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World Design Capital 2008 – Turin leads the way
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1. Public Design
Between December 2007 and February 2008, Public Design takes center stage.
 | During this phase, events will focus on daily life and bringing design closer to the general public, increasing awareness of design as an instrument that can improve the quality of life. The main event will take place on New Year’s Eve when the city will go very green: sound and light, video projections, illuminated buildings, performances, all rounded off with a massive fireworks display – and all green, of course. |
The ADI – Associazione per il Disegno Industriale (Association of Industrial Design) - will also be holding its presentation ceremony for the XXI Compasso d’Oro (Golden Compass Awards), Europe’s premier design accolade, for the first time in Turin. The designs that receive an award will be displayed in the contemporary section of the Compasso d’Oro exhibition together with their historical collection which goes back to 1954.
2. Economy and Design
 | Between March and May 2008, the main event will be Geodesign – a project where business and design come face-to-face to see how they can co-operate to develop new processes, services and products. Fifteen to twenty of the city’s communities will work with designers to see what they can come up with that not only meets their needs but also serves to stimulate the supply of these new processes, services or products. |
Turin-founded company Olivetti is both subject and creator of the main exhibit which serves to illustrate the complexity of Olivetti’s strategy - at one level a company that produces office equipment, at another an enterprise with a ongoing vision of the future – and the changes it has undergone over the years.
3. Education and Design
 | The summer months between June and September will be dedicated to summer school and the students from all over the world who will attend courses in five major themes of contemporary design. Flexibility, as a key factor of our success as a species, is the subject of the summer exhibition, along with the need to be ever more flexible in today’s world. |
The exhibition will investigate how we can use design to modify systems or components to extend their use for other purposes.
4. Design Policies
 | The final main phase of the event will look at design in terms of economic and social development. Turin will offer a platform for discussion on how to safeguard and continue developing the culture of contemporary design. Institutions from all over the world will be invited to set up exhibits presenting their national design policies and future prospects. |
The main exhibit for the last phase returns to a subject close to Turin’s heart – the automobile. Offering a history of Italian creativity in car design between 1950 and 2000, the exhibit will look at Italian dream cars of the period and document the transition from the post-war period to the concept cars of today.
2008
For an entire year, the eyes of the design world will turn to Turin. During that time Turin will have the opportunity to make its mark and earn a permanent place as an international design center. Certainly, its efforts to transform itself, not only on architectural but also social and economic fronts, using design as its driving force, are to be commended!
ICSID has more than 160 member organizations in more than 50 countries and represents approximately 150,000 designers. The associations represented include professional organizations, promotional societies, educational institutions and government bodies, corporations and institutions. What they all have in common is their aim to contribute to the development of the profession of industrial design. ICSID holds consultative status with UNESCO, UNIDO, ISO, IFFRO and WIPO. Tucked away in the north-western corner of Italy, Turin is the capital of the Piedmont region and has a history that stretches back to the first century B.C. and a walled Roman settlement of 5,000 citizens. It is located on the west bank of the Po river and is virtually encircled by the Alps to the west and north and the hills of Monferrato to the south. The city’s population is 908,000, with 1.7 million residing in the surrounding agglomeration and 2.2 million in the metropolitan area. |
ICOGRADA is the world body for professional graphic design and visual communication. It is the representative international non-governmental organization for graphic design. ICOGRADA holds consultative status with UNESCO, UNIDO, ISO, IFFRO and WIPO. IDA IDA was created in 2003 by ICSID and ICOGRADA in order to “do together what they cannot do alone” and is focused on multidisciplinary projects. IDA’s mission is to bring the benefits of design to world bodies, governments, business and society.
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Fiat, Bertone, Italdesign-Giugiaro, Pininfarina, Alessi, Lavazza, Ferrero, Martini, Bacardi, Cinzano, Pantone, Geodesign and Olivetti are all trademarks of their respective owners.
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