Exploring and expanding the boundaries of creativity
Design is an ongoing process of study and research into materials, technologies, resources, scenarios, experiences, and social and economic interactions.
Alongside our studio projects, we are frequently invited to speak at conferences, seminars, and workshops at design and management academies worldwide.
We organize development programs, capacity-building training, and creative workshops with industrial districts, public organizations, and NGOs that need to navigate crises, envision new directions, innovate through repositioning, and renew their tools and strategic communication.
Food waste as a new resource
Foodscape is our research project that re-evaluates food waste as a useful resource for a new raw material. Launched at the 2013 Milan Design Week, Foodscape aims to hypothesise a new circular production paradigm.
Conceived to be part of the logic of natural cycles, once its use is over, the Foodscape container shell, produced from food waste (peanut shells / carata husks), can be dissolved in water and used to fertilise the soil from which other fruits will possibly grow.
Client: Padiglione Italia
Partners: Michela Milani, Lambrate-Ventura District
Objects declare themselves on the surface
What if, in a world dominated by images, reality was only a surface? No longer solid materials but archetypes of empty forms where objects lose consistency and images acquire substance. SUPERFACE is provocatively the denial of content and the affirmation of a type of design that is openly superficial, whose dysfunctionality is a suggestion for rethinking a new culture for the project and an authentic sense for the object.
Client: Padiglione Italia
Partners: Lambrate-Ventura District, Associazione Azimut
Teaching at the Creative Academy by the Richemont Group
Teaching at the Course in Brand Management and curating special projects and exhibitions during the Milan Design Week, organized in collaboration with the companies of the Richmond group, for the students of the Creative Academy in Milan.
Client: Creative Academy
Partners: Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d'Arte, Montblanc, Van Clief & Arpels
Cooperation and development program in Tajikistan
Cooperation and development project aimed at creating a new territorial brand to encourage local entrepreneurship, enhance the heritage of traditional craftsmanship and, to a large extent, the very identity of the countries of Central Asia.
Client: Cesvi
Partners: European Union, Central Asia Invest, AltraQualità, NASM
Teaching at the IUAV University of Venice
Teaching at the Intensive Workshops at the beginning of the Courses in Design at the IUAV University of Venice.
Client: IUAV Venice
Partners: Celenit, Michele Perissinotto
Teaching at Design Academy Eindhoven
Lectureship at the Master in Man & Humanity, Design Academy Eindhoven, and curation of the "global" project, mission, and exhibition in Kenya, featuring the international students from the Master's program.
Client: Design Academy Eindhoven
Think Twice for the Mini Design Award
Winning project at the Mini Design Award for its interpretation of the water theme, focusing on protection and the reduction of individual consumption. Pensaci due volte (Think Twice) is an invitation rather than a warning—a faucet designed to demonstrate that, if we choose to, avoiding water waste is far easier than we think.
Client: BMW Italia
Partners: Triennale di Milano, ADI Design
Ceramic workshop in Ecuador
Coordination of the design workshop for developing new hand-decorated, ceramic printed products in harmony with the history of the location and the company, for Artesa in Ecuador with Altraqualità.
Cliente: AltraQualità
Partners: Artesa
Design workshop for the local area in Valle Camonica
Concept and creation of a series of programs and labs to develop products tied to the local heritage, developed in collaboration with manufacturing companies from Valle Camonica.
Cliente: Comunità Montana di Valle Camonica
Partners: Unesco Valle Camonica, Segno Artigiano
Aluminum footwear molds from Vigevano
Participatory design workshop at a selection of companies in the Vigevano footwear district, focusing on developing design objects by repurposing discarded aluminum molds used for rubber sole production.
Cliente: Gianfranco Bazzigaluppi
Partners: Badì Design
Teaching at NABA Milan
Teaching for the Project Culture Course and the Design IV Course at NABA - Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti Milano. For NABA, we also regularly curate intensive, interdisciplinary workshops with international students and schools, focusing on avant-garde design themes.
Cliente: Naba
Workshop with the Albissola ceramics district
Design workshop with local artisans to create contemporary artifacts capable of dialogue with the history and tradition of Albissola ceramics.
Cliente: Centro Internazionale per l'Arte Contemporanea applicata alla Ceramica
Design for craftsmanship in Trentino
Design and innovation project in the field of products, services, and communication in collaboration with Trentino artisan businesses, aimed at exchanging and transferring skills between designers and traditional companies.
Cliente: Ceii Trentino, Poli.design
Partners: Santoni Vetri, Trentino Sviluppo, Politecnico di Milano
Leather processing in Tajikistan
Design workshop with the network of local artisans in Tajikistan working in the leather, semi-precious stone, precious metal, wood, and wool sectors. Whomade as strategic and operational partner in the multi-year program for the promotion and development of national craftsmanship in Tajikistan, organized by Cesvi and funded by the European Union.
