iF Product Design Award 2018
Awards
iF Design Award 2018
Dynamic, exclusive, timeless and luxurious, the Studio William Tilia Obsidian Cutlery range now holds three of the world’s most prestigious Design Awards; the Chicago Athenaeum Good Design Award 2017, The German Design Award 2018 and now the iF Product Design Award 2018.
The iF Design Award is one of the most prestigious design competitions in the world. Since 1953, designers, manufacturers and enthusiasts have looked to iF as a sign of good design. An iF Design Award is a seal of excellence, a testimony of quality, and a challenge to the competition. For potential customers, it is a symbol of trust.
Detail Behind the Design
Tilia Cutlery is designed as a beautiful transition between Eastern and Western cultures, Chopsticks meeting knives forks and spoons. The pattern is deliberately elongated and slender looking with beautiful 4.5mm gauge handles in the forks and spoons for refined weight and balance. The edges of the handles are finished with delicate radii to ensure good ergonomics but still allowing for the flat handle sections to reflect simplistic modernism back to the user.
For Tilia Obsidian, we used a BLACK PVD Titanium Coating. This technology often used in association with engineering, milling and machining. Cutting tools are often coated in 10-25 microns of titanium to create super tough durability. The coating protects the steel and dramatically reduces wear and tear on the product.
Studio William has used the titanium technology to coat the Tilia cutlery design for two technical reasons and one aesthetic reason. Technical reasons for Titanium Coating: Firstly, the titanium coating ensures durability and sustainability for many, many years, lasting much longer than traditional decorative coatings like Silver plate or even normal stainless steel mirror polishing. Secondly, it is scratch resistant and does not scratch as easily as normal stainless steel cutlery.
Aesthetic reasons for Titanium Coating: The black titanium allows Tilia to obtain an aesthetic relationship towards Eastern Cultural use of beautiful lacquered (or Shellac) varnishes often used in wooden chopsticks and bowls. The black titanium is then off-set against white dinnerware to make a stark and striking silhouette to help create a unique dining experience.
The cutlery is dishwasher safe and can be used in domestic as well as commercial environments such as restaurants and hotels.

Tilia Obsidan Table Fork (360 View)
