“Thinking hands” keeping the Italian industry afloat, combining design with craftsmanship and artificial intelligence
“It was a dark and stormy night.” This is the opening line of an imaginary novel that is much more famous than the opening pages of many real novels. It was written by Snoopy on the roof of his doghouse, using a typewriter that looked just like an Olivetti Lettera 22. An extraordinary combination of icons. First of all, there’s the adorable, imaginative and ironic cartoon character created by Schulz. Then there’s an industrial product that exemplifies the best of Italian design in terms of its beauty and functionality (in fact, an example is on display at the MoMA in New York). Finally, storytelling in book form, an ancient yet extraordinarily current activity (we dedicated last week’s blog to books).
Three icons that embody good culture. And the Lettera 22 is a prime example the universal value of the best of Made in Italy (I have a 1950’s version on my desk, a deeply appreciated gift from my colleagues and a reminder of the year I was born). It is, in fact, an exemplary synthesis of form and function, and it still bears witness today to the creative relationship between historical roots and contemporaneity that characterises the widespread attitude of the Italian industry to invest in the relationship between tradition and innovation as a competitive advantage.
“Artisan intelligence”, says Diego Della Valle, president of the Tod’s Group, as he recounts the 40-year history of the “gommino”, the shoe that made the Casette d’Ete factory famous. Della Valle builds a comparison with artificial intelligence, for the sake of discussion, in an article in Il Sole 24 Ore on 16 May and Corriere della Sera on 17 May. This is certainly not to deny the importance of the ongoing digital revolution. AI is fundamental to industry in terms of research, experimentation, quality control, plant functionality, and marketing processes in international markets. Above all, it is important to emphasise the values that characterise the “beautiful and well-made” products of our industry: the importance of people, relationships with local communities, quality processes and products, and environmental and social sustainability in the “beautiful factory”, which is well-designed, bright and safe. These are the values of craftsmanship. Which Diego Della Valle also translated into the opening, in 2012, of a “Bottega dei mestieri”, to train young people with a passion and intelligence for good manufacturing. “Italian hands”, as the title of the latest book just published by the Tod’s Group suggests.
The theme of Business Culture Week ’24, an event organised by Confindustria and Museimpresa each November, was “Thinking Hands”. This year’s event focused on “Artificial Intelligence, art and culture for the relaunch of business”. And it is indeed our manufacturing capabilities that are the strong point of Made in Italy exports, even in times of geopolitical tensions and devastating trade wars, and therefore of the struggling growth of the country’s GDP, well-being and employment.
The story of “Italian know-how”, which still carries a strong resonance in international economic and cultural circles, is vividly illustrated in a recently published book by ADI (the Italian Design Association), produced in collaboration with Treccani and edited by Beppe Finessi. Spanning over one thousand pages, this book is the first comprehensive work on the “Compasso d’Oro” award, conceived by Gio Ponti in the early 1950s. It contains the history of its 27 editions up to 1922, as well as presentations of all the winning products and manufacturing companies, and portraits of the designers who received lifetime achievement awards. This is a rich series of reflections on the role of museums, the relationship between industry, craftsmanship and design, and the synergies between project and product culture. Contributors include Aldo Bonomi, Massimo Bray, Andrea Cancellato, Paola Antonelli, Chiara Alessi, Stefano Micelli, Luca Molinari and Carlo Branzaglia. There are also reflections on the “civilisation of machines”, the construction of a true “imaginary” of Italian know-how over time, and the need to invest more in creativity, industrial quality and innovation, as well as the relationship between such a solid tradition and the stimuli for innovation that come from the digital transformations of the “knowledge economy”.
Cultural and social values create positive social capital and, of course, economic value from the perspective of businesses and the market.
These are factors that remain relevant.
It is worth going back to the start and looking at the winners of the first edition of the “Compasso d’Oro” in 1954: Zizi the monkey, an innovative foam rubber toy designed by Bruno Munari and produced by Pirelli; and the Lettera 22 designed by Marcello Nizzoli and produced by Olivetti.
The fact that the prize was awarded to Olivetti highlights the relationship between the object and its context, and between design and manufacturing. Indeed, in the introduction to the book, Luciano Galimberti, president of ADI, notes that: “The first edition reveals the pride of a country that was tested both economically and morally by the Second World War, interpreting freedom as a fundamental component of its future project. The Lettera 22 portable typewriter breaks down the rigid bond between work and the workplace. While it is now normal to work and study anywhere, it was the extraordinary freedom of thought of those years that made such a change possible”.
Today’s theme is the need for a real industrial policy of European scope to collect and enhance the legacy of such a rich history of quality design and manufacturing. This policy should define investments in research and innovation, European AI systems and tools (to escape absolute dependence on American and Chinese Big Tech), training and security. It should also untie the knots that prevent European and Italian companies from being competitive. This includes productivity, the high cost of energy, work, bureaucracy and broad-based investments. Financing should come from both the EU budget and the budgets of individual European states, as well as from international financial markets through the use of common European debt instruments.
To put it succinctly: not only “artisan intelligence” and “artificial intelligence” but also and above all “political intelligence” for a better future for the next generation.
