Last week, our designer Yuko Matsuzaki got the chance to visit the ADI Design Museum and their new, permanent exhibition showing the history of the Compasso d'Oro award. This exhibit is called "The Spoon and the City".
The current President of ADI, Luciano Galimberti was kind enough to provide us with a private tour on a day the museum was closed.
After highlighting some of the most prestigious and influential award winners, President Galimberti sat down with us to answer some questions primarily regarding award winners. The 30-minute interview covered topics of fashion, the future of design, and the museum's great projects on display.
- The ADI Design Museum
- The Newest Exhibition - Compasso d'Oro Through the Years
- Our Private Visit with Yuko Matsuzaki and Luciano Galimberti
The ADI Design Museum
Located in the middle of Milanese Chinatown, the ADI Design Museum was surrounded by local architecture and designers like Roberto Cavalli, who has a showroom and studio directly next door.
The main showcase of the museum is the Compasso d'Oro award. Only 350 awards have been awarded the Compasso d'Oro, but over 2500 best mentions and awards for young people are also on display.
Within the museum, there are numerous sections to explore. There is a cafe area with a small store, the new exhibition area, displays of award winners throughout, and a section dedicated to posters of winning designs.
One interesting section included the project area of the museum. Here a local restoration school can be seen working through windows. It surely would be an interesting sight to see how these items are restored.
The ADI Design Museum has always tried to find common space between fashion and the design industry. The whole project and how it was designed is what they hope to focus on.
The Newest Exhibition - Compasso d'Oro Through the Years
The newest exhibition at the ADI Design Museum is a permanent historical collection featuring the history of the entire Compasso d'Oro award. From 1954 to today there are many contemporary materials brought together by this award.
Not only are the original products awarded on display but the drawings and studio sketches used by designers through the process of creation for each item are also included.
Each yellow box is focused on one object and surrounded by all the materials that could be found on the object. From drawings to advertising you can see the whole project from the beginning to the end.
While touring the museum with President Galimberti, some influential and highly important projects and designs were pointed out specifically.
A specific exhibit involving Max Mara was pointed out as an integral part of the fashion pieces in the exhibit. This exhibition is called The Spoon and the City. It underlines how important Italian magazines helped spread the awareness of these great projects displayed in the gorgeous exhibition.
There are also a number of quotes by people involved, historians, and critics as well. There is a strong focus on how Italian graphic designers expressed these items and created the brand images behind these products.
On top of these graphic designs there are some photographs of projects that are referred to as their own pieces of work separate from the project.
Our Private Visit with Yuko Matsuzaki and Luciano Galimberti
We were welcomed into the ADI Design Museum by Martina Bonetti and President Luciano Galimberti. They showed us around the newest exhibit and the rest of the museum.
The Seishou team got to see many of the greatest awards of the Compasso d'Oro from the past three hundred and fifty awards.
Our designer Yuko Matsuzaki came with to meet with ADI President Luciano Galimberti in an interview as well. Him and her got along great discussing projects awarded the Compasso d'Oro.
There were amazing things to see here from a gorgeous kitchen set, important historical steps for technology, and a Ferrari. This visit truly put Made in Italy into perspective and proves its importance in the world.
Each career award winner has a contemporary graphic designer that designed a poster for them. Each visitor has the choice to find a poster that interests them and they can take one home. Currently there are 139 different graphic designers involved.
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If you are at all interested in Italian design we would highly recommend visiting the ADI Design Museum Compasso d'Oro.