Sapienza University of Rome, Presentation of Prof. Orlandi (Director of DATA Department), Lecture of Prof. Rullo

Sapienza University, DATA Department, Rome - Monday, June 20th

 - Alan, Michelle, Lindsay

Visit to Mendini's Design Studio

Office of Alessandro Mendini, Milan- Friday June 13, 2011

On our last day in Milan, we visited the office of Alessandro Mendini!

The Studio of Mendini

A glimpse of the nature of Alessandro Mendini and his studio

Studio of Alessandro Mendini, Milano – Friday, June 10^th

A view of Mendini's design studio

One of the most colorfully themed designers that we have met on this Grand Tour was Alessandro Mendini. If you take one step into his studio, you will almost be overwhelmed by all the colors that you are confronted with. 

‪Andrea Branzi‬ (Video)

Triennale Design Museum, Milano - Tuesday, June 7th









Alan, Michelle, Lindsay

Andrea Branzi

Triennale Design Museum, Milano - Tuesday, June 7th

In Milano, we were given the opportunity to meet one of the fathers of the Italian radical design movement. Andrea Branzi, the designer, architect, author and theoretician.

The Fusion of Function and Play in Castiglioni

Museo Castiglioni, Milano – Tuesday, June 7^th

Glimpse inside of Museo Castiglioni
 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/11/arts/11iht-designside11.html

Achille Castiglioni is mostly known for his ‘form follows function’ design style – using everyday objects that are featured in his new products such as a bike seat or rolling kayak seat on a chair. Not only where these, so to say, ‘crude’ models but they were fairly humorous and playful as well – similar to his personality. 

Patricia Urquiola for Moroso

Moroso Showroom, Milan- Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

Moroso was founded in 1952 as a family business producing sofas, armchairs and home accessories. The daughter of the company, Patrizia Moroso began a new chapter in Italian design during the 80s that set the example for design oriented companies. She envisioned a trend-setting company that would bring new concepts to sitting by collabora

ting with famous designers such as Ron Arad. It was over 10 years ago that she invited Patricia Urquiola to design for Moroso. Together, they have realized over 24 objects during their partnership, creating many products that are now icons of Moroso.

Urquiola's pieces incorporate cultural inspirations taken from around the globe, from colours to production methods. Common to her style are also the touches of femininity added to each of her products, refreshing in the male-dominated industry.

This is her latest collect

ion for Moroso, called Fergana. It is inspired by old handcrafts of Italian women. The embroidery on the upholstery is reminiscent of past fashions re-interpreted in a contemporary way. By playing with the scale and colours of the embroidery, this old form of decoration has been rejuvenated.

Pictured is a coffee table with inspiration taken from lace doilies. In this design, she is playing not only with scale, but material as well.

Here are some more images of her work.

Lowseat, designed for temporary sitting.

Tropicalia, designed for outdoor use.

Fjord, one of the icons from Moroso's collection.

Keywords: Technology, Handicraft, Detail

ciao,

Michelle, Alan, Lindsay

Marc Sadler (Video)

Design Studio of Marc Sadler, Milan- Monday June 6th, 2011



Alan, Michelle, Lindsay

Design Studio Comparison - C12 Cerano Dodici, Giovannoni, Marc Sadler

C12, Stefano Giovannoni and Marc Sadler Design Offices, Milan - Monday, June 6th, 2011

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

Finding Inspiration in Past Generations and Foreign Culture

 Stefano Giovannoni Office, Milan - Monday, June 6th, 2011

All designers and creative thinkers alike draw inspirations from the environment around them. When we met Stefano Giovannoni, a prominent figure in the story of Italian design, he shared with us some of his inspirational outlets.

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.

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

Dressed From Head to Toe: Stephen Jones at Ferragamo

Museo Salvatore Ferragamo, Florence - June 3

On our last full day in Florence we spent the morning at Museo Ferragamo, a gallery dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of Salvatore Ferragamo's collection of custom designed shoes. The museum serves as an archive of Ferragamo's life work and allows visitors to witness the ingenuity and artistry behind each of his creations. Several other artists and designers are featured at the museum, giving inspiration to, or drawing inspiration from the collections and how they are presented. One of these designers is Stephen Jones, a London-born milliner who has developed a series of hand-made hats modelled off of a selection of Ferragamo's infamous shoes.

A sketch I made of one of Jones' hats at Museo Ferragamo.

David Palterer's Lecture

ISIA (Instito Superiore per la Industrie Artistiche), Florence - Thursday, June 2nd, 2011
Presentation by David Palterer

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Alan, Michelle, Lindsay

A Glimpse into the mind of David Palterer

ISIA (Instito Superiore per la Industrie Artistiche), Florence - Tuesday, May 31st, 2011
Presentation by David Palterer

On June 2nd we attended a lecture by architect/designer, David Palterer. He showed us a presentation about a number of the products he designed. This blog entry shows some of my favourite products with a description of why they are special. I also have a few quotes from David Palterer which I thought were great. N.D. The quotes might be paraphrased.