to better understand their teams, customers, and decision-making patterns. His expertise in rhetoric, didactics, personal development, and Process Communication adds a vital dimension to brand work by focusing on people behind organisations, sales, leadership, and change.
Carla
Rumler
Cultural Direction & Creative Leadership
Carla Rumler brings together international creative experience and many years of leadership expertise. As Cultural Director at Swarovski, her work spans campaign creation, curation, creative management, creative development, and the governance of CI standards.
As part of the Design Network Circle of Competence, she uses her experience to help brands evolve and strengthen their national and international presence.
Tom
Savigar
Future Thinking & Cultural Foresight
Tom Savigar has spent more than 20 years working in future forecasting and cultural foresight. As a former partner at The Future Laboratory, he advised leading global brands on emerging shifts, future scenarios, and strategic direction.
Together with Design Network, Tom Savigar will help you see the terrain ahead and future-proof your brand, enabling you to use ever-changing consumer trends to your company's advantage.
Linda
Pezzei
Editorial Voice & Design Storytelling
When it comes to stories and text concepts for lifestyle products, architect and specialist journalist Linda Pezzei combines international expertise with a deep understanding of the needs of planners, manufacturers, and users. Her strength lies in identifying untapped potential and getting to the heart of what matters for brands and manufacturers.
Drawing on her technical knowledge, she translates complex topics into compelling stories that engage both industry professionals and design-conscious consumers.
Manfred
Zumtobel
Change Architecture & System Thinking
With more than 30 years of experience, Manfred Zumtobel specialises in guiding complex change management and strategic realignment processes. As a change agent, he has supported businesses, public authorities, and regions across the DACH area in demanding processes of reorientation and transformation. He combines a system-oriented technical background from ETH Zurich with psychological counselling based on Viktor Frankl’s existential analysis.
Within the Circle of Competence, he contributes a holistic, system-oriented perspective and encourages organisations to embrace change while remaining focused on their strategic objectives.
Laura
Calimano
Trend Research & Product Vision
Laura Calimano is a designer and trend forecaster who has gained international experience across Spain, France, China, and Austria. Through her work for companies including Swarovski and Cosentino, she has developed strong expertise in consumer trend intelligence, manufacturing, product and design development.
Within the Circle of Competence, she helps brands stay ahead by identifying relevant societal shifts through macro and micro trends. She translates these insights into market-relevant products, services, and clear design roadmaps - guided by a strong understanding of sustainability, processes, and positive impact.
Jürgen
Deimbacher
Strategic Growth & Business Transformation
Jürgen began his career at an Austrian office of an internationally renowned furniture brand before moving on to work with companies across Western Europe and the Middle East. His expertise includes operational management, corporate restructuring, international market entry, and expansion.
Since 2009, he has worked as an independent consultant, contributing his experience to Design Network and supports international projects as an interim manager.
Natalie
Marinell
People Strategy & Culture Development
Natalie Marinell brings extensive expertise in people management, recruitment, employer branding, culture, and organisational change. With many years of national and international experience across corporate, commercial, industrial, service, and public-sector environments, she has supported executives and teams through restructuring and transformation processes.
Within the Circle of Competence, she strengthens Design Network wherever brand, culture, and organisational structures intersect. She helps companies develop talent, leadership, and collaboration strategically, creating the conditions for sustainable growth.
Livia Baum &
Jutta Werner
Colour Strategy & Future Materials
Livia Baum and Jutta Werner combine expertise in colour development, material concepts, trend scouting, and future research. Drawing on social and design developments, they create forward-looking colour and material collections for interior design and fashion brands.
Within the Circle of Competence, they contribute a deep understanding of how colour communicates zeitgeist, emotion, and brand character. Their perspective strengthens Design Network in creating relevant visual worlds with lasting and future-oriented appeal.
Dr. Alfred
Koblinger
Market Communication & Customer Value
Dr. Alfred Koblinger is a pioneer of direct marketing and one of the most influential figures in the Austrian communications industry. Over several decades, he built and led one of Austria’s leading agencies, working with major national clients such as Austrian Airlines, ÖBB, A1, and Strabag, as well as international brands including McDonald’s, Mercedes-Benz, Mars, and Wrigley’s. His work spans strategic communication, customer relationships, market value, and organisational development.
In the Circle of Competence, his strategic and international experience helps brands sharpen their communication, strengthen customer relationships, and connect brand impact with sustainable business growth.
Maximilian
Kucera
Brand Space & Interior Direction
Interior architect Maximilian Kucera turns brand identity into spatial experience. With a background in craftsmanship and architectural expertise as well as working with brands including BORA, Miele, and Cutler and Gross, he brings together materials, function, and atmosphere with design precision.
Within the Circle of Competence, he draws on his expertise in brand environments, interiors and corporate spaces to create places where brands can be experienced, supporting projects from initial concept to final execution.
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