An Inside Look at the Mezzo Collection with Michael DiTullo - Part 2
By Carissa Mae Fernandez
Go beyond the surface - step inside the creative mind of Michael DiTullo. In Part 2 of our exclusive series, we dive deeper with the Head of Product Innovation at Carnegie Acoustic Solutions. If Part 1 revealed how form and function collide in the Mezzo Collection, this chapter explores the why behind the design. From early influences to the challenges of pushing boundaries in acoustic design, Michael shares the journey behind Mezzo and what fuels his passion for acoustics innovation.
You were working with Kirei before the brand was acquired by Carnegie in 2022. How has working with Carnegie's Xorel Artform transformed your approach to developing acoustic products?
Raymond Loewy once said design is a little logic, a little taste, and the will to collaborate. Getting to work with the larger Carnegie Acoustics team and the Xorel Artform product collection has given me access to more people with different insights, different manufacturing techniques, new materials, and different problems to solve. I find all of that incredibly inspiring. I think of design sometimes like being a chef. If you want to make a different meal you need different ingredients. In a way that’s exactly what we are trying to do for interior designers and architects, give them fresh ingredients to play with.
Kirei and Xorel Artform have launched so many unique new products over the last year. Where does your inspiration come from and how do you stay inspired?
Everything is an inspiration to an open mind. I love to observe the world around me, talk to people, see music and art in person, travel, and just be open to all of those things. I let it be an organic process. I’ve been a practicing industrial designer for 27 years, I’ve learned to trust the process and trust my instincts and then zoom out with an analytical mind when I need to apply what I’ve been taking in. Sometimes a product might be inspired by something I saw 3 years ago and remixed with something else. Some of the products we are working on were rejected concepts from 4 or 5 years ago but a new material or process made them relevant again. It takes a long time to hone that combination of being open but critical.
What challenges did you face during the design process of these new products? How did you overcome them?
I think of product development as this long, year long dance. You have your dance partners and you have to lead while also responding to them. I think the challenge is always to keep everything moving forward and on schedule. To take all of this desperate information from sales, operations, production, marketing and the world outside and bring it all together into a collection of products that really help interior designers and architects achieve their goals. Maybe I’m weird, but I find it really fun!
Do you have any favorite products in the new collection? Which are you most excited to see spec'd?
Personally, I think Cumulus and Henge are probably my two favorites. Henge because designers love full-panel products but this is really a new manufacturing process to elevate the full panel PET process. I think this product really changes how we think about PET panels. Cumulus because there really isn’t anything else out there that looks like it. It is a special product and is really close to my personal aesthetic.
How do you hope this collection will influence or inspire other designers in the industry?
I hope this collection helps inspire designers to take chances, to take risks, and create even more unique spaces. I think it's on us, as an A&D insutry, to help create spaces that people truly want to be in and part of that is making places that are memorable and singular.
About the author
Carissa Mae Fernandez is the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Carnegie Acoustic Solutions. Driven by authenticity, she crafts purposeful content through creative marketing strategies that engage and connect.
