Designer Portrait: Miljana Nikolic, Dimitrios Stamatakis and Masa/Mia/Dora

The focus of the products on display was on industrial design as well as on furniture, lamps and furnishing accessories. These were tested in line with the criteria of innovation, ergonomic standards, rational manufacture, production costs and sustainability.

At Salone Satellite 2011 the designer and architect Miljana Nikolic from Serbia presented 'CATAPULT', a swing for both indoor and outdoor use. 'CATAPULT' has an ergonically-shaped seat made of moulded wood and solid wood supports. In this way Miljana Nikolic highlights its function as a seat in that it was conceived less as a swing than as a comfortable rocking chair which would allow a gentle forwards and backwards motion.

Dimitrios Stamatakis from Greece presented the 'Lighthouse Lamp', which reflects his philosophy that design objects have an independent validity of their own and can therefore exist autonomously. Like a lighthouse the lamp is intended to create its own environment by its function and spatial presence, representing a point of orientation which radiates light. The light sources of the Lighthouse Lamp are made of matt glass while the base consists of natural wood.

While considering coffee tables and their purpose, the idea of a coffee table which differs in the way we perceive or conceive a table top came to mind for the young Croatian designers Maša Milovac, Mia Bogovac and Dora Durkesac. The 'Porthos' tray is an unusual coffee table made entirely out of trays, where each one is separate from the other, thus allowing you to serve and transport a glass or a plate more easily. The table fulfils its primary function as a table, but can be effortlessly transformed into a serving tray.

Mikser was originally a Serbian cultural organisation which was created in order to discover and promote talented young designers in the region and put them in touch with local industry. The outstanding success of the annual Mikser Festival in Belgrade then led to the integration of neighbouring south-eastern European states, which turned the 'Young Balkan Designers' competition into a project which may still be regional but transcends national borders.

Under the presidency of Konstantin Grcic the winners from the five different Balkan states are accompanied for one year. Their exhibition tour began at Salone Satellite and will continue from there to the Mikser festival in Belgrade (Serbia), followed by Dan D in Zagreb (Croatia), Skopje Design Week (Macedonia), Sofia Design Week (Bulgaria), the Weekend Media Festival in Rovinj (Croatia), Vienna Design Week (Austria) and ending with the Month of Design in Ljubljana (Slovenia).