Exploring Design - Design dell'esplorazione

Dalla metodologia prestazionale, base e orientamento per la formazione in design nella scuola politecnica, alla metodologia del design esploratore. From the performance methodology, basic for the design training in the polytechnic schools, to the design explorer methodolog

Crafts_Community_Design. The strategic role of design to promote local production systems

Design can connect Crafts and Communities. Case studies from the Piedmont's region offer the opportunity to discuss roles, modalities and exportability of the model as a global/local action. Crafts, Community and Design are the three key-word to describe various design driven actions in relation to a community. Process design, in its strategic and productive forms is the mediu

The role of design in discovering speculative futures materials for local revaluation

This paper will analyse the role of design in the development future of strategies to re-evaluate non-urban areas through the assessment of indigenous materials and the individuation of speculative, valuable, future strategies. Assemble Studio (UK), Rural Studio (US), Banca del Fare (IT) in collaboration with Calchera San Giorgio (IT) and Breaking the Mould (IT) are examples of design studios and projects that are working with local resources from specific forgotten places, obtaining surprising outcomes that are empowering previously ignored realities. Rediscovery, recycling, reusing and remaking are key words common to all these case studies. As a result, an original experimental methodology for new doctoral research on speculative futures materials for local revaluation is emerging, based on the observation and analysis of the design approaches within the different design studios

Heritage and cultural accessibility: the role of design in the creation of an intercultural dialogue

The contribution intends to present a reflection in the field of design for the enhancement of cultural heritage in terms of cultural accessibility, and the implications related to the reception and integration of communities and social groups nowadays excluded. Within this context, design skills can be made available as tools to generate mediation processes between these cultural multiplicities, encouraging actions to enhance diversity and activating a dialogue between people and cultures. Design can devise strategies, services and integrated communication systems to facilitate meeting and exchange between the heritage and the multicultural community that lives in a territory. By mapping certain virtuous design actions (at different scales, such as graphic, product and strategic design), we aim to highlight new possible approaches in the design for the fruition of cultural heritage, according to which the design act presents itself as a “translation” of values and identities for new and existing communities that cohabit in a territory

Questões avançadas de design: uma abordagem estratégica e investigativa para projetos sem mercado

The economic crisis that has hit countries in the west in recent years has generated a decline in the presence and the strength of the entrepreneurial class and also of its traditional role of “customer” of the design sector. Design has recently responded to this new situation by generating new working methods. Politecnico di Torino has evolved its classic demanding approach to design and brought it up to date by incorporating “explorative” capacities into the training of its students, providing them with the necessary skills to cope with an absence of market, proposing the designer as a key fi gure capable of exploring existing situations and off ering new solutions. The aim of this paper is to show how, in the absence of market, the strategies that Exploring Design can implement generate system-product, process, service design projects that are always original and innovative, capable of leading quite easily to new methods, business ideas and spheres of activity in which customers can become involved later on.Keywords: Advanced design, Exploring Design, Design education, Design methodology.A crise econômica que atingiu os países do oeste nos últimos anos tem gerado uma queda na presença e na força da classe empresarial e também no seu tradicional papel de “cliente” do setor de design. O design recentemente respondeu a essa nova situação gerando novos métodos de trabalho. A Politecnico di Torino tem evoluído a sua abordagem clássica para projetar e a mantém atualizada incorporando capacidades “exploratórias” na formação dos seus alunos, proporcionando-lhes as habilidades necessárias para lidar com a ausência de mercado, apresentando o designer como uma fi gura importante capaz de explorar as situações existentes e oferecendo novas soluções. O objetivo deste artigo é mostrar como, na ausência de mercado, as estratégias que Explorando o Design pode implementar, gerando produto do sistema, processo, projetos de design que são sempre originais e inovadores, capazes de conduzir facilmente a novos métodos, ideias de negócios e esferas de atividade em que os clientes possam se envolver no futuro.Palavras-chave: Design avançado, Explorando o Design, Educação do design, Metodologia de design

Advanced Design issues: a strategic and investigating research approach to design without a market

