DESIGN FIELD. Design as a Cultural Field. Practices, Actors, and Media for Design Communication.
Year 2026
Design as a meta-discipline encompasses the broadest sectors of the arts, society, and the economy, with applications that span every field involving developing a project, a plan, and a strategy aimed at achieving new goals, transcending the status quo, and defining new meanings. This research aims to investigate how the discipline of design is constantly transforming and expanding, and how this is reflected above all in communicative and narrative practices. The evolution of the discipline -from products to interiors, from services to socio-technical systems- highlights an increasingly complex field capable of influencing social, organizational, and territorial dynamics.
The main issues of this research can be summarized in a few key questions: How is the field of design configured in Italy today, and through which practices, media (publishing, audiovisuals, and social media), and actors does the contemporary debate on the discipline take shape? Where do designers, students, professionals, and cultural practitioners learn about the latest trends, design innovations, and industry initiatives? Which events attract the most qualified and sophisticated audience -comprising industry insiders- as well as a broader, non-specialist, general audience (including tourists)?
The research project involves an extensive and systematic literature review aimed at clarifying the conceptual and methodological scope of the study, exploring the relationships between design, communication, and the production of cultural meaning.
A central element of the research is the conduct of a national survey targeting designers, companies, educators, professionals, and industry practitioners, with the goal of understanding, quantifying, and qualifying which media, information sources, and communication tools are used, for what purposes, and with what expectations. A series of seminars featuring guest speakers and “roundtable discussions” with industry experts will be organized to disseminate the findings. These activities mark the first steps toward the preliminary establishment of an observatory on communication and design culture.