Design Studio of Marc Sadler, Milan- Monday June 6th, 2011
Alan, Michelle, Lindsay
Monday, June 6, 2011
ITALIAN DESIGN THROUGH TIME
ADI(Associazione per il Disegno Industriale) Lombardia, Milan - Monday, June 6th, 2011
On June 6th we went to the office of ADI Lombardia. ADI is the Italian Association of Industrial Design. There I got a much better idea of what Italian design is. It has a high aesthetic quality but is also functional. Italian companies are very open to new ideas and ways of thinking, but they respect the past. Italian companies tend to be medium to small sized. This means that the lead designer is involved in every aspect of the company. Italians admit that their design system is very disorganized, but they believe that this structure gives them a unique network of manufactures, material distributors, model makers, graphic designers, artisans and so on. My personal observation is that Italian designers are passionate about and emotionally connected to their products and users. They design for the senses and with the goal of making the user feel something.
On June 6th we went to the office of ADI Lombardia. ADI is the Italian Association of Industrial Design. There I got a much better idea of what Italian design is. It has a high aesthetic quality but is also functional. Italian companies are very open to new ideas and ways of thinking, but they respect the past. Italian companies tend to be medium to small sized. This means that the lead designer is involved in every aspect of the company. Italians admit that their design system is very disorganized, but they believe that this structure gives them a unique network of manufactures, material distributors, model makers, graphic designers, artisans and so on. My personal observation is that Italian designers are passionate about and emotionally connected to their products and users. They design for the senses and with the goal of making the user feel something.Cerano Dodici: Shared studio space between young designers
Cerano Dodici C12, Milan - Monday, June 6th, 2011
Most young designers do not have sufficient funding to start their own studio, so most of them end up working under design related or non-design related companies. The shared design studio, Cerano Dodici in Milan, offers groups of young and adventurous designers the opportunity to have a shared studio space where they can work on their own projects or collaborate with one another. The structure of this ‘creative hub’ is very light and flexible, establishing an environment that promotes creativity.
Design Studio Comparison - C12 Cerano Dodici, Giovannoni, Marc Sadler
C12, Stefano Giovannoni and Marc Sadler Design Offices, Milan - Monday, June 6th, 2011
On June 6th, we visited three design studios back to back: Cerano Dodici C12, Stefano Giovannoni, and Marc Sadler. Each studio had a unique feel as well as different ways in which each of their offices were run. Anne, Amanda and myself each just completed our year-long internships after third year, which helped to make our tour that much more insightful. We got to see how each company was structured, how their space was organized, and learn what kind of projects each company focused on.
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| Comparing Studio Spaces (This Picture: Part of Marc Sadler's Studio) |
On June 6th, we visited three design studios back to back: Cerano Dodici C12, Stefano Giovannoni, and Marc Sadler. Each studio had a unique feel as well as different ways in which each of their offices were run. Anne, Amanda and myself each just completed our year-long internships after third year, which helped to make our tour that much more insightful. We got to see how each company was structured, how their space was organized, and learn what kind of projects each company focused on.
Stefano Giovannoni (Video)
Design Studio of Stefano Giovannoni, Milan - Monday June 6th, 2011
- Alan, Michelle, Lindsay
- Alan, Michelle, Lindsay
Patrizia Scarzella's Lecture
ADI (Associazione per il Disegno Industriale), Milan - Monday, June 6th, 2011
Alan, Michelle, Lindsay
Alan, Michelle, Lindsay
Design Lecture by Patrizia Scarzella - Criticism is crucial to the development of design.
ADI(Associazione per il Disegno Industriale), Milan - Monday, June 6th, 2011
“The most negative comment of a design by media is not to publish it.” – We never see negative comments in design magazines.
This lecture pointed out how rarely we see criticism on design magazines and other publications. It is apparent that publishers are afraid of offending readers who shared different opinions, which might affect the popularity of the magazine. Criticism is necessary for improvements in most cases, and certainly in design. As designers, it is difficult not to have personal attachment to the concept we have envisioned, but it is also important for us to stop defending our concepts for once, listen and actually take in any constructive criticism.
Colours of Milan: Transportation
Around the city of Milan - June 6th to June 11th, 2011
Along with the colourful accents in this city, it's not hard to miss (and gawk at) the brightly coloured vehicles on the streets of Milan. From the interiors of the metro, to scooters and bikes (and even an Alessi Panda), I think I've seen every colour possible.
Along with the colourful accents in this city, it's not hard to miss (and gawk at) the brightly coloured vehicles on the streets of Milan. From the interiors of the metro, to scooters and bikes (and even an Alessi Panda), I think I've seen every colour possible.
The Colours of Milan
Around the city of Milan - June 6th to June 11th, 2011
Despite the fact that we're getting gloomy weather* here in Milan, I coulnd't help but notice the bright splashes of colour around the city...
Despite the fact that we're getting gloomy weather* here in Milan, I coulnd't help but notice the bright splashes of colour around the city...
*Gloomy is an understatement, we're getting rain everyday. Apparently it's a record amount of rain in Milan for the month of June.
Finding Inspiration in Past Generations and Foreign Culture
Stefano Giovannoni Office, Milan - Monday, June 6th, 2011
A Mini-Exhibit at C12 Studio Space
Cerano Dodici C12, Milan - Monday, June 6th, 2011
Welcoming poster on the door of Cerano Dodici C12 Studio Space
During a brief visit to Cerano Dodici, a collaborative space shared by a dozen young designers, I had a chance to get a glimpse of an interesting mini-exhibition of graphic design. These images are from Peter Oliver Davies' project "Pharmacy Ind" which were made as T-shirt designs for Pharmacy Industry.