Client: Cesvi
Partners: European Union, Central Asia Invest, AltraQualità, UCT, NASMB
Woodcarving and lutherie in Kyrgyzstan
Design and place marketing workshop with the network of local artisans as operational partner in the cooperation and development program for the innovation of national craftsmanship in Kyrgyzstan. Development of a catalog of new products made of wood, felt, leather, and ceramics.
Client: Cesvi
Partners: European Union, Central Asia Invest, AltraQualità, BBC
Manual stone processing and design in India
R&D paths at the production sites of the Indian company Orvi for the development of new techniques and the design of innovative natural stone surfaces.
Client: Orvi
Metal inlay in stone in India
Design lab for developing innovative natural stone wall covering surfaces, inlaid with wood and metal filaments, for the Indian brand Orvi Innovative Surfaces.
Client: Orvi
Wood inlay in stone in India
Workshop with artisans and development of innovative surfaces for natural stone, inlaid with wood and metals.
Client: Orvi
Lecturing at UVM Mexico
Intensive workshops and seminars on design thinking and brand management at the various campuses of the private university UVM, faculty of design and applied arts, in Mexico.
Client: UVM Universidad del Valle de México
Partners: Laureate International Universities, Naba
Teaching at UNIRSM Workshops
Teaching at the San Marino Design Workshop "All Around Design" at the University UNIRSM Design of San Marino.
Client: UNIRSM
Semi-precious stone processing in Afghanistan
As part of the cooperation program for the development of Central Asian craftsmanship, we curated a design workshop with the local artisan group for semi-precious stone processing and the creation of jewelry lines, implementing new techniques, shapes, and product configurations.
Client: Cesvi
Partners: European Union, Altraqualità, Rupani Foundation
Hand-printed and hand-decorated ceramics in Vietnam
Participatory design workshop focused on research and development for the design of new ceramic products with Altraqualità and in collaboration with Craftlink, a Vietnamese company belonging to the fair trade circuit.
Client: AltraQualità
Partners: Craftlink
Metal inlay in wood in India
Design lab for optimizing wood processing with metal inlay, developed for the Indian brand Orvi - Innovative Surfaces.
Cliente: Orvi
Block-print dyeing of fabrics in Tajikistan
Design workshop with the local artisan group active in the traditional block-printing sector, as an operational partner in the program for the promotion and development of national craftsmanship in Tajikistan.
Client: Cesvi
Partners: European Union, Central Asia Invest, AltraQualità
Blown glass in Bohemia
Design workshop at the Marienberg glassworks in the Czech Republic, for the development of a blown glass tableware collection.
Client: Marienberg
Soapstone carving in Kenya
With and for the soapstone carvers of Tabaka in Kenya, an integrated cooperation and development program for the design of new products to be commercialized within the Fairtrade chain.
Client: CTM-Altromercato
Partners: Tabaka Workshops / Kenya
Sisal weaving in Kenya
With groups of women weavers of sisal, papyrus, and banana fibers in Machakos, Kenya, an integrated cooperation and development program for the design of new products to be commercialized within the Fairtrade chain.
Client: CTM-Altromercato
Partners: Machakos Co-operative Union / Kenya
Metal oxidation in Colombia
Training project on process innovation and product design workshop in collaboration with Colombian manufacturing SMEs for the development of new design collections and home accessories in oxidized iron.
Client: AltraQualità
Partners: Oxidos
Leather processing in Colombia
Training project on process innovation and product design workshop in collaboration with Colombian manufacturing SMEs for the development of new lines of bags and fashion accessories made from recycled leather and canvas scraps.
Cliente: AltraQualità
Partners: Doña Rosa
The creation of jewelry from organic materials in Colombia
Training project on process innovation and product design workshop in collaboration with Colombian manufacturing SMEs for the development of new collections of jewelry and fashion accessories made from tropical seeds, orange peels, and other natural fibers.
Cliente: AltraQualità
Partners: Piel Acida
Banana fiber weaving in Kenya
Within the slums of Kisumu and the "Jua kali" artisanal district, the integrated design development program with the organization of workshops for the Fairtrade handicraft producer chain in Kenya.
Client: CTM-Altromercato
Wood carving in Kenya
With the wood carvers of Giacaranda in Kenya, an integrated cooperation and development program for the design of new products to be commercialized within the Fairtrade chain.
Client: CTM-Altromercato
Partners: Machakos Co-operative Union / Kenya
Lost-wax casting in India
Multi-year cooperation and development program for local tribal handicraft and product development workshops in the Indian region of Bastar, in collaboration with Saathi and local producer groups working with the lost-wax metal casting technique.
Client: Saathi
Partners: Incredible India Program, DC Handicraft
Hand-wrought iron in India
Cooperation and development program for local tribal handicraft and product development workshops in the Indian region of Bastar, in collaboration with Saathi and hand-wrought iron artisans.
Client: Saathi
Partners: Incredible India Program, DC Handicraft
