Quality is the key factor that the ADI Design Index 2023 has focused on for the pre-selection of the candidates for the next Compasso d’Oro 2024
by Sophia Negri
The 2023 ADI Design Index presents 219 products and services that highlight the best of contemporary Italian design, as well as 19 projects by design students from Italian universities: the up-and-coming future of the professional world.
Jamais Content – Atelier Marc Ferrand.
Levante – Luceplan – Marco Spatti.
QUALITY is the keyword in this edition of the ADI Design Index: “Quality is the unifying element
of Italian design”,
Luciano Galimberti
Epicarc – Mirage Granito Ceramico.
A total of 219 projects have been selected for the Design Index, which will go into production in 2022. These are joined by 19 projects from students at design schools.
The relevance of the 2023 ADI Design Index is reflected in the consistency of the product categories selected for this edition. In addition to the traditional selection of products for the home (46 products) and lighting design (18), the breadth of the offer is striking, with workplace design (23 products), material and technological systems design (17), communication and exhibition design (with 16 products selected in each sector) and corporate research (14 products), while there are 17 products in the category dedicated to theoretical research and editorial initiatives. Overall, this is a framework that focuses positively on the development of new theoretical and practical proposals and the ability to raise awareness of their level of quality.
1. Esosoft – Cassina. 2. Elemento – KASK. 3. Universal Collection – MDF Italia. 4. Arcate settimanale – Medulum. 5. Simoon – Glas Italia. 6. Heylo – Heylo. 7. Reef – Connubia. 8. Prima XL – Bixxis. 9. Leva – Dnd Martinelli. 10. Aka – Magis.
Sfera W – Catellani & Smith.
Luce Orizzontale – Flos.
On the left, Sfera W by Catellani & Smith, designed by Enzo Catellani. On the right, Luce orizzontale by Flos, designed by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec.
Pura – Cotto d’Este.
Pura by Cotto d’Este, designed by R&D Panariagroup Industrie Ceramiche, is a collection of limestone-inspired stoneware slabs for indoor and outdoor use, available in three thicknesses, four colours and various finishes. It has great sustainability qualities thanks to the reduced consumption of raw materials, water and energy and the total compensation of CO2 emissions throughout its life cycle.
Quality as the central core around which to conceive and develop innovative ideas which combine functionality and well-being, while respecting the ecosystem.
1. Pochette – B&B Italia. 2. Rendez-Vous – Agape. 3. Dia – Martinelli Luce. 4. OTO-Chair – ONE TO ONE. 5. Caimi – Caimi Brevetti spa. 6. Optical Trips – MIPA DESIGN. 7. Archibald Anniversary – Poltrona Frau. 8. Coupé – Mandelli1953. 9. Farfalla – Alessi. 10. QUADRA5Led – F.lli Razeto & Casareto. 11. Dot – Platek. 12. Iedde – Iedde. 13. Kotiso – Vetreria Malagoli. 14. Idro Royale – Molteni Vernici.
The sustainability awarded by the ADI Design Index 2023 is real and verified by a meticulous study: “We asked for clarification and specification to avoid unfortunate cases of greenwashing”, Laura Traldi.
Thanks to globally recognised products of absolute excellence, the Design for Mobility section is one of the most fascinating.
QUALITY AS A DISTINCTIVE FACTOR OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND A CORNERSTONE OF THE ENTIRE ITALIAN DESIGN INDUSTRY.
The 2023 ADI Design Index selection will be combined with that of 2022 to form the shortlist of candidates for the 28th edition of the biennial Compasso d’Oro award, which will take place in 2024 to mark the seventieth anniversary of its creation in 1954. The presentation in Milan was attended by ADI President Luciano Galimberti and Umberto Cabini, President of the ADI Collection Compasso d’Oro Foundation, as well as Barbara Mazzali, Councillor for Tourism, Territorial Marketing and Fashion for the Lombardy Region; Annibale D’Elia, Councillor for Urban Economy, Fashion and Design of the City of Milan, and Antonella Andriani, ADI Vice-President, together with Laura Traldi and Francesco Zurlo of the ADI Permanent Design Observatory Scientific Committee, the body responsible for selecting the candidates throughout Italy in three separate phases to ensure in-depth reflection on the qualities of each product presented.
Nikola Tesla Unplugged – Elica.
Leplì – Poltrona Frau.
Oasi – ARAN Cucine.
Since 1954, the Compasso d’Oro and the ADI Design Index, which each year bring together the best of design in production, have acted like a seismograph, recording the energy flows in the country and detailing the state of the art of the Italian production system. The 2023 selection has a special significance because it marks the 70th anniversary of the award and shows us a landscape in which the big names, the established designers, and the major architectural firms are immediately recognisable, while everything else is slowly taking shape through virtuous grafting.
Braccialini – Graziella Braccialini.
«…With a few simple signs, we wanted to summarise the Index’s long selection process, which involved a search for creative “facts”, inspired by quality and formal rigour. The graphic mark must leave room for what follows,
it must be placed as a discreet signalling element that simply announces
a project or product that has been identified for its value among many others.
Without any self-celebratory or self-referential intention, the logo has been designed to be a channel, a link…»,
Luciano Galimberti
Luigi Rovati – Fondazione Luigi Rovati.
Quality is the keyword in this edition of the ADI Design Index: “Quality is the unifying element of Italian design”. As ADI president Luciano Galimberti wrote in the catalogue. “Quality is an element that unites all of Italian design. The quality of project proposals is linked to the quality of production; the quality of production is linked to the quality of the process; quality is a distinctive and structural factor in sustainable and responsible development; quality is a unifying element present throughout the Italian design chain and a central nucleus around which to conceive and develop innovative ideas that combine functionality and well-being. Quality is no longer an end goal, but the recognition of a method”.
Valentino Rossi – VR|46 Racing Apparel.
The quality of design evolves with society and its needs, and it is precisely to be faithful to the contemporary idea of the quality of objects that the ADI Permanent Design Observatory is partially revised every year, welcoming new skills and perspectives in design and other disciplines to which it increasingly refers. In particular, this year the Scientific Committee that coordinates the Observatory’s activities has been significantly renewed and now includes Laura Badalucco, Makio Hasuike, Domenico Sturabotti, Laura Traldi and Francesco Zurlo.
«…With a few simple signs, we wanted to summarise the Index’s long selection process, which involved a search for creative “facts”, inspired by quality and formal rigour. The graphic mark must leave room for what follows, it must be placed as a discreet signalling element that simply announces a project or product that has been identified for its value among many others. Without any self-celebratory or self-referential intention, the logo has been designed to be a channel, a link…»,
Paolo Pampanoni
The ADI Design Index has also undergone an important change in terms of communication. The logo that has distinguished it since 2000 has been changed, adopting a version more suited to today’s information style, designed by Paolo Pampanoni with Angelica Giannoni and Pamela Biagioni. The new logo is the result of a call to all ADI members.
(ADI Design Index 2023 – Barchemagazine.com – Febbruary 2024)