The economic crisis that has hit countries in the west in recent years has generated a decline in the presence and the strength of the entrepreneurial class and also of its traditional role of "customer" of the design sector. Design has recently responded to this new situation by generating new working methods. Politecnico di Torino has evolved its classic demanding approach to design and brought it up to date by incorporating "explorative" capacities into the training of its students, providing them with the necessary skills to cope with an absence of market, proposing the designer as a key fi gure capable of exploring existing situations and off ering new solutions. The aim of this paper is to show how, in the absence of market, the strategies that Exploring Design can implement generate system-product, process, service design projects that are always original and innovative, capable of leading quite easily to new methods, business ideas and spheres of activity in which customers can become involved later on. Keywords: Advanced design, Exploring Design, Design education, Design methodology

Ri-Pack. Sistemi di confezionamento per elettrodomestici rigenerati

Il contributo propone un'operazione di ricerca e progetto sviluppata in collaborazione da tre soggetti attivi in campo accademico, commerciale e sociale che, hanno creato le condizioni per produrre nuovi sistemi di imballaggio per elettrodomestici rigenerati, al fine di reintrodurli sul mercato. L’attività è sviluppata all'interno del progetto Ri-Generation, avviato da Astelav e Sermig (Torino, Italia), che ha come obiettivo il recupero di apparecchi dismessi al fine di prevenire la formazione di rifiuti nelle discariche, valorizzando i prodotti usati ancora in buone condizioni e garantendo al contempo opportunità di impiego lavorativo per persone socialmente emarginate. Obiettivo del progetto di packaging, oltre a quello di fornire risposte funzionali per il trasporto e lo stoccaggio, è quello di comunicare il contenuto di innovazione e sostenibilità dell’operazione Ri-Generation, mantenendo il medesimo spirito dell’iniziativa: il sistema è infatti prodotto trasformando e assemblando gli abiti usati recuperati quotidianamente dal Sermig. Il materassino morbido risultante può essere facilmente utilizzato per avvolgere la lavatrice rigenerata e proteggerla durante il trasporto e la vendita

