Language and identity in new Italian Design

The overcoming of the industrial dogma has in fact expanded the fields of the profession promoting the concept of a designer that can operate without distinction in the industrial sector or in that of the craftsmanship. The large differences in goals and process between the two productive spheres imply however a different approach: industry sets simplification as a priority while craftsmanship finds in the complexity of making its magnification. But where industrial design has established consolidated methodologies, “design for craft” is still developing methods and strategies. The paper analyses some processes and design languages that are the basis of a renewed design dialogue with the artisan sphere.