In short, during a “dark and stormy night”, work hard to catch a glimpse the dawn as soon as possible.
“It was a dark and stormy night.” This is the opening line of an imaginary novel that is much more famous than the opening pages of many real novels. It was written by Snoopy on the roof of his doghouse, using a typewriter that looked just like an Olivetti Lettera 22. An extraordinary combination of icons. First of all, there’s the adorable, imaginative and ironic cartoon character created by Schulz. Then there’s an industrial product that exemplifies the best of Italian design in terms of its beauty and functionality (in fact, an example is on display at the MoMA in New York). Finally, storytelling in book form, an ancient yet extraordinarily current activity (we dedicated last week’s blog to books).
Three icons that embody good culture. And the Lettera 22 is a prime example the universal value of the best of Made in Italy (I have a 1950’s version on my desk, a deeply appreciated gift from my colleagues and a reminder of the year I was born). It is, in fact, an exemplary synthesis of form and function, and it still bears witness today to the creative relationship between historical roots and contemporaneity that characterises the widespread attitude of the Italian industry to invest in the relationship between tradition and innovation as a competitive advantage.
“Artisan intelligence”, says Diego Della Valle, president of the Tod’s Group, as he recounts the 40-year history of the “gommino”, the shoe that made the Casette d’Ete factory famous. Della Valle builds a comparison with artificial intelligence, for the sake of discussion, in an article in Il Sole 24 Ore on 16 May and Corriere della Sera on 17 May. This is certainly not to deny the importance of the ongoing digital revolution. AI is fundamental to industry in terms of research, experimentation, quality control, plant functionality, and marketing processes in international markets. Above all, it is important to emphasise the values that characterise the “beautiful and well-made” products of our industry: the importance of people, relationships with local communities, quality processes and products, and environmental and social sustainability in the “beautiful factory”, which is well-designed, bright and safe. These are the values of craftsmanship. Which Diego Della Valle also translated into the opening, in 2012, of a “Bottega dei mestieri”, to train young people with a passion and intelligence for good manufacturing. “Italian hands”, as the title of the latest book just published by the Tod’s Group suggests.
The theme of Business Culture Week ’24, an event organised by Confindustria and Museimpresa each November, was “Thinking Hands”. This year’s event focused on “Artificial Intelligence, art and culture for the relaunch of business”. And it is indeed our manufacturing capabilities that are the strong point of Made in Italy exports, even in times of geopolitical tensions and devastating trade wars, and therefore of the struggling growth of the country’s GDP, well-being and employment.
The story of “Italian know-how”, which still carries a strong resonance in international economic and cultural circles, is vividly illustrated in a recently published book by ADI (the Italian Design Association), produced in collaboration with Treccani and edited by Beppe Finessi. Spanning over one thousand pages, this book is the first comprehensive work on the “Compasso d’Oro” award, conceived by Gio Ponti in the early 1950s. It contains the history of its 27 editions up to 1922, as well as presentations of all the winning products and manufacturing companies, and portraits of the designers who received lifetime achievement awards. This is a rich series of reflections on the role of museums, the relationship between industry, craftsmanship and design, and the synergies between project and product culture. Contributors include Aldo Bonomi, Massimo Bray, Andrea Cancellato, Paola Antonelli, Chiara Alessi, Stefano Micelli, Luca Molinari and Carlo Branzaglia. There are also reflections on the “civilisation of machines”, the construction of a true “imaginary” of Italian know-how over time, and the need to invest more in creativity, industrial quality and innovation, as well as the relationship between such a solid tradition and the stimuli for innovation that come from the digital transformations of the “knowledge economy”.
Cultural and social values create positive social capital and, of course, economic value from the perspective of businesses and the market.
These are factors that remain relevant.
It is worth going back to the start and looking at the winners of the first edition of the “Compasso d’Oro” in 1954: Zizi the monkey, an innovative foam rubber toy designed by Bruno Munari and produced by Pirelli; and the Lettera 22 designed by Marcello Nizzoli and produced by Olivetti.
The fact that the prize was awarded to Olivetti highlights the relationship between the object and its context, and between design and manufacturing. Indeed, in the introduction to the book, Luciano Galimberti, president of ADI, notes that: “The first edition reveals the pride of a country that was tested both economically and morally by the Second World War, interpreting freedom as a fundamental component of its future project. The Lettera 22 portable typewriter breaks down the rigid bond between work and the workplace. While it is now normal to work and study anywhere, it was the extraordinary freedom of thought of those years that made such a change possible”.
Today’s theme is the need for a real industrial policy of European scope to collect and enhance the legacy of such a rich history of quality design and manufacturing. This policy should define investments in research and innovation, European AI systems and tools (to escape absolute dependence on American and Chinese Big Tech), training and security. It should also untie the knots that prevent European and Italian companies from being competitive. This includes productivity, the high cost of energy, work, bureaucracy and broad-based investments. Financing should come from both the EU budget and the budgets of individual European states, as well as from international financial markets through the use of common European debt instruments.
To put it succinctly: not only “artisan intelligence” and “artificial intelligence” but also and above all “political intelligence” for a better future for the next generation.
In short, during a “dark and stormy night”, work hard to catch a glimpse the dawn as soon as possible.