“We always use the word ‘we.’ By the end it’s so intertwined, we don’t know who did what.” Ritch and Saffell design as a single voice, finding their strongest work in the overlap between architecture, industrial design, and the specific demands of contract furniture.

5D Studio is the Pasadena-based partnership of David Ritch and Mark Saffell. Ritch studied Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Cincinnati before receiving a BS in Industrial Design. Saffell holds a BFA in Interior Architecture from Ringling College of Art and Design.

Both principals worked in the office of Donald Chadwick, co-designer of the Herman Miller Aeron chair, before establishing 5D Studio together. Their work has been recognized with awards from ID Magazine, IIDEX, IIDA, Best of Show at NeoCon, and IDSA Design of the Decade. Projects have been exhibited at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum and the Pasadena Museum of California Design. They have also designed for Herman Miller and Decca Contract.

For Cumberland, 5D Studio designed the Clover Collection: seating, stools, ottomans, and tables unified by a faceted surface language applied consistently from base to upholstery. The facets change how light reads across each piece, giving it different visual weight depending on the angle and environment.