“It’s not a profession but an attitude” said László Moholy-Nagy, who struggled to free design from the grip of commerce in which it had been held since the Industrial Revolution, returning it to the task of building a better world. Alice Rawsthorn, among the most influential voices in the field, discusses how new generations of designers are responding to global challenges by pursuing ambitious social projects, using cutting-edge technologies to make new products or reclaiming and recirculating old ones, following a growing trend. With an eye on historical figures, the pioneers of a design attentive to the needs of the individual and society, the author traces the evolution and most recent developments of this discipline also in relation to art and craft, from which it is separated by increasingly porous boundaries, and to fields such as medicine or sociology, to which it now offers a valuable contribution.

Opening remarks
Marco Sammicheli, curator for design, fashion and crafts and director of the Museo del Design Italiano, Triennale Milano
Talk
Alice Rawsthorn, design critic and author of the book