Brief of ADI – Association of Italian Design/Association for the Industrial Design
Brief summary of the history of ADI and its purpose and values of the organization
ADI Office, Milano – Monday, June 6th
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| The entrance of the ADI office |
ADI is an organization that gathers professionals, researchers, teachers, critics, journalists, schools, universities, companies and distributors around the main topics of design: project, energy consumption, recycling and training. It was founded in Milan by an initiative group of architects, designers and entrepreneurs in 1956 that are committed to define a new industrial aesthetic. ADI is now the leading role in the development of industrial design as a cultural and economical phenomenon.
Mark Sadler
Mark Sadler's studio - Monday, June 6
Mark Sadler
French designer that lives in Italy was the only rational designer we have met on this trip. He is passionate about saving motorcyclists from injuries and lives. He learns from the past failures of the racers and carefully applies them to the wears. He studies how the racers move and interact with the motorcycle, the road and the physics around them. For instance, he has added a protective knee pad made of a special material that can withstand friction and protect the racers’ knees when they speed on the curves. He says that it becomes their “third wheel” when they turn around the corners.
Stefano Giovannoni: Embracing Archetypes
Stefano Giovannoni had many words of advice for our class when we visited him at his studio in Porta Genova. Perhaps the most interesting of his insights were his views on the importance of creating a connection between the product and its end user.
He explained how standardized products fail to make sense in a market of non-standardized consumers. Successful products are not then created through the use of shape or form, but an ability to be embedded with a connection to the user. He advised us not to fight the common product typologies that consumers are familiar with, but to augment them through a sense of playfulness. His Girotondo plate, for example, takes the most basic shape of the object type and attempts to connect to the consumer through the integration of a widely accessible symbol.
Mami, a series of pots, synthesizes archetypes in a harmonious way, connecting to the user through a sort of collective memory.
"With Mami, instead of designing a new form, I've tried to rediscover the pot that everybody has in their memory. Mami is granny’s pot, it is the archetype pot. […] Its derived from the traits in the collective memory correspond to the idea of the pot"
Here, Giovannoni focuses attention not on the form, but what the form represents, using the archetype itself as the basis of connection to the user.
What I gathered from this lecture was not to actively resist archetypes or the things society at large is familar with, but to find a way to make them your own -- It's not about making the product unique, but the connection the user has to that product.
Associazione per il Disegno Industriale ADI
ADI is the association for industrial designers in Italy. Each region has a delegation, and Milan includes the majority of the 1300 members. The “Milan Design System” is an important theory that the organization works on. Their philosophy is to take care of design, not designers. This means that members of ADI are not just designers, but also the affiliates of designers such as the manufacturers, distributors and other types of designers.
Designing Without Limits
Design Studio of Stefano Giovannoni, Milan - Monday, June 6th
StefanoGiovannoni’s studio has become a design house of a wide variety of products fromelectronics to baby strollers to small playful plastic accessories for the kitchen.
Design Studio of Marc Sadler
Design Studio of Marc Sadler, Milan- Monday June 6th, 2011
Marc Sadler is a man who lives in the future. He combines his passion for technology with his dedication for experimentation to create groundbreaking projects recognized around the world. We met with him on a sunny afternoon at his studio nestled in a community of designers. We were invited into his studio, and settled on his very eclectic collection of chairs. No one knew what to expect from this encounter, but he began by pointing out objects scattered around his studio.
He began with the nike slipper he developed, which now numbers 17 million pairs worldwide. This product is a model of all the projects he develops. He began by working closely with the engineers, creating a process that could then be applied to different products. The methodology that he applies to his work is very hands on. He is involved in designing the manufacturing process, creating mock-ups and drawings, and following the project from beginning to end. In this way, he worked closely with injection moulding engineers to pioneer a method for injecting plastic, and from there he took the new technology and applied it to the slippers for nike. In the same way, he revolutionized the sports equipment industry by breaking rules and creating new industrial methods. Such successes include the ski boots for Lotto, and motorcycle gear for Dainese.
Besides his passion for engineering and innovation, he applies aesthetics and a sense of marketing to his products. This explains why he can work on both mass-produced goods and luxury ones. For Dainese, he explained the importance of applying aesthetics to the product. In order to convince motorcyclists to use the safety equipment, he was not just selling the product, but was selling protection. If the product was not appealing, cyclists would not want to use it no matter how life-saving it was. He continues to create and revolutionize products for Dainese and constantly receives feedback from athletes describing ways it has protected them from harm, and suggestions for ways it could be further improved.
Another example of how his aesthetics are applied to his products are the Tite and Mite lamps he designed for Foscarini. He pointed out the mite lamps by the entranceway and from that, he described the combination of engineering with aesthetics. He talked about the technical difficulties of applying kevlar, which was a material then solely reserved for sports equipment, and exploiting its translucent properties for an aesthetic decoration. We saw the determination he had to develop his vision of a unibody lamp. He first experimented in murano glass, which was too fragile, moved on to carbon fibre and then discovered the properties of kevlar. It took the project 4 years to develop after a lot of experimentation and testing the use of a thread forming method. This technical innovation won him the Compasso D'oro award in the year 2000, and created the family of products Foscarini now displays proudly in their showroom.
Keywords: innovation, experience, creativity, technology
Michelle, Alan, Lindsay
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