73481 - Product Development Processes (L-Z)

Learning outcomes

At the end of this module, the student achieves a high level of ability to conceptualise, formalise, represent and communicate the design result in all its phases. He/she knows how to set up a conscious approach to pre-design research. He/she is able to conduct and monitor the concept generation process, also through the experimentation of methodologies and tools useful for design activities carried out individually or in groups. He/she possesses competences concerning the technical design and technical production development phases, realising adequate graphic tools, three-dimensional models and/or working prototypes. Finally, he/she is able to elaborate a complete design of the narrative process of the conceived product system

Course contents

The Sintesi Finale laboratory is dedicated to the theme of life, which means increasing the scope for human refinement. Stability is always a fundamental nourishment point for survival, the symbolic "north" of the compass of life: the emblem of security, private and social life, nourishment, food, passion, love, suffering, healing, Accoglienza, ristoro, gioco, studio. However, many traditional functions need profound transformation, and the contemporary adaptation method remains more modern than ever. Other new functions will attract the attention of developers.

“We have a body made to be in motion, our brain developed through strategies for navigating large spaces, yet our current network-based habits highlight the fundamental contradiction of a society born from the ownership of land. It is necessary to find new solutions for inhabiting and for the city, but as long as we keep seeking answers within the system that created the problem, we can only fail.”
— M. Corrado, The Invention of the Home: Story of a Trap

The Laboratory aims to analyze the various ways of contemporary inhabiting, including transcultural aspects and the perspectives offered by transhumanism, to identify responses and design proposals for new urban and non-urban habitats capable of integrating technological potential with evolving lifestyles between leisure and work.

The course is structured as a living lab of housing innovation, guided by a unifying project thread that will direct the work groups in developing innovative furniture solutions, brought to an advanced level of prototyping, in line with the professional skills expected of designers.

Main Contents Module 1 (Prof. Andreas Sicklinger). Industrial Design, Ergonomics, and Project.

Description: This module offers an introduction to the topic of contemporary living and coexistence, which includes not only human relationships but also post-human ones, with semi-autonomous technological systems for support and entertainment. The lessons will also aim to generate critical thinking on how lifestyles have changed relationships and been conquered/occupied by activities that were traditionally located outside the four walls. How the home maintains its character as a point of reference with the trend of increased mobility, and consequently, the emotions associated with it relate to nomadic furnishings and not to the four walls of construction.

First lesson: The future of living, reflections on the imagination and visions of the past
Second lesson: Usability and the fantasy of being able to do well for everyone at the same time
Third lesson: Materials and principles for designing home furnishings

Main Contents Module 2 (Prof. Flaviano Celaschi). Industrial Design, Processes, and Methods for Innovation.

Description. This module explores processes and methods for innovation driven by design cultures and practices. Elements from contemporary literature on product and process innovation are briefly explored, then applied along the way to the LSF theme, which focuses on innovation in products and human living environments. The module will address guided innovation processes drawn from historical experience, analysis of the present and current conditions of need, and the anticipation of future needs expressed according to specific anticipation methodologies. Case studies and practical group exercises based on classroom discussions will be frequently proposed.

First lesson: General processes of design research, general tools and methods
Second lesson: Research applied to the LSF project theme: research driven by the past, present, and future
Third lesson: Processes and methods of Anticipation and the study of futures.

Main Contents: Module 3 (Prof. Giorgio Casoni). Behavioral Technologies.

Description. Contemporary Technologies is an interdisciplinary module that explores the transformations in living brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the spread of Artificial Intelligence. Through four main themes—exponential transitions, neuroenvironmental well-being, smart environments, and responsible innovation—the course provides students with tools to analyze and design products and spaces capable of responding to the emerging needs of contemporary society.

Theme 1 — Living in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

The first part of the module introduces students to the exponential changes characterizing our time. The transition from the Third to the Fourth Industrial Revolution is analyzed, with particular attention to the NBIC (Nano, Bio, Info, Cogno) convergence. Artificial Intelligence is presented as a transformative agent capable of redefining economies, social relations, and ways of living. The effects of technological super-convergence on the design of domestic, urban, and relational spaces are also discussed.

