81895 - Industrial Design 3

Learning outcomes

The module builds upon the inputs provided by the course Methods for Calculation and Structural Verification of Industrial Products and integrates them into a design process focused on a component or a product of appropriate complexity, allowing its specific features to be thoroughly explored. By the end of the course, students will be able to:  develop the phases of problem exploration, competitor analysis, material sourcing, and the study of form and functionality;  assess resistance to stresses by considering the system of design constraints in a systemic and interactive manner.

Course contents

Reference Context

The transformation triggered by the Fourth Industrial Revolution continues to have profound effects on the relationship between manufacturing production systems and digitalization, as well as on the dynamics between B2B supply chains and B2C consumption behaviors. Today, this scenario is further evolving towards an Industry 5.0 perspective, in which technological innovation is integrated with environmental and social sustainability concerns, human-centered approaches, and systemic responsibility.

Within this context, the Emilia-Romagna manufacturing district represents a privileged observatory, being one of the main manufacturing hubs in Europe. In particular, companies operating in the field of packaging automation represent a benchmark of excellence in terms of technological innovation and product and process complexity. The extensive reliance on external suppliers and the articulation of the production chain make this sector particularly sensitive to transformations introduced by enabling technologies, process digitalization, and new requirements related to sustainability and traceability.

Recent systemic crises – health-related, environmental, and geopolitical – have further highlighted how production systems and consumption models are subject to pressures that demand deep reconsideration. The design of products, services, and processes can no longer disregard an integrated vision that takes into account environmental impacts, social implications, and ethical dimensions.

Within this scenario, packaging assumes a central role.

Laboratory Theme

The packaging of goods, which emerged during the Third Industrial Revolution with predominantly protective and logistical functions, has progressively acquired a strategic role. From being a marginal element positioned at the end of the production cycle, packaging is now an integral part of the product system and, in certain product categories, may even constitute its very essence.

Alongside its structural and communicative functions, packaging is now required to respond to new responsibilities: waste reduction, resource optimization, conscious end-of-life management, and the activation of virtuous behaviors. From this perspective, it can be interpreted as an (inter)active device, also in a phygital sense, capable of generating not only economic but also cultural, social, and environmental value.

The laboratory aims to investigate packaging as a systemic element within the supply chain, analyzing the relationships between product manufacturers, packaging and packaging-machine producers, distributors, end users, and actors involved in end-of-life processes. The objective is to understand how enabling technologies, automation processes, and innovation strategies can generate new value for consumers and for the entire industrial system.

The course is carried out in collaboration with G.D S.p.A. – COESIA Group (Bologna), an internationally recognized company in the field of automatic packaging machinery, and in dialogue with the Packaging Innovation Observatory (ADU – University of Bologna), a research platform that monitors and interprets the packaging phenomenon by systematizing case studies and design tools for responsible innovation along the entire supply chain.

Application Field

The design activity will focus primarily, though not exclusively, on fast-moving consumer goods belonging to categories such as: food, beverage, medical, publishing, personal care, cosmetics, home care, consumer electronics, e-commerce, and other related fields, identified in coherence with the annual brief.

The laboratory requires students to understand the benefits that Industry 4.0 and 5.0 enabling technologies may bring when applied to the packaging of consumer goods. Students will be asked to identify advantages for both consumers and the production chain, select relevant technologies and suppliers, design the form and function of a product/packaging system capable of integrating such solutions, address issues related to the packaging process and machine implementation, and consider strategies for intellectual property protection and potential industrial exploitation.

Particular attention will be devoted to the coherence between concept, materials, production processes, environmental sustainability, and intellectual property strategies.

Course Structure

The laboratory integrates the expertise of the instructors involved.

Module 1 (Erik Ciravegna) focuses on the methodological, systemic, and cultural aspects of packaging design, with attention to the communicative and symbolic dimension of artifacts, sustainability, design for well-being, and responsible innovation.

Module 2 (Giovanni Madera), building upon industrial experience gained at G.D S.p.A., concentrates on technical and production aspects, materials, prototyping, industrial feasibility, packaging processes, and implications related to intellectual property.

Design supervision will be carried out jointly by the instructors throughout the review and development phases, each contributing according to their specific areas of expertise.

Work Phases and Expected Outputs

Project outcomes will be reviewed progressively according to successive development phases.

The first phase involves meta-design research focused on the analysis of case studies and the identification of inadequately addressed user issues and opportunities. The output consists of a structured presentation of the insights gathered and the definition of the project brief

The second phase concerns the development of the concept, including the study of enabling technologies, verification of the originality of the proposal, and initial formal definition of the product/packaging system.

The final phase requires technical and production development, verification of industrial feasibility, and the realization of a full-scale (1:1 or larger) prototype, accompanied by graphic materials and communication tools illustrating the project.

Readings/Bibliography

Throughout the course, specific references to books, websites, journals, and other documentation useful for further exploration of the presented topics will be provided.

Teaching methods

The course includes lectures, project supervision activities, collective reviews, possible visits to companies, and contributions from experts in the packaging sector. Attendance is mandatory.

Assessment methods

Students’ work will be evaluated on the basis of intermediate reviews and the final project presentation.

Assessment will consider understanding of the production sector and reference market, structuring of design-driven research, originality and protectability of the proposal, adequacy of the proposed production processes, coherence with the industrial context (particularly with the G.D/Coesia environment), environmental and systemic impact of the solution, and the quality of project communication and prototype development.

Teaching tools

The teaching activity may draw, according to the needs of the developed projects, on tools and infrastructures provided by the Department of Architecture and the partners involved.

In particular, students may access the Makers Lab (Models and Prototypes Laboratory) of the Department of Architecture for the development of three-dimensional models and prototypes aimed at the formal verification of the proposed solutions, according to modalities and availability defined during the academic year.

The design process may also be supported by consultation and use of the Packaging Innovation Observatory (ADU – University of Bologna) platform, which provides an archive of case studies, design guidelines, bibliographic and regulatory references, as well as analytical tools supporting conscious project development.

Depending on the nature of the developed concepts, opportunities for discussion with the industrial partner G.D S.p.A. – Coesia Group may be activated, including considerations related to materials, processes, prototyping, and preliminary assessments of industrial feasibility.

Office hours

See the website of Erik Ciravegna

See the website of Giovanni Madera