The 3 C's of the Circular Economy for Food. A conceptual framework for circular design in the food system

Food, the basic connecting unit of all the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, plays a crucial role in the ecological transition towards a circular economic paradigm. This paper takes scientific considerations as a starting point in order to contribute to the definition of a theoretical-operational framework in which to grow the Circular Economy for Food. This is a still-open question in a sector of the circular economy that is emerging as vital to sustainable development. The 3 C's of Capital, Cyclicality and Co-evolution offer a systemic, holistic vision of the food system's role. Within this conceptual framework, the designers can find the main boundaries of the system, within which to express their creativity. The aim must be to avoid damaging relationships with the best supplier of raw material known to humanity (Nature), respecting planetary boundaries and at the same time offering a fair space to civil society.

Humanistic design, and beyond

The pandemic is consequence of our mistaken relationship with nature is correct. It’s crucial to learn from past mistakes and it’s necessary to create a sustainable horizon of meaning for our thought and our action, centred on the health of the planet, with man as an integral part of nature. The design can contribute: a Humanistic design, based on a civil commitment, that works with the territories, in in a cosmopolitan spirit, with an inclusive project; but also a design which, however, goes beyond Humanism, which takes away the central role of man – an anthropocentrism that through the ages has created numerous problems... -, in the name of a new accord, in harmony with nature as a whole. The Francesco Faccini, Maurizio Montalti, Gionata Gatto, Giovanni Innella and Formafantasma’s designs can be a possible example of this new idea.

An Exploration of Digital Fashion in Pandemic Italy: Districts, Designers, and Displays

Change is at the heart of the definition of fashion, as many theorists, designers and cultural analysts have shown. This article takes up this perspective to question the role of fashion design in the 21st century in the relation to cultural, media and technological changes. Adopting a field research approach, the paper analyses the interaction between fashion, designers and digital technologies that are emerging in Italy in order to re-grasp Made in Italy in a futuring perspective. The case studies were selected for their relevance to the digital in terms of design, production, and display. The paper analyses that the pandemic crisis is having on the Made in Italy, stimulating new ways of designing, understanding, producing, and consuming fashion.

Human Body Interaction From the Imaginary to Contemporaneity. Anticipation Design Processes

Interfaces and prostheses, whether physical, visual, or virtual, are more and more characterized by an ever-increasing level of complexity. In this designing scenario, the relationship with cognitive sciences, ergonomics, semiotics, and the contribution of enabling technologies is transforming the field of product design into that of the design of complex systems that interface the relationship between human and machine.

Typefaces Are All Almost the Same. Non-systematic Review of Scientific Findings on the Impact of Typographic Features on Reading Performance

"The interest in discovering the limits of legibility has not ceased to interest those who use letters in typography and, to a certain extent, those who study the reading process. Sometimes the debate on the subject is marred by sensationalism. The research does not aim to identify a particular typeface and to promote it as “best for legibility”. The research aims to identify what are the possible reasons that make one typeface better than another and to make this knowledge available to the community, so that the typefaces can guarantee better reading performance, if this is possible."

The design culture: actions and narratives between archives and exhibitions

The article is focused on the value of design archives as resources to be enhanced through exhibitions, and as heritage for innovation based on process of knowledge re-use, especially for creative industries. Starting from the background of the debate on the new dimension of the archive (especially the one focused on the relation between art and design practices and the archive), the article will focus on a specific context as the one of design archives which have been in recent years particularly vivid realities. Focusing on designer’s archive (in between the broader system of design documentation), and through a case study such as CSAC of University of Parma, we will examine how these archives are not merely repositories of drawings and how they can be connectors for creative industries, through exhibitions and other programs. In the second part of the article, we will focus on three exhibitions devoted to design which are expressions of a huge patrimony organized in structured archives, analysing different curatorial practices and narratives paradigms. In these cases, design exhibitions are ‘active’ representation of design archives.

Interactive Vision: How Active Perceivers Sample Information Over Time

Human-object and human-computer interactions take place over time, during which we take in sensory information, make predictions about the impact of our actions based on our goals, and then integrate the new sensory information in order to update our internal models and guide new actions. Here, I focus on two key aspects of interaction that unfold over time: (1) active vision using eye and body movements and (2) temporal windows and rhythms. Recent scientific research provides new insights into how we integration sensory input over time and how information processing speed varies over time and between individuals. Understanding these temporal parameters of how we perceive and act, and tailoring the experience to match individual differences in temporal processing, may dramatically improve the design of efficient and usable objects and interfaces. Failing to take these temporal factors into account can lead to the user being overwhelmed or confused, or failing to notice important information. These issues are illustrated with the example of the challenge of adapting automatic driver assistance technologies to older drivers.

Who Needs Solutions? Social Design Between Technological Solutionism and Articulation of Conflicts

Starting from Morozov’s thoughts, this paper uses the concept of solutionism to analyze and criticize some trends that today define and lead practices of the so-called social design. To what is referred to as solutionist design, another design approach is here opposed, in which tools and methodologies of the discipline are oriented towards the articulation of a specific problem, rather than its solution. The theoretical background refers to the concepts of “antagonism” described by Mouffe, which has been recently translated within the design field. According to this perspective, a design project develops a political dimension through processes of reframing of a given problem. In this way a social issue will be represented as the product of specific choices or agencies and will therefore emerge as a political problem. This theoretical framework is described and discussed through the analysis and comparison of design projects addressing the issue of refugees and the refugee camp.

At the Interface: Opening a Debate on the Future of Interfaces

"Human-machine interaction (HMI) is a multilayered discipline that includes the study of human factors, engineering and interaction design. By its own definition HMI brings together heterogenous design challenges that cross multiple domains. Radical innovation in the field of machine learning, material science, manufacturing processes, sensing and actuating systems are rapidly transforming the way we interact with technology: computers are disappearing into everyday objects, products and systems are becoming more autonomous and proactive, and new interaction techniques are able to capture the richness of the human body expressivity. In this paper, we propose the interface as the material and conceptual place where the novel challenges of HMI should be addressed and solved. Our goal is to open a debate on the centrality of the interface design in industrial design and on the establishment of a multidisciplinary framework to synthesize technological, cognitive, social, cultural, and economic instances. "

"Towards design and creativity in the European work programmes"

"The paper investigates the growing adoption of design approach and its tools and the emergent inclusion of design and creativity in the new funding programs of the European Commission. It is assumed as a progressive process, with specific milestones, that move towards cross-disciplinarity between different sectors, and integrate citizens' inclusion in the innovation pathways at different scales. The contribution presents the turning points in the introduction of participatory methodologies and design as a multidisciplinary and transversal medium to foster a multi-stakeholders dialogue. The rethinking opportunity generated by the COVID-19 emergency has been seized by the European Commission, which put in evidence the relation between design and R&I processes, to foster cross-innovation and multiple knowledge, blurring the boundaries between creation, distribution and reception, with a special eye on culture and creativity. "