This area addresses design in its widest sense, i.e. "the planning of every aspect of the industrial product". By this is meant every phase necessary to the implementation of a successful and innovative product/service/process, one that fully responds to contemporary and future needs. From strategic design to the development of concepts, designs, and prototypes for products/services/processes, and also taking in the design of interactions/communications, there are many sub-areas to be addressed using a multidisciplinary, user-centred approach, including: textiles/fashion; furnishings, home appliances, and home automation systems; health services and health itself.


EXAMPLES OF SIGNIFICANT PROJECTS:

Babylandia
The Babylandia project aimed to develop a complete solution for spaces for living, playing and learning for children, made to measure just for them and in full consideration of their needs, making these spaces accessible, "usable" and comfortable for everyone, including for children with disabilities. The project is part of the framework for development and raising awareness of issues associated with infancy and relating to the design of new products based on the principles of Universal Design and of Design For All. The project has promoted a new, integrated approach that is attentive to issues of health, safety and ergonomics, placing particular attention to modern hazards like electrosmog and the environmental sustainability of products. Thanks to the contribution of the Lombardy Region, the Politecnico di Milano (Department of Industrial Design, Arts, Communication and Fashion - INDACO; Department of Management Engineering - DIG) and the Fondazione Politecnico di Milano, together with the companies participating in the project (Fumagalli S.r.l.; Parà S.p.A.; Caremi Franco & C S.n.c.; Combustion & Energy S.r.l.; Soliani EMC S.r.l.; Happychild; and Centro Tessile Cotoniero e Abbigliamento S.p.A.), have analysed different scenarios of domestic and collective life, scaled down for children.
More information about the project is available on the website: www.babylandia.org

IDEALI - Integrare Design E Arredo per L'autonomia Individuale (Integrating Design & Furnishing for Individual Autonomy)
The cooperative agreement between the Politecnico di Milano, the Fondazione and a number of companies (Riva 1920, Turati T4, Solmet, Fumagalli, and Officina Meccanica Mariani), has resulted in the following items being created and validated by a pool of users: a kitchen; an open wall system, where light is an element of furnishing; a double bed; a seat for interiors; a wardrobe based on a sliding vertical system. Conceived as "design for all", IDEALI has created prototypes of innovative furnishings, in the industrialisation phase, with excellent comfort, accessibility and safety. Every article is designed to be usable by the widest possible range of users: from the elderly to children, from pregnant women to "Singletons", from persons in excellent physical and mental condition to invalids. To date, the dream and the commitment has been to become a brand that can distinguish all products that share this project's goal: to conscientiously make quality products that are beautiful and functional.

The joint project with INDESIT Company: a successful case history
The project conducted by the Fondazione and INDESIT Company (one of its Founder Members) represents a particularly successful case history because of the relationship of cooperation and trust that has been forged over time. For five years Indesit has worked with the Fondazione and with the faculties of the Politecnico in the mechanics, electronics, materials and energy sectors, focusing on essential aspects for the innovation of its products over the entire life cycle. Design, in particular, is one of the areas the company excels in, and this success is continuously driven by the design and development of the application of new materials and technologies that can lend functions, aesthetic effects and forms to innovative products. The principal drivers of development in home appliance projects are: improvement of the primary functions (preservation, washing, cooking); design; ergonomics; ease of use; and environmental sustainability. Research is not only product-centred, but also aims to improve the overall energy efficiency of the system. Conducting research projects with the Fondazione gives products new functionality and improved performance.

Eurocucina 2008
For the seventeenth year of Eurocucina, INDESIT Company has used the Concept Zone of its stand to showcase a number of prototypes that show what the future of home appliances might be like. The prototypes explore two key themes: space and ergonomics. They are called: Efesto, Kubick, Gravity, Coolbricks and Sophius, and they were developed in association with Makio Hasuike, a longstanding designer with the company for the Hotpoint-Ariston brand, and a team of young designers from the Faculty of Industrial Design of the Politecnico di Milano with support from the Fondazione Politecnico. The prototypes were made with the cooperation of IDEA Institute S.p.A. of Turin, a leading provider in the complete development of products.

ACHIEVEMENTS:

• The Fondazione takes part in the Research & Innovation Workgroup for textiles in Como.  
• The Fondazione takes part in the CEI Workgroup on home automation (domotics) and has contributed to producing the "Guida alla domotica: sistemi elettronici per la gestione della casa - Guide to Domotics: Electronic Systems for Managing the Home".