Interviews with Marco Balsinha

The main focus of this project was to introduce and promote a design-driven mindset within an engineering-oriented company. Scenic Table marks an important milestone — it represents the company’s first design award, signalling a shift towards recognising the strategic value of design within its industrial structure.
Beyond the object itself, the project aims to communicate a broader and more dynamic design vision that is closely integrated with the company’s industrial platform. It serves as both a tangible product and a vehicle for cultural transformation, helping to embed design thinking into the company’s processes and future developments.

This project is intended to serve as proof that design holds real value and can be validated by external institutions and professional juries. Winning this award reinforces that belief and provides a platform to continue advocating for design within the company.
Looking ahead, the aim is to use Scenic Table as a testing ground for developing new products that embrace greater creative and technological risk. It will support experimentation both in design expression and in technical precision — paving the way for future collections that are more ambitious and strategically positioned.

The concept originated from a commercial need for a versatile table. The initial design and conceptual development phase lasted approximately four months. This was followed by physical testing and prototyping, leading to the design of injection molds and the start of industrialization.
The full development process is currently ongoing, with the total duration so far reaching one year — marking the transition from concept to industrial implementation.

This project was developed from the outset with a clearly defined brief, yet it allowed for creative freedom in shaping the form, user experience, and functional dynamics. While the freedom was not absolute, that constraint itself posed one of the most stimulating challenges for a designer: not to subvert the system, but to reveal that viable alternatives can emerge through creativity.
More than a response to a brief, the project also served as an opportunity to reflect on and revisit the internal product development processes — a core motivation behind submitting it to this competition.

This design was developed in-house and is fully integrated within our own industrial production system. There are no plans to outsource or license production, as it is intended to be manufactured internally under the company’s brand and quality standards.

As an in-house designer at Tensai Indústria, creating, developing, and finding innovative solutions through creativity is a core part of my role as an industrial designer.
While design has always played a part in the company’s operations, it is only in recent years that projects have gained more autonomy and visibility. Scenic Table represents a key milestone in asserting the value of creativity and design within the company’s industrial context.

While the project is inherently multidisciplinary, it was not directly shaped by the influence of external designs or designers. However, market and competitor research played a key role — both in identifying commercial opportunities and in ensuring originality by avoiding unintentional replication.
The development process involved close collaboration across internal departments — from design to commercial, logistics, production, and marketing. This multidisciplinary approach was not redundant but rather instrumental in fostering a shared understanding and promoting a culture of integrated design within the company. Despite being developed by a relatively small team, the project benefited from strong information synergies that contributed to a focused and assertive design outcome.

This design is primarily intended for the contract and HoReCa (Hotel, Restaurant, and Catering) sectors, where durability, versatility, and ease of maintenance are key requirements.

The distinctive design of the split leg — which appears to open— evokes both fragility and elegance. It conveys the image of a refined, slender leg that visually lifts and lightens the tabletop, creating a sense of levitation.
This apparent fragility stands in deliberate contrast to the prevailing market tendency to equate robustness with durability. By challenging this assumption, Scenic introduces a unique aesthetic and structural language that redefines how elegance and strength can coexist in contemporary furniture design.

The name Scenic was inspired by the multiplicity of configurations and scenarios the table can offer, depending on the user's choice. From a standard dining table in various shapes to a high table or even a continuous bench-style arrangement, the design adapts to diverse contexts and functions.
Scenic evokes the idea of staged or envisioned settings — imagined scenes that take form through different combinations of height, structure, and color. It reflects the concept of a modular and versatile product capable of adapting to various spatial narratives.

The primary tool used in the early conceptual phase was the designer’s most fundamental language: hand drawing. Sketching played a key role as an iterative tool for exploring and refining ideas.
Once the concept was stabilized, the development progressed using specialized 3D modeling software to ensure technical precision and facilitate communication with engineering and production teams.

The most unique aspect of this design is its visual sense of fragility — which is, in fact, only apparent. This refined aesthetic is achieved using a single material: polypropylene (PP).
By manipulating form and proportion, the design creates an elegant, lightweight look while maintaining structural integrity and strength, demonstrating how thoughtful design can elevate a common industrial material.

Yes. The project was developed in collaboration with several departments, each contributing their own specialized expertise. From commercial strategy and logistics to production and mold engineering, the design process was enriched by inputs from across the organization.
This cross-disciplinary approach ensured that the final product was not only aesthetically and functionally refined, but also aligned with industrial feasibility and market expectations.

The technology used for production was not a choice but rather a key constraint — it defined the limits within which the design had to operate. This imposed a set of technical boundaries, particularly due to the specificities of plastic injection molding.
However, one of the most stimulating aspects of the project was precisely the challenge of leveraging existing technology through design. The goal was to use design not just as a response to technical limitations, but as a driver for new approaches and enhanced product potential within those limits.

The design process was initiated by identifying commercial needs to complement the existing product range. Initial competitor research, led by the marketing department, quickly evolved into a more detailed analysis — including technology, user experience, and adaptability — which was further explored through an iterative design process.
While the project did not rely on formal statistical research, quantitative data was used for benchmarking, especially in comparing pricing and component weight across similar products. Beyond this analytical layer, the creative development was inspired by broader disciplines and guided by Tensai’s own product portfolio and manufacturing capabilities.

One of the main challenges was reconciling the iterative nature of the design process with the company’s traditionally engineering-driven culture. Design, by nature, requires time for exploration, testing, and refinement — a pace that often contrasted with established expectations and workflows.
Technological constraints were also a factor, as was the occasional resistance to embracing unfamiliar or higher-risk approaches. Much of the effort was devoted to negotiating a shared understanding between design and business strategy, fostering openness to new perspectives and the long-term value of innovation.

Submitting the Scenic Table to an international design competition is part of a broader plan to consolidate design as a core value within the company’s culture. Recognition by external institutions — in this case, the A’ Design Award — serves as both validation and motivation, reinforcing the strategic role of design in the company’s future direction.

Taking on creative risk brings responsibility — a responsibility that must be shared across disciplines. Throughout the project, internal negotiations centered around design rather than engineering or marketing, leading to new insights into how innovation can emerge from within an organization.
This experience deepened my understanding of the strategic potential of design and its role as a catalyst for change. Following the production of the first rotational mold series, new opportunities for both technical and conceptual improvement have been identified. These insights will inform and enrich future projects currently underway.

As a PhD student in Design, while simultaneously working as an in-house designer, I see great value in using external institutions to validate ideas and concepts that carry a high level of innovation. This project represents not only a strategic commercial initiative, but also a relevant academic case study — bridging design research with industrial practice and demonstrating the broader impact of design beyond the boundaries of the company.