Four New Design Books Explore Generational Shifts, Craft Heritage, and Innovative Storytelling
Four recent publications examine Italian design from multiple angles. Tommaso Bovo's 'Design liquido' (Forma Edizioni, 2022) challenges Enzo Mari's critique of contemporary design through interviews with designers like Giulio Iacchetti, Paolo Ulian, Formafantasma, Guglielmo Poletti, and Giacomo Moor, arguing that design has become 'liquid' in Zygmunt Bauman's sense. Filippo Berto's 'Made in Meda' (Berto, 2021) traces Meda's manufacturing history from the Middle Ages, highlighting the role of the Umiliati order and the Badesse of San Vittore. 'Carlo Colombo. Industrial Design' (Rizzoli, 2022), edited by Maria Vittoria Capitanucci, surveys the career of the Brianza-born designer, from his early work with Giulio Cappellini to his experimental pieces like the Ball Chair for Arflex and the 784 armchair. Anna Maconi and Chiara Frascà's 'Mi hai lasciato senza fiato' (LetteraVentidue, 2022) is an illustrated story for the Sicilian brand Orografie, set in a dystopian future where balloons no longer fly, integrating product design into narrative.
Key facts
- Tommaso Bovo's 'Design liquido' published by Forma Edizioni in 2022, 168 pages, €18.
- Bovo's book responds to Enzo Mari's 2016 Corriere della Sera interview with Stefano Boeri and Hans Ulrich Obrist.
- Interviewees include Giulio Iacchetti, Paolo Ulian, Formafantasma, Guglielmo Poletti, Giacomo Moor.
- Filippo Berto's 'Made in Meda' published by Berto Srl in 2021, 140 pages, €20.
- Berto is CEO of BertO Salotti and runs a design blog.
- Book covers Meda's manufacturing from the Basso Medioevo, including the Umiliati order and San Giovanni Oldrati.
- 'Carlo Colombo. Industrial Design' edited by Maria Vittoria Capitanucci, published by Rizzoli in 2022, 302 pages, €80.
- Colombo born 1967 in Carimate, won four Red Dot Design Awards and Wallpaper Design Award 2019.
- Colombo studied under Achille Castiglioni at Politecnico di Milano and worked with Giulio Cappellini.
- His clients include Poliform, Flou, Giorgetti, Artemide, Arflex, antoniolupi, Sahrai.
- 'Mi hai lasciato senza fiato' by Anna Maconi and Chiara Frascà, published by LetteraVentidue in 2022, 48 pages, €12.
- Book originated from Orografie's Emersivi workshop at Edit Napoli 2021.
- Story features protagonist Fabio Montidoro in a dystopian setting with reusable rolling balloons.
Entities
Artists
- Tommaso Bovo
- Chiara Alessi
- Enzo Mari
- Stefano Boeri
- Hans Ulrich Obrist
- Giulio Iacchetti
- Paolo Ulian
- Formafantasma
- Guglielmo Poletti
- Giacomo Moor
- Zygmunt Bauman
- Filippo Berto
- San Giovanni Oldrati
- Carlo Colombo
- Maria Vittoria Capitanucci
- Giulio Cappellini
- Achille Castiglioni
- Anna Maconi
- Chiara Frascà
- Fabio Montidoro
Institutions
- IED Firenze
- Domus
- Corriere della Sera
- Forma Edizioni
- BertO Salotti
- Poliform
- Flou
- Giorgetti
- Artemide
- Arflex
- antoniolupi
- Sahrai
- Rizzoli
- Orografie
- Edit Napoli
- LetteraVentidue
- Artribune
Locations
- Brianza
- Meda
- Italy
- Milano
- Firenze
- Switzerland
- Carimate
- Sicily
- Siracusa