Magazine

The Department of Design Magazine showcases ideas, projects, people, and trajectories. It is a space dedicated to highlighting research activities, scientific results, publications and academic achievements. Through articles, in-depth articles and interviews, it conveys the richness of the initiatives and expertise that animate the Department, with the aim of sharing and making accessible the work carried out in research, education and third mission activities.

Categories

Focus

Design Week 2026

Politecnico di Milano Design System renews its commitment to promoting and enhancing creativity and design culture through a rich programme of events and initiatives.

Find out more

Crowd of people walking and gathering inside a bright exhibition space during Milan Design Week, with colorful booths and large signage in the background

Focus

Territori

A project by the Gruppo Aimo e Nadia Milano in collaboration with the Politecnico di Milano explores the relationship between gastronomy, creativity, and Italian territories, transforming cuisine into a space for research.

Find out more

A press conference at Politecnico di Milano regarding the collaboration with Aimo e Nadia restaurant. The main screen displays the "Verso TERRITORI" dish with the question: "What happens if we read cooking as a design practice?". A panel of experts discusses on stage in front of the audience.

Focus

Materials Dialogues in Iceland: when the river and the ocean meets

Workshop designed by MaDe/Trans in collaboration with the Icelandic Textile Center to explore how local ecosystems can inform new material practices, grounded in craftsmanship, experimentation, and environmental awareness.

Find out more

A group of people walks across a dark pebble beach partially covered in snow, heading towards the seashore. They are wearing heavy winter clothing, including colorful parkas and beanies. In the background, the calm sea sits under an overcast sky, with the silhouette of snowy mountains in the far distance.

See all

Publications

Edited by Lara Penin, Alison Prendiville and Daniela Sangiorgi

The Bloomsbury Handbook of Service Design

The volume offers a critical and timely reflection on the field of service design, examining its core principles and exploring the role and impact of the discipline in both academia and industry.

Find out more

The image appears to be an abstract background in shades of blue/light blue, characterized by: Soft, blurred geometric shapes (triangles and curves) A layered effect with transparency and gradients No visible text or informative elements

By María Eugenia Sosa Martí, Caterina Dastoli and Silvia D. Ferraris

Design(ing) Manufacturing Collaboration

The volume aims to bridge the gap between designers and manufacturing companies by presenting a design intervention intended to create spaces for exchange and collaboration between those who design and those who produce.

Find out more

Edited by Virginia Tassinari, Francesca Piredda and Francesco Vergani

Situated Vocabularies

The book investigates the power of words as design and political devices, capable of making visible convergences, conflicts, divergences, and nuanced meanings that emerge within complex social contexts, thereby questioning the idea of a neutral and universal language.

Find out more

By Valentina Rognoli, Elena Albergati, Barbara Pollini and Carla Langella

Living Interaction Design

The volume brings together interaction design and the emerging field of biodesign, offering a groundbreaking exploration of living and biofabricated materials within interactive artefacts.

Find out more

The last image is an abstract graphic background featuring a light blue gradient. The composition is minimalist and displays blurred geometric shapes: a stylized star or radial element partially emerges on the left, while a light circular shape is visible in the upper right. The style is clean and modern, consistent with the institutional visual identity of the other project components.

See all

Meet our researchers

Elisa Giaccardi

More than human design

I am Elisa Giaccardi, my research explores how design can incorporate a non-human perspective.

Find out more

Margherita Pillan

UX Design

My name is Margherita Pillan and I’m a Professor at the Design Department of Politecnico di Milano. I deal with a lot of things: Interaction Design, Interface Design, Service Design, but today I would like to talk about UX Design, which is the discipline I teach in the Master's Degree Course, it’s the discipline on which I do research and it’s the competence I bring in my collaboration with various companies.

Find out more

The last image is a close-up photographic portrait of a mature man with a salt-and-pepper beard and hair, looking into the camera with a calm expression and a slight smile. He is wearing a raspberry-colored sweater over a gray shirt with a visible collar and sports honey-colored glasses frames. The subject is positioned centrally against a neutral, slightly blurred light gray background, with soft lighting that defines his features in a natural and professional manner.

Paolo Volonté

Design, Technology & Society

A sociologist working at the Design Department of the Politecnico di Milano, and today I took with me this strange object with a slightly high-tech, but also very low-tech design.

Find out more

See all