White paper on creativity - ebla center

Chapter 4certifying the minimal qualifications forthose wishing to pursue the profession.To prevent malpractice, work is nowproceeding on establishing a code ofpractice, a project register and a DesignJury, whose arbitration in case ofcontroversy takes on the value of anindependent opinion in the civil lawcourts. The ADI also promotes theItalian design system through the“Observatory on Project and ProductInnovation”. Each year theObservatory selects products fromvarious sectors deemed to beinnovative and worthy of publication inthe annual ADI Design Index, whileevery three years one of the productsselected for the Index is awarded thePremio Compasso d’oro, aninternational prize.4.9 ConclusionsThe picture emerging from adescription of the industrial designsector in Italy enables us to identify anumber of key objectives and actionstrategies. Design is a distinctiveelement of Italian exports and as suchits reputation at international levelshould be strengthened even further.Young Italian designers should also beencouraged, especially now that theyhave to compete on global markets.For this purpose, there is a need tosupply adequate support and incentivesto give them the opportunity to gaininternational experience andindependent entry to the market. Butwe should not overlook the greatstrength of Italian design: the fact it isrooted in a local area and especiallythose districts where most Italianexports are made and which are theexpression of our material culture. Wemust thus strengthen relations betweendesigners, who mainly tend to work inbig cities (especially Milan) andentrepreneurs, who work in thedistricts and could benefit fromcollaboration with designers at allstages of the production process, fromconception to communications. It isalso to be hoped that in other urbanareas, located nearer the district-typeindustries, businesses can make use oftypical designer services. The search fornew product innovation mustcontribute to enhancing andinterpreting in a different way thoseelements in the material culture whichcharacterise Italian design andproduction. At the same time, throughthe joint action of public and privateinstitutions (museums, historicalarchives, specialised schools andtechnical institutes, committees andlocal agencies) and the adoption ofinstruments, such as collective propertyrights, we must ensure that the localcultural heritage is not lost – it is ofcrucial importance, not only from thepoint of our identity, but also ineconomic terms – and continues to behanded on to future generations.WHITE PAPER ON CREATIVITY 112