White paper on creativity - ebla center

Chapter 4This layered system of knowledgediffused in a local territory, whoseforms are handed down – more in tacitthan in coded form – from generationto generation, is embodied in thefigures of craftsmen, specialisedtechnicians and workers who aredepositaries, often unwitting, of thematerial culture heritage of an area. Butthe possibility of drawing on thissystem is at the same time a strengthand a weakness. It is a strength becausethe system expresses the idiosyncraticnature of Italian design; and it is aweakness because the transmission ofthe heritage of knowledge, constitutinga local public good, raises problems oflong-term sustainability as regards theconservation and development ofheritage itself.Historically, Italian design – in theautomobile sector emblematicexamples of brilliant designers arePininfarina and Giugiaro – benefitedfrom intense relations with local craftskills in the surrounding territory. Inthe specific case of the automobileindustry, the relations were with thehighly skilled local carpenters who builtits models, and highly skilled localmetal workers who made bodywork.At this point we will identify the factorswhich might undermine the currentproduction system of Italian designproducts:Relocating some production stages,which occurs in the districts due torequirements to cut production costsand can have a negative effect on theexchanges between the variousspecialised figures involved in theinnovation process and thus interruptthe collective design production, typicalof district areas and particularly thosespecialised in export-driven (“Made inItaly”) productions. Only in theindustrial estates round Milan do wefind the inverse phenomenon: manyinternational designers studios areopening their offices in Milan andmany foreign designers are attracted tothe city not only because of thenetwork of professional relations in thesector offered by the city but alsobecause they can come into contactand interact with skilled craftsmen asthey work on their projects. In Milan,according to the view of a youngdesigner, you meet “business people,architects but also craftsmen. I havepresented the weirdest projects and attimes have been looked at very weirdly,but no one has ever said ‘I’m sorry wejust can’t do this’. You won’t find thekind of mental flexibility of thoseworking in the Italian design districtanywhere else in the world” (Urquiola,2008).A lack of awareness – not so much atindividual level as at systemic level – ofthe importance of this widespread craftcomponent as the distinguishingelement of the quality of Italian designmay affect the future prospects andpossibility of transmitting localknowledge to future generations.Higher opportunity costs – i.e. thegreater attraction exercised by otherprofessions in terms of better wageprospects – could discourage theyounger generations from investingtime in acquiring local know-how andengaging in the same line of business(when not actually the same familyWHITE PAPER ON CREATIVITY 100