Crossing Design: Italy-China as a Design-Driven Language. Joint research labs in between Chinese and Italian cultures on high-end manufacturing through a design driven perspective

The research starts from the assumption of having commonalities among Italy and China countries in term of production sectors and manufacturing know how, to highlight on possible common key values comparing Tuscany fashion and design productive district (as a model) to the Chinese emerging creative processes and traditional manufacturing heritage. Through design laboratories in connection with SMEs in fashion, furniture and home details in Florence (Italy) and China, Crossing design project expresses how design processes could interpret the contemporary lifestyle through cultural cross fertilizations in between these tow significant cultural contexts, both based on globally important manufacturing know-how. The ethnographic and anthropological values generate new communication path in between two design cultures and in between Eastern/Western user scenarios. Crossing Design methodology start from cross-cultural case histories: the Italian laboratory uses Chinese Cultural elements as a reference for Italian students and junior designers. On the other hand, the Chinese workshops propose high-end made in Italy case histories as significant case studies to set design or re-design processes on Chinese historical manufacturing processes and emerging user scenarios. Following this framework, the Crossing Labs aims at setting new design guidelines to make Chinese Historical Crafts as an attracting value for international market in a g-local perspective. On the other hand, to highlight the quality of Italian design and made in Italy as a common heritage for the international design education to enhance understanding quality processes and cultural creative processes. The paper presents two significant case histories from Crossing Design Labs: some furniture design concept for Chinese market developed at Design Campus of University of Florence by interpreting Ming Dynasty references; some furniture design concepts from a workshop developed at Zhongkai University in Guangzhou, aiming at developing new design concepts for western user scenarios inspired by Chinese cultural element. The design processes have being done by workshop sessions including theoretical lessons and visit to Chinese and Italian Companies, aiming at making the students understanding the intrinsic values of the historical manufacturing processes.