Packaging reconditioned household appliances

This article aims to present a research and design work that focuses on exploring new possible approaches to packaging design as applied to the field of reconditioning and reintroducing old household appliances to the market. The work developed by the research group from the Politecnico di Torino – Design, in particular, is part of a research agreement signed with Astelav, a Piedmontese company based in Nichelino (Turin) and a leading distributor of components and spare parts for household appliances, in partnership with Turin-based Sermig, a non-profit organisation that aims to provide people marginalised by unemployment, social and financial problems with hospitality and both social and job support. The company recently launched the Ri-Generation project alongside Sermig. This involves reconditioning used white goods (washing machines, dishwashers, fridges, ovens, etc.) by intercepting the WEEE (Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment) supply chain as well as encouraging socially marginalised people to gain new skills whilst assisting specialised technicians in reconditioning appliances. The work involves the replacement of damaged or broken parts, a cleaning process, followed by the product’s placement on the market. It is an example of a circular economy that helps prevent the accumulation of waste in landfills, offers old products a new lease of life and new added value and, at the same time, creates new economies and new employment and social rehabilitation opportunities for people in difficult socio-economic circumstances. In such a scenario, the design work carried out attempts to develop new systems for the protection, transportation, presentation and sale of these used, salvaged and reconditioned products, so as to allow them to be distributed on the market, as well as to communicate their own particular image during the sales process. It is a very unusual packaging project because, apart from anything else, every product sold is different from the other, even if they share common characteristics. The design challenge was tackled both in terms of its functional and marketing aspects, but also in line with a wider cultural paradigm that envisages the fine-tuning of a veritable system of activities and relationships that, in keeping with the characteristics of the Ri-Generation project, can generate innovation and sustainability at different levels: at a social level, by involving disadvantaged people and social cooperatives in packaging assembly; at an environmental level, by salvaging old clothes to create the padding; at a production level, by specially training and organising personnel; and at a linguistic level, by applying new modes and registers of expression that stem from experimentation, particularly in the artistic field. The new packaging design takes its cue from the use of the waste materials that Sermig receives on a daily basis through private donations, particularly second-hand clothes that are sorted, selected and then redistributed to people who are experiencing social and financial difficulties. The items of clothing that are damaged, ripped or worn out can be salvaged and, if properly processed, can be turned into efficient packaging systems. Garments are cut up and put together following clear procedural guidelines, and then positioned and sewn inside polyethylene tubes, creating a sort of “padded fabric” that is both waterproof and resistant and can wrap up and protect an appliance during the transport, storage and sales phases. The final product makes a strong impression: patches of clothing in different fabrics and colours surround the appliance, creating what looks like a cloth cube. Whilst it surprises and intrigues the viewer, it also expresses a narrative at different levels: an item of clothing that symbolises a product (a washing machine) declares its function at an emotive level whilst at the same time expressing the salvaging of a waste product, which is the principle that underpins the Ri-Generation project. Since the most significant environmental problem for packaging systems is indeed related to the need to prevent waste before its production, the value of this salvaging process is further stressed by the reusability once it has finished transporting the appliance after sale. The information sheets included and the packaging’s own graphics suggest a “catalogue” of possible alternative uses (the protection of accessories and furnishings during house moves or for storing items in attics and warehouses, garage wall padding, informal poufs, pet cushions, picnic blanket undersheets, etc.). The product’s fine-tuning has involved Sermig personnel (supervisors and guests) and Astelav employees and some social cooperatives during a number of workshops coordinated by the Polito research group, designed to test the production methods and skills of people both joining and leaving the packaging production process. The packaging is assembled by social cooperatives, who are suitably trained using the above-mentioned direct experimentation and partial co-designing phases. To date – having completed the production development, prototype and trial phases – the project is now preparing a pre-series of dozens of items that will be tested during their transportation and sale to consumers. The resulting feedback from these activities will allow the project’s organisers to streamline packaging production methods and the entire sales supply chain. Among the possible outcomes foreseen, action designed to divulge this project in order to turn it into a repeatable or reinterpretable example of best practices is envisaged, as well as the promotion of the project’s cultural merits. Such action includes: • The declinations of the semi-finished product: the defined packaging system, could be considered as a new semi-finished product which, when suitably reshaped, that means it could also be used as packaging in other product sectors; • The curatorship and creation of an exhibition to be put on display: the design of possible display concepts that could be shown at exhibitions and sustainable packaging trade fairs or used for creating a tailor-made event dedicated to Ri-Generation’s case history; • The creation of a special section on the Ri-Generation website: creating text, images, animation, etc. that can present the partnership with the Politecnico di Torino, the design process and the scientific and cultural value of the packaging design process; • The creation of a narrative: a sustainable packaging case history could be the focus of a story told by a lively, abridged publication that could be distributed at particular events designed to promote the initiative and the Ri-Generation project’s work

Il design dell'esperienza. Percorsi di visita presso l'Ecomuseo delle Miniere e della Valle Germanasca

Tra le dimensioni del design la scala del progetto del servizio si occupa di sviluppare esperienze e azioni in grado di coinvolgere attivamente l’utente, finalizzate alla comunicazione di valori, significati e funzioni di sistemi territoriali. In tale ambito un caso interessante è rappresentato dal progetto dei percorsi di visita ScopriMiniera e ScopriAlpi presso l’Ecomuseo delle Miniere e della Valle Germanasca in Piemonte: sistemi organizzati per la fruizione volti a valorizzare il patrimonio territoriale e ambientale incentivando, con esperienze coinvolgenti, un turismo colto e curioso delle testimonianze culturali locali

Il design dell'esperienza. Percorsi di visita presso l'Ecomuseo delle Miniere e della Valle Germanasca

Tra le dimensioni del design la scala del progetto del servizio si occupa di sviluppare esperienze e azioni in grado di coinvolgere attivamente l’utente, finalizzate alla comunicazione di valori, significati e funzioni di sistemi territoriali. In tale ambito un caso interessante è rappresentato dal progetto dei percorsi di visita ScopriMiniera e ScopriAlpi presso l’Ecomuseo delle Miniere e della Valle Germanasca in Piemonte: sistemi organizzati per la fruizione volti a valorizzare il patrimonio territoriale e ambientale incentivando, con esperienze coinvolgenti, un turismo colto e curioso delle testimonianze culturali locali