Theme 2 — Body, Environment, and Well-Being Technologies

This theme explores the growing role of neurocognitive, biometric, and environmental technologies in shaping the living experience. It explores the concept of the neuro-syntonic environment and the importance of designing for emotional, perceptual, and cognitive well-being. Wearable devices, environmental sensors, and smart materials are analyzed in relation to the quality of living and the concept of increased comfort.

Theme 3 — Artificial Intelligence and Adaptive Environments

The third section of the module addresses the topic of artificial intelligence applied to domestic environments. Automation systems, interaction with voice assistants, and the progressive diffusion of predictive and responsive environments are analyzed. Particular attention is paid to autonomous artificial agents, their evolution in the coming decades, and the cognitive and ethical implications of human-machine cohabitation.

Theme 4 — Advanced Certifications and Responsible Innovation

The module concludes with an analysis of the main certification systems for well-being and sustainable living (WELL, Fitwel, RESET, Living Building Challenge). Measurable design criteria and the role of evidence-based design are discussed. Finally, the concept of responsible innovation and transformation economy is introduced, with reference to case studies that experiment with the integration of technologies and systemic values in real spaces.

Main Contents Module 4 (Prof. Ivano Gorzanelli). Dwelling: A Philosophical and Semiological Proposal at the Service of Design.

Description. Dwelling means recognizing the ecological, geological, and logical specificity of the world and the landscape. In more philosophical terms, it involves recognizing places as essential to dwelling itself, prohibiting our ideal from subsuming and erasing the concrete, the perception. It involves recognizing a fragmented and porous universal. Recognizing in design practices this almost abysmal and uncultivable autonomy of the earth and the world we inhabit.
The course aims to restore the quality of an ambivalence: that between the built environment, the built environment of the city and its places, and the representation of common life, of experiencing the city and its forms. To define this relationship, which is entirely internal to a realism that encompasses imaginary, creative, and improvised forms of living, we need two lines of research: on the one hand, a philosophical reflection on building and dwelling, and on the other, a semiological reflection on being together in spaces.
Some key words: porosity, representation, inhabiting space, struggle for the city.
The course consists of two parts: one common to all is a reading of R. Sennett's text, Building and Dwelling: Ethics for the City. The aim is to construct an urbanistic, aesthetic, and semiological reading of dwelling and the construction of common spaces. A more concise reference text is the conference "The Struggle for the City."
A second part is dedicated to in-depth readings, where students are asked to complete group work and present their presentations.

 

Readings/Bibliography

Professors will provide, in their lectures and in the moments of revision, precise references to texts, sites, journals, magazines, and documents available to deepen the topics presented. Bibliographic indications may also be added as a function of further information necessary during the educational path.

Suggested texts (being updated before and during the class period September-December 2025):

• Sicklinger, Andreas, Design e Corpo Umano, Maggioli Editori 2020
• Zannoni, Michele, Progetto e interazione. Il design degli ecosistemi interattivi, Quodlibet 2018
• B. Munari, Da cosa nasce cosa. Appunti per una metodologia progettuale, Laterza, Roma 2010.
• M. Salvadori, Perché gli edifici stanno in piedi, Bompiani, Milano 2000.
• M. Salvadori, M. Levy, Perché gli edifici cadono, Bompiani, Milano 1997.
• F. Celaschi, A. Deserti, Design e innovazione, Carocci, Roma 2007.
• F. Celaschi, Non Industrial Design, Luca Sossella, Milano 2017.
• D. Norman, La Caffettiera del Masochista, Giunti Editore S.p.A , Milano 1997.
• M. Corrado, L’invenzione della Casa, Storia di una Trappola, Padova 2018
• Z. Bauman, Modernità Liquida, Bari-Roma 2000
• R. Sennet, Costruire e abitare, Feltrinelli , 2018
• W. Benjamin, Napoli, in Immagini di città, Einaudi, 2007.B. Latour, Come abitare la terra, Einaudi, 2024.
• M. Merleau-Ponty, Conversazioni, SE, 2002.
• A. Appadurai, Il futuro come fatto culturale, Raffaello Cortina, 2014.
• D. Mangano, Semiotica e Design, Carocci, 2008.
• Barthes, Come vivere insieme, Mimesis 2024.

Teaching methods

The Laboratorio di Sintesi Finale is structured through lectures, guest talks (by professionals and companies), visits and site inspections, support for both desk and field research, as well as guidance in the design process leading to the development of models and prototypes.

