60
Industrial Design
REGGIO DI CALABRIA
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
To achieve the expected outcomes of the course program and the proposed experimentation, the educational offering—structured through its various activities—pursues the following:
• Qualifying educational objectives:
- Acquire theoretical and practical knowledge and skills in communication design, graphic design, and information design.
- Acquire skills for the construction and implementation of open digital platforms
.
• Specific educational objectives (with reference to the theme of the course/laboratory):
- Develop design abilities oriented toward the visual and digital communication of Mediterranean territorial brands, with particular attention to highlighting cultural, symbolic, and identity-related aspects.
- Apply the principles of information design to translate complex content into clear, accessible communication artifacts consistent with the Mediterranean brand language (infographics, interfaces, data visualizations, narrative systems).
- Design digital environments and content on open platforms, with the aim of building integrated, dynamic, and interactive communication systems capable of representing and promoting the tangible and intangible heritage of the territories.
- Integrate the tools and languages of graphic design and information design within interdisciplinary projects, in synergy with the multimedia communication and video storytelling activities of the laboratory.
- Develop a critical and systemic approach to brand communication, capable of combining aesthetics, functionality, and an awareness of the Mediterranean cultural and social context.
Course Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of graphic design principles, data processing, map reading, and the use of vector and raster graphic editing software.
Teaching Methods
1. TYPE OF EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES:
Distributed according to hours of face-to-face teaching (10 hours = 1 ECTS) (as recorded in the register)
- Lectures (hours/year in class): 20
- Workshops / Exercises (hours/year in class): 20
- Practical activities (hours/year in class): 20
- Other: —
2. STUDENT’S INDEPENDENT WORK
Specify the methods, contents, and time related to the work the student must complete independently outside the face-to-face teaching hours (to complete the total hours/ECTS).
1 ECTS = 25 hours (10 hours of classroom teaching / 15 hours of independent work)
- In-depth study / reading of the bibliography (theoretical component): 8 hours
- Preparation for assessments (project experimentation): 8 hours
- Exam preparation: 9 hours
Assessment Methods
Methods and stages of assessment (intermediate and final):
0. Initial test to assess basic knowledge (beginning of the course activities)
- Intermediate assessment on the content covered in the lectures for each Thematic Unit
- Final assessment – Final Review / Workshop integrated with the other disciplines
Examination format: Theory and Practice
Texts
Bonsiepe, G (1999). Design, Cultura e Società. Milano: Edizioni Sylvestre Bonnard.
Manzini, E (2015). Design, When Everybody Designs: An Introduction to Design for Social Innovation. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Tufte, E. R. (2001). The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press.
Norman, Donald A. (2013). The Design of Everyday Things: Revised and Expanded Edition. New York: Basic Books.
Lupi, G, & Posavec, S (2016). Dear Data. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.
Testi per la sperimentazione
Mangano G. (2024). Co-design e tecnologie digitali: open platforms per facilitare la partecipazione degli utenti in scenari di transizione/Co-design and digital technologies: open platforms to facilitate user participation in transition scenarios. In Losasso M. et al. (2024), “Progettazione Ambientale, Sfide Globali, Scenari di Ricerca”, Volume Cluster SITdA Progettazione Ambientale, Maggioli Editore, pp. 256-261
Mangano G. (2021). Sustainable Data Mapping e Graphic Visualization. In: Mangano G. (2021) (a cura di), Knowledge vs Climate Change. Co-design e tecnologie abilitanti per la conoscenza ed azioni in risposta ai cambiamenti climatici, Quaderno Collana SID n.3, Aracne ed., Roma, ISBN: 978-88-255-4040-6, pp. 80-83
Contents
The course aims to offer a training program focused on transferring theoretical knowledge and practical skills in the field of communication design, understood as the discipline dedicated to devising tools, systems, and content that facilitate the transmission and understanding of products and projects in visual, digital, and interactive user-oriented contexts. In this sense, the course content will build on the knowledge and skills acquired during the three-year program, combining the study of visual design and information design principles with that of digital technologies (such as open platforms) and new communication techniques. It will therefore integrate with the other two disciplines of the “Design for the Communication of the Mediterranean Brand” Laboratory (Multimedia Communication and Video Storytelling).
Information Design and Digital Platforms will be the course’s two main areas of learning: the former—defined as a discipline concerned with organizing and presenting complex information (data, texts, technical documents) in a clear and accessible way to facilitate user understanding and use (Bonsiepe, 1999)—finds its strongest application today in the design of intuitive user interfaces, dashboards, interactive infographics, and web navigation systems (ICT, open platforms, web cloud).
In constant dialogue with the other two laboratory disciplines—Multimedia Communication and Video Storytelling—the course aims to offer a design-oriented contribution capable of developing integrated products, as well as cultural and methodological insights and tools, to design effective communication systems consistent with the visual, cultural, and narrative identity of brands connected to the Mediterranean context.
More information
COURSE PROGRAM
Specify the topics covered in the Course by relating them to the expected learning outcomes.
Proposed program divided into four Thematic Units for the 12 available teaching weeks (theory + application):
UTP – Introductory Thematic Unit: Communication Design and new languages for design and innovation.
UT1 – Thematic Unit 1: Information Design, from graphic design to information design (graphic elements, data and document representation, mapping).
UT2 – Thematic Unit 2: Digital platforms for project communication, from the design of the information architecture to implementation in a web-cloud environment.
UTF – Final Thematic Unit: Workshop for the development of an integrated communication project for a product/project/space developed within the laboratory and/or the three-year program and/or the first year of LM-12, including information and data design and their transfer to a digital environment through the creation of a web-cloud platform (e.g., Wix).
Possible integrations/correlations with other disciplines (laboratories/courses of the current academic year): the proposed topics are interdisciplinary and integrated with the themes and expected outputs of the courses “Multimedia Communication” and “Video Storytelling.” The course will address themes related to “Design for the Communication of the Mediterranean Brand,” with the aim of providing theoretical and operational tools for designing effective communication systems consistent with the visual, cultural, and narrative identity of brands connected to the Mediterranean context. The applied experimentation involves the use of methodologies to organize and make complex content (data, texts, technical and cultural materials) accessible through clear, inclusive, and functional visual and digital artifacts (interfaces, infographics, navigation systems, dashboards). A further focus concerns the critical and creative use of open and collaborative digital tools (open platforms, web-cloud environments, ICT tools) to support the dissemination and construction of identity-based narratives for territorial brands.