Page 28: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 2014)

MARINE DESIGN Tomas

Tillberg

For those not familiar, can you kind- ly give an overview of how you found your way in to cruise and passenger vessel design? I grew up with design being discussed at home and helped in the offi ce very early on, visiting clients together with my father and helping in other ways. I went to the Royal Acad- emy of Fine Arts in Stockholm and while a student there I did an early job on a vessel that later became one of the “Love Boats” for Princess Cruises. I joined my father some time later and we started working together. We ex- panded the offi ce with my work in the

U.S. which lead to the establishment of our offi ce in Fort Lauderdale.

How would you best describe your overall design style and tastes? Every project has to do with the clients branding. It’s not so much a question of our fi rm’s style as one might think at fi rst, but it’s always about the clients expectations, their branding, re- branding, which direction they would like to go and so on. We are very at- tentive to those aspects so that we can give them their proper expression and thus materialize the client’s intentions as they relate to each project. Our atti- tude is that a professional in the fi eld of arts can create any number of different styles which gives a lot of freedom to us as designers as well as the client. In this way any dreams can be realized.

While you obviously have your own design style and tastes, your job is diffi cult in that you must rectify your thoughts with those of your client’s as well as what is physically possible on a ship. What is your advice to get this done as effi ciently as possible? Having associates with years of experience in the fi eld and the best resources available is a key factor and, as I mentioned above, understanding the client’s needs and the guests’ ex- pectations is paramount and often even the ship’s itinerary is to be considered.

There are always fi nancial consider- ations to have in mind as well, and we strive to maximize the designs within that framework.

Design obviously evolves: what do you see as the most signifi cant evolu- tion in cruise ship design, and why? The most obvious evolution is the many choices a guest has today.

We see this for example in the dining venues, where it used to be that you had to decide on early or late dining in the one dining room, as the only choice.

Now there are perhaps six or more op- tions to choose from, at least. Another evolution in design, that started some

Cruise ship and passenger vessel design are unique in the maritime world, evolv- ing with time and style, demanding effi cient power and safety for these cities at sea. Tomas Tillberg of Till- berg Design International is a renowned “go to” source for perspective and insight in this regard.

By Greg Trauthwein

Classic Design with 28 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • OCTOBER 2014

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