These methods reflect the structure of the course, which is divided into three interrelated phases: research, concept development, and final design with prototyping.

The teaching team, responsible for the various course modules, will jointly support the design process in all its phases, supervising in-class work with students and ensuring both group and individual (team) reviews.

Classroom/online work, as well as project reviews, are fundamental steps in the students’ learning process: attendance is therefore mandatory, and will be recorded by the instructors. Students who miss more than 30% of the classes will not be admitted to the final evaluation.

Students will also be encouraged to take part in events promoted by the Degree Program (seminars with national and international guests, exhibitions, competitions, etc.).

The teaching methods will include:

• in-person/online lectures
• hands-on exercises, sometimes to be completed as homework
• group project reviews
• presentations by invited guests
• possible visits to involved (production) sites
• collective reviews during the development of the three phases: research, concept, and detailed design

Assessment methods

The Final Design Laboratory

requires the submission and evaluation of assignments for each of the three phases into which the course is structured.
The mid-term assessments will take place on scheduled dates, indicated in the general calendar provided at the beginning of the course. Each group will publicly present its progress through a slideshow, and an evaluation will be expressed for each of the three phases.

Group Rules

• Each group will consist of 5 members.

• Each group must develop two projects; at the end of the second phase (concept development/executive project), the most promising project will be selected and presented at the final exam.

The interim evaluations will contribute to the final grade of each student (partly based on group work and partly on individual work).

Rules for interim and final submissions

• Each group will have 15 minutes to present each of the three interim submissions and 20 minutes for the final exam.

• Presentations must be uploaded to the course’s Virtuale platform by 12:00 midnight on the day before the submission.

• Presentations may only be held if the files have been uploaded by the specified deadline.

• The instructors will provide written comments on the interim presentations, accessible to each group via the Virtuale platform.

Rules for using the Virtuale platform (uploading presentations)

• Upload deadline: Materials must be uploaded by 12:00 midnight on the day before the presentation.

• Accepted formats: Files must be uploaded in PDF or PPT format (or other formats specified by the instructors) and must not exceed 5MB (or other limits that may be indicated).

• File naming: Each file must include the group name, the submission phase, and the date (e.g., Group3_Phase2.pdf_dd-mm-yyyy).

• Upload responsibility: Each group must appoint one member responsible for uploading the files, to avoid overlaps or errors.

• Late uploads: Uploading materials on the day of the presentation is not permitted.

Since this is an integrated course, the final grade will be based on the individual evaluations of the instructors responsible for the teaching modules.

The following criteria contribute to the final evaluation:

• Quality of the submitted work and model;

• Quality of the research and project;

• Active participation in the course;

• Punctuality in attending lessons and meeting deadlines.

The Final Synthesis Laboratory will conclude on 14 January 2026 with a collective presentation of results, which includes:

• Physical and digital setup of each group’s stand;

• Presentation of full-scale prototypes (1:1, or another scale agreed with the instructors);

• A project poster in 100 × 70 cm format;

• A digital presentation of the research carried out.

Rules for setting up the exam exhibition

• Each group must set up a physical stand measuring 2 × 2 × 2.5 m. Further details on the setup and organization will be provided during the course.

• The setup must highlight not only the prototype on display but also its communication: the space should not be considered merely a container but an environment designed to express, narrate, and stage the project.

The final exam, in which each group will have 20 minutes to illustrate the stages of their work (research, project, models), will be graded out of 30 points based on the following criteria:

• Completeness and professionalism of the presented material: up to 6 points

• Professionalism of the oral presentation: up to 6 points

• Originality and depth of the research underlying the project: up to 6 points

• Consistent participation in periodic reviews: up to 6 points

• Performance quality and production feasibility of the presented project: up to 6 points

Teaching tools

• VIRTUALE: communication between teachers and students; uploading of teaching materials; student assignment submissions; forum for students/community interaction;
• TEAMS: virtual classroom;
• MIRO: for brainstorming and other forms of collaborative design;
• Presentations/slideshows;
• Collaboration with external facilities (Model Lab, Photography Lab, libraries, etc.);
• Individual reviews of student project progress;
• Group reviews of student project progress;
• Final presentation of the projects;
• Participation in conferences, talks, exhibitions, and/or educational visits.

Office hours

See the website of Flaviano Celaschi