How Design Can Help Industries: Lessons From TheItalian Design System

The paper describes the relation between design and Local Productive Systems (LPS) as one of the key elements of competitiveness of the Italian SMEs in the sectors of the so-called “made in Italy”. The paper is based on a comprehensive study, resulting from the combination of different research programs carried on by the authors during the last 10 years, including a wide collection of cases, and direct experiences in applied research with Italian companies. In the paper, authors discuss the role of design research assuming a mainly practical perspective, focusing on the kind of research that is carried on by designers and design research institutions in relation with companies operating in the Italian LPS. According to this perspective, the peculiarities of the Italian design system are the distributed nature of the research process; the non-structured and unaware observation of local and global contexts of use; the visionary approach led by design. Authors point out that designers, in their close and almost “familiar” relation with companies, do not look at them as stakeholders, but as subjects of an interactive process driving to innovation, where designers are at the same time able to bring in companies visions and trajectories for innovation, and to deal with the technical issues related to the development of new products.