Meet the 2022 Designer Dozen: Kate Dilillo

Kate DiLillo
Age: 31 | Interior Designer, Richardson Design

WHY KATE?

With formal training in industrial design, Kate combines her talents and expertise to envision and create entire, holistic spaces, as well as deal with all the tiny details surrounding fabrication and design implementation. She’s worked to create a variety of experiences from retail to F&B to corporate to hospitality, and some of her more recent projects include the US Open Shop in New York, the PPG Stadium in Pittsburgh and Brew Wall in Akron, Ohio.

📷:  Mark Steele Photography

What’s shaped you as a designer?

I have a crazy appreciation for very old architecture. I love the feeling of walking into a space knowing it was built hundreds of years ago. Or that the men or women who built it may not have even seen it finished in their lifetime. I enjoy thrifting and antiquing too. There is something so special about finding treasures along the way that are a part of history. My mentors have also taught me how important it is to tell a story when designing a space. You’ll find a thoughtful combination of history and storytelling in everything that I do.

What’s the biggest challenge you face professionally?

I tend to spend a little bit too much time in the visualization phase of a project. Rendering – whether 2-D, 3-D or even sketching and drawing – is something that truly brings me joy. I could spend hours on end creating the visuals for a project.

My favorite thing to do when I leave the office is…

…jam out in the car on the way home!