While function is the primary element of any design project, its conceptual and aesthetic aspects demand equal attention. In 1998, Martin Kastner established Crucial Detail in order to blur the boundary between design and art.

Crucial Detail is a multidisciplinary design studio whose projects range from product development to graphic design, corporate identity and photography.

Some of the work displayed on our web site is available for purchase. Please visit out internet shop for availability and pricing information. Contact us with wholesale inquiries.

Crucial Detail design studio was founded by Martin Kastner in 1998.

After working on projects as diverse as jewelry design and a handrail system for an eight-story staircase, Kastner was contacted by chef Grant Achatz in early 2003 and charged with designing a delivery system for a frozen Hibiscus Tea. That successful collaboration led to a series of designs for Achatz, all exploring functional ways of improving food delivery and presentation.

In the fall of 2004, Achatz and business partner Nick Kokonas brought Kastner to Chicago to help conceptualize and design the identity, serviceware, and sculpture for Alinea. Over the next year, Kastner designed the menus, wine-list, business cards, website and on-site sculpture for Alinea. Nearly 25 custom pieces of serviceware have been designed for Alinea.

With the success of these collaborations, featured in magazines such as Gourmet and Metropolis, Kastner, Achatz and Kokonas have partnered under the Crucial Detail umbrella to bring these designs to an audience beyond Alinea.

Martin Kastner

A Czech-born designer, Kastner originally trained as a blacksmith and worked fashioning doors, gates, and weaponry for a 16th century castle. Later, he enrolled in the Fine Arts Institute in Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic, pursuing studies in natural materials design. Kastner then received his MFA in metal sculpture from Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, Czech Republic.

He has been working in the United States since 1998, setting up Crucial Detail design studio in Columbus, OH and San Diego before coming to Chicago in 2005.

Grant Achatz

Grant Achatz is the Chef / Owner of Alinea.

Internationally acclaimed as one of the top chefs in the world, Achatz began collaborating with Martin Kastner in 2003. The success and interest in the designs led Achatz to partner with Kastner in Crucial Detail, bringing these and other projects to an audience beyond Alinea.

Nick Kokonas

Nick Kokonas has been involved with a variety of entrepreneurial businesses over the last 15 years. After getting a BA in philosophy from Colgate University, he founded Third Moment Trading, LLC, a proprietary derivatives trading firm. Beyond his trading activities, he has been an investor in, and advisor to, several small technology companies, including FunBrain.com (sold to Pearson PLC in 2000), EMNS (www.gsqa.com), and VisaNow.com.

Over the last 2 years, Kokonas has collaborated with Grant Achatz to design, develop, and manage Alinea. It is through his work with Alinea and Martin Kastner that he brings his acumen to Crucial Detail.