ARTH 300 – History of Italian Design

Italian design: imagination and exactitude.
The verb “to design” refers to the process of starting and developing a plan for a new object (machine, building, product, etc.). As a noun, “design” is used both for the final plan or proposal (a drawing, model, or other description), or the result of implementing that plan or proposal (the object being produced).
Lately “design” has become an adjective, designating an added quality for objects and attitudes.
“Made in Italy” has been traditionally a brand embodying at once the three aforesaid meanings. As is well known, Italy has always played a major role in the development of design, craft and style.
This course will focus on the history of design and production in Italy from the industrial revolution to the present, ranging from industrial, to product, to furniture design; giving attention to the extraordinary blend of imagination and exactitude that characterizes Italy.
During the semester we will trespass in the world of fashion design as well as that of car styling. Particular importance will be given to the parallel production of visual arts, cinema, literature and other fields of culture.
After a brief (and necessary) narrative on the international history of design from the XVIII to the early XXI centuries (the rise of consumerism and mass production, the Arts and Crafts movement, the Bauhaus ethics, etc.) the course will focus on Italy and Italian designers.
Each lecture will focus on one decade of the recent 150 years of Italian design. Each designer and his/her work and each object / family of objects will be presented in their cultural and productive context and together with the technical and semantic background behind their success.

The general aim of this course is to understand the role of “design” within Italian culture.
After completing this unit, students should be able to explain and contextualize the work of a designer through a presentation, in which they will develop criteria and create links and comparisons between different objects or pieces of furniture.
Students should be able to analyze similar product types through a comparison of innovative features, function, aesthetic and visual appeal, as well as economic, social and environmental benefits and costs.