Forum Design. Part One

On April issue Domus opened the debate on “Design during the crisis”.

Here are the questions:
Ways of living are changing. Out of necessity, consumers have become more critical of their purchases. Is high quality an indispensable weapon in the fight against a decrease in buying?
What might be your company’s strategy in reaction to the depression?
Could a public support plan for the design industry help? What stimuli and advantages might come from sustainable operations?
Is it necessary to rethink the production chain of whole manufacturing sectors, and in particular that of furniture production?
Are you willing to risk more on new talents?

And the participants’ first comments:
Francesco Casoli: "The trickiest question for manufacturers is how to redesign products in order to respond to the needs and priorities of a changing world.
We cannot deny that this is a moment of fear, but it is also a great opportunity, because a difficult economic situation stimulates us to push forward towards renewal. Renewal must not only regard products, but also manufacturing processes and the organisation of our companies, in the name of sustainable development. The level of consideration for the environment is rising; companies are beginning to invest in and market environmentally friendly products because consumers are becoming increasingly sensitive to this issue.”

Clino Castelli: "I think the explosion of creativity hoped for by Domenico De Masi has already happened, ignited by creative finances, then plummeting us into this depression. Unfortunately, when creativity becomes a mere quantitative datum, it seems to reach critical mass at the same moment in which conformity of ideas and standardised behaviour coincide. This simultaneity is often found in the Lifestyle concept, a selfreferential condition founded on the immediate satisfaction of instinctive tendencies. Seeing that many decisions made in the manufacturing and communication worlds are founded precisely on this form of behavioural rhetoric, I would suggest that they instead look to those who I defined as Living Models, examples where a (not merely individual) project is implicit, along with an open, participatory and responsible way of life."

Alberto Gortani: "It seems universally accepted (by almost everyone) that we are in the middle of an epochal crisis, the likes of which have never been seen before, affecting all nations in a total way. It is a crisis that calls into question the very model of our civilisation, with all its rules that we have followed until now. Naturally, this is a situation from which we are destined to emerge sooner or later.
But what will be the new world, or rather the new model of civilisation that we can expect to find? Possibly a new Middle Ages where only the fittest survive, with a few powerful chiefs who divide the riches of the world among themselves, protected by legions of cutthroats and with a multitude of poor new serfs. Or maybe we will find a way to create new rules of living together with special attention for social problems, the environment and sustainable growth.
I think that today’s strategy, also for our companies, needs to be directed at supporting the second solution, which is the only one that will be able to create development and well-being."