Oppent

A product language designed to evolve alongside technology.

For more than ten years, Federico Villa has worked alongside OPPENT across the development of its product portfolio. Working in close dialogue with management, engineering and product teams, the collaboration has built continuity across systems with different functions, scales and technical architectures.

Collaboration

Designing systems tailored to different needs.

Every OPPENT solution starts from a specific operational requirement. Dimensions, mechanics, load conditions and components can change significantly from one project to another.

After a background in fine arts and a Master in Industrial Design from Scuola Politecnica di Design in Milan, Federico Villa developed a long-standing practice across industrial design, technical products and complex systems. His approach brings design into close dialogue with engineering and production, while keeping the company’s identity – rather than the designer’s signature – at the centre of every project.

Design Approach

One language. Different product architectures.

The process begins before styling. Function, ergonomics, assembly, scalability, maintenance and production constraints are considered part of the design itself. Form becomes the visible expression of a broader system of technical and industrial decisions.

Function First

Functional requirements, proportions and operational constraints define the starting architecture. The design develops around these conditions rather than treating them as limitations to be hidden later.

Engineering Integration

Mechanical components, safety systems, interfaces and maintenance requirements are integrated into the overall design, creating products that remain visually clear while responding to complex technical needs.

Product Identity

Gestalt principles establish immediate visual coherence, while recurring proportions, surfaces and relationships build a recognizable identity. The system is stable enough to create continuity, but flexible enough to evolve across different products and technologies.

01. E-series

A product line designed to adapt to different handling needs.

The E-series translates the OPPENT design language across mobile platforms with different dimensions, proportions and technical configurations. Each model responds to a specific application while remaining part of the same recognizable system.

Function

Each E-series platform is developed around specific dimensions, loads and mechanical configurations. The product architecture must therefore adapt to different applications while integrating the technical and safety components required by each system.

Design Challenge

The challenge is not to replicate one shell across the entire family. Different footprints and mechanical layouts require different proportions and solutions, while still needing to communicate a clear relationship between one machine and the next.

Design Response

Recurring relationships between surfaces, volumes, technical areas, lower structures and branding establish continuity across the range. Each configuration can therefore respond to its own engineering requirements while retaining a recognizable OPPENT identity.

02. C-series

The same design language, developed within a vertical architecture.

The C-series translates the OPPENT identity into a different product typology, introducing new requirements for storage, access and interaction while maintaining continuity with the wider product family.

Function

The vertical architecture provides internal capacity while organizing access through compartments, openings and interface areas. Function is therefore closely connected to how the user approaches and interacts with the product.

Design Challenge

Unlike the low horizontal architecture of the Elevator platforms, Cabinet introduces height, a strong front-facing presence and more direct interaction with the user. Maintaining continuity without simply reproducing the same formal solutions becomes the central challenge.

Design Response

Interface, openings, technical areas and storage elements become part of the front composition. Surface relationships, transitions and recurring visual elements connect the vertical architecture back to the broader OPPENT language while preserving the specific requirements of Cabinet.