Giuseppe Lotti

Ergonomics in Design: The Human-Centred Design Approach for Developing Innovative Motor Caravans Systems

Ergonomics and Design, precisely the relationship among Human- centred design (HCD) approach and Design for Innovation methods, represent a concrete growth strategy. European Union suggests design as a key discipline and activity to bring new ideas to the market, transforming them into user-friendly and appealing products or services. Though still often associated solely with aesthetics, the application of design is much broader. A more systematic use of design as a tool for Human-centred and market-driven innovation in all sectors of the economy, complementary to R&D, would improve European competitiveness. The paper presents the early results of the POR CReO-FP7 project “Triaca” developed with Trigano SpA. In Italy, recreational vehicles sector has always been present and active, however, in recent years motor caravans industry recorded a strong decrease of orders due to the economic downturn and a flattened supply. In this context, the project aim is the development of innovative solutions in terms of environmental sustainability and quality of the user experience. Our contribution is focused on the experimentation of the HCD approach, especially its investigation methods based on the direct involvement of users and its evaluation methods for usability and safety to the development of good design solution.

Territories and connections: Design with the Global South

Design is an instrument to offer a new approach to the valorization of differences, playing an important role in the society’s development. This position will be presented by recounting experiences, describing projects affronting main themes of design for the global south, especially regarding the relationship with NGOs based in affected areas; The development of the role of women, through their cultural knowledge, leading to their own emancipation; The collaboration with local universities for the construction of a new, plural society, open to compromise of paying special attention to the case of the Mediterranean area and its different development models. Key words: sustainable development, Mediterranean area, crafts, traditional knowledge, cooperation.

Design for territorial business systems: Role, instruments and operating methods

Talking about design for territorial business systems seems almost to be a contradiction in terms inasmuch as design is the tool which contributes to the construction of innovation-related added value, strengthening the competitive advantages of the individual company over the competition. In reality, the design activity aimed not at the individual business but to several manufacturing organisations in a specific territory, what seems to be a coherent response to the particularities of the Italian manufacturing model. The case of Tuscany is rather special, being a region which expresses its analytical and interpretative skills via its capacity to study local manufacturing contexts. This is strengthened by the strategic decisions of the Regional Council which has, for some time now, opted to promote system designs via the activation of intermediate structures – Business Service Centres – which provide mediation services. Within this context we need to understand the specific role that design can perform for territorial business systems, identifying the operating tools and methods. All of this takes place through the presentation of real case stories relating to designs implemented in Tuscany, analysed using factors identified as key to the construction of future actions. This analysis has generated a hypothesis of good practices on the points in question, reproducible in other contexts. Key words: design, strategies, innovation, territorial business systems.