Thanks to the Symbola Foundation and ADI the research "35 designer, under 35", portraits a generation that is designing a different world

Davide Groppi argues that communicating is a Cartesian practice for design: I communicate therefore I am. An assumption that clashes loudly with the apparently elusive and reserved attitude of designers under 35.

Because it is difficult to find them, understand what they do, approach them. The main reason is simple: those who spread design culture often work under the semantic umbrella of the word “home”. But these new designers do not design chairs.

Fondazione Symbola, in collaboration with Adi, with the research 35 designer, under 35, presented during the last seminar in Mantua in June 2024, has tried to fill the communication gap to give a face and an identity to young designers.

The idea of ​​dedicating a series of articles to these new designers was born together with Domenico Sturabotti, president of Symbola. To understand who they are, what they do, what they excel at. And to build a nomenclature of a Made in Italy that is still in progress.

Read also: Young design is not afraid of artificial intelligence

WIM_Lida Grits
WIM, Lida Grits

Point 1: less “home”

The field of action is no longer the domestic one. The new designers are game changers, as such they deal with practically everything without indulging in the temptation to save the world.

Because change is made in small steps, not with revolutions, by intervening on the details, with patience and a good measure of modesty. The under 35s do not shout, do not contest, do not make proclamations.

They have overcome the ideological torment and, above all, they do not believe that the world changes thanks to a sofa.

Read also: Design, technology and women's things

Movopack_ packaging riciclabile
Movopack, packaging riciclabile

Point 2: improve what already exists

Observe with curiosity and thenbreak the mold, with confidence. An attitude that Zen recommends as a secular practice: if something can be improved, then it is time to change it.

Technology is the most obvious tool that design uses intelligently to bring significant answers to the urgent issues of the environmental crisis, hyperconsumerism, social inequality.

Endelea_moda etica_© Vanessa Mwingira e Filbert Deus
Endelea, moda etica - Credits: Vanessa Mwingira e Filbert Deus

Point 3: empathy

Millennials and GenZ are not protesting generations. They do not want a clean slate. They are attentive and open to intergenerational conversations, they willingly work with younger and older people.

They cultivate an empathetic gaze towards civil rights, environmental protection, care and nurturing of every living being, human and otherwise. Calmly and decisively, and with pragmatic projects, they deconstruct taboos, biases, prejudices.

They are certain that everything can be remedied, in the macro and micro, in industrial processes as in people's lives, throughout the world and in every culture.

The Tidal Garden_Tavole conviviali, agrocoltura e maree
The Tidal Garden, Tavole conviviali, agrocoltura e maree

Point 4: the masters

They know them from afar, through their words and their projects. They are now mythological figures, loved and studied with reverence. The new generation of designers returns to read and quote the precise words of the masters of the past. And in their projects you can see the good-natured and wise shadows of the design gestures that made Made in Italy.

Andrea Ascani_ POSS_ circuito digitale per la composizione musicale
Andrea Ascani, POSS, circuito digitale per la composizione musicale

Point 5: Courage

New designers are not afraid of anything. Whether it is artificial intelligence or agriculture, they are ready to confront and work in the most diverse fields. The secret is the willingness to co-design: problems, simple or complicated, are solved by working with experts from other disciplines, without fear of having to learn what a mycelium is or how a facial recognition algorithm works.

Point 6: impostor syndrome

They struggle, very hard, to call themselves designers. Because the word itself is still too tied to worlds and meanings far removed from the work that Under 35s actually do. They often candidly state that they suffer from “impostor syndrome”.

In reality, they are capable designers, sometimes brilliant, sometimes simply very well-prepared and rigorous. And they do exactly what Ettore Sottsass would have done if he had been born in the 1990s.

#Features #Storie 2024
fb messenger tel

See
also

Gamechangers: young designers who want to change the world
#FEATURES

Gamechangers: young designers who want to change the world

History of maps to understand contemporary graphics
#FEATURES

History of maps to understand contemporary graphics

Federica Fragapane: Humanizing data to fight inequalities
#INTERVIEWS

Federica Fragapane: Humanizing data to fight inequalities

The new agriculture needs strong design projects
#FEATURES

The new agriculture needs strong design projects