co-founder and director, SYNEO

Susanne Backer is an entrepreneur and designer who believes in the power of experience design to promote change and to improve people's quality of life. Passionate about designing physical environments, Susanne specializes in the choreography of space, merging the physical and the digital realms to create settings that facilitate understanding and the meaningful exchange of ideas.

After completing an apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker in Hamburg, Susanne studied art and design at the Muthesius Hochschule in Kiel. While her German education was strongly influenced by Bauhaus principles, a desire for conceptual free-thinking and experimentation lured her to Milan, the world capital of design.

After arriving in Italy, Susanne worked for architect and designer Michele De Lucchi on advanced design concepts and interior spaces for companies like Philips, Artemide and Fritz Hansen. She also worked with graphic designer and architect Pierluigi Cerri, creative director for Prada and Ferrari. She designed multi-media installations like 'Uomo Oggetto' for fashion week in Florence and implemented a series of interiors and trade show installations for companies such as Poltrona Frau and Thonet.

Susanne has a strong focus on a holistic and consistent design approach, quality of material and excellence of execution. As the art director for the Italian publishing house EINAUDI, she co-designed the interior system for their shops and led implementation all over Italy.

Since co-founding SYNEO in 2002, Susanne has combined her classical design training with her experience in visionary and conceptual thinking to create innovative and meaningful experience design solutions for international clients