HKDI Master Lecture Series “Nuovo design italiano”

Themed “Nuovo design italiano”, HKDI Master Lecture Series 2023 is part of the year-long festival “Viva Italia” to give participants a holistic view of Italian design culture and an in-depth understanding of its characteristics and the latest developments. HKDI has invited Italian design academics from Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) to dive deeper into various topics related to Italian design from 6 to 8 Nov 2023 including trends in design, contemporary photography, craftsmanship and technology as well as art and technology.

Under each topic, there will be a 40-minute lecture, followed by a 15-minute panel discussion and Q&A session. Please scroll down for details of our amazing speaker line-up.

Enrolment is free and open to all. Free access to webinar and participation in live Q&A. All sessions will be live-streamed and hosted on ZOOM. You do not need to have a ZOOM account to view the sessions, however, simply make sure you select ‘watch on the web instead’.

Once you have registered for the event, you will receive email confirmation from Eventbrite. HKDI will then send an email link for you to access the live sessions, 2 days prior to the event. Please check your spam folder as your confirmation email may be hiding. We recommend you to click “add to calendar”.

[Lecture 1] 6 Nov 2023 | ITALIAN PHOTOGRAPHY: THROUGH THE LENS OF AN ARTIST AND HIS STