ItaliaDesign

Field Study 2008

ItaliaDesign is an intensive study of world-leading design and innovation in Italy. I was selected to be one of 14 students to be a part of the year-long study, which would add to an existing 4 years of research. In total, 4 months was spent learning the language, researching the history, culture, and landscape of the country, and planning the in-field interviews/research, followed by 2 months of work in-field, and 4 months back home to synthesize and publish all of our findings. It was a doozy of a year, and it's one I'll never forget.

The Legacy Site

Nearly every bit of information that was researched, every piece of data that was collected, and every ounce of knowledge that was gained, has been uploaded and presented on the Italia Design website for the world to see. After all, we certainly didn't go to all this effort just to keep everything to ourselves! Please click the images below and explore the site - but make sure to watch the clock, because the hours will fly by :)

Key Contributions

With such a massive study, everything needed to be team-based. Thankfully, we were all well accustomed to working in teams, as the majority of our education was based around team projects. Combined with intensive research, this approach allowed us to switch roles as needed, and contributed to a very cohesive end result. That said, my key contributions included:

  • researching and designing weekly presentation slides
  • developing conceptual information models
  • interviewing designers and the general public in-field
  • branding Gruppo Cinque, and creating motion graphics sequences
  • conducting ethnographic research in the Roman neighbourhoods of Testaccio and Ostiense, and the Tuscan hilltowns of Chiusi and Montepulciano
  • art directing the designer interview and tour section of the research site
  • acting as a "bonding agent" while in-field to motivate, mentor, and unify the group

Information Models

Below is a sampling of the information models I designed during the first semester of the study. The theories and concepts put forth in these models were derived through intensive processing with different members of the research team. I then took those concepts and re-constructed them visually.

Montepulciano / Tuscan Hilltowns

The models below were created to convey the research plan for Montepulciano, a Tuscan hilltown known for it's Vino Nobile and fine renaissance architecture. The goal for the bottom 4 models was to create a diagram of tools and methodologies we were considering to use in-field. Thankfully we shortened our list, and in Tuscany we mainly used "fly on the wall", "extreme user interviews", and "shadowing", as derived from IDEO's Method Cards. To view this, or other information models in pdf format, please visit the Italia Design Information Models page

Design Synthesis

The following model was made in an attempt to synthesize a number of models from previous years' research, with our findings on design history, innovation, and design factories. It was quite a challenge. Again, this model is also available in pdf format on the Italia Design Information Models page.

Captured Moments

As part of the field study, we were required to shoot and document everything we did: from the places we visited, and the food we ate, to the people we interviewed, and the unique experiences we enjoyed. At the end of each leg of our trip, we combined our best captured moments and created a high-quality slideshow. In the fall semester, these were refined into the Video Slideshow that is now available on the Italia Design site. A small sampling of my photos have been processed and uploaded, and a portion of those are available in the photography section of this very portfolio!



Slideshow Titling

In addition to contributing photographs, I created the branding for Gruppo Cinque (group 5 - the 5th year of the study), and along with Jenny Lee, conceptualized and produced motion graphics sequences for the final slideshow. My responsibilities were the sequences for the Rome Neighbourhood studies, and the Tuscan Hilltown studies. I also created the prototype for the introduction sequence; a short render of the sequence is available below.


There is so much more I could put on this page, but for now, just get to the Italia Design site if you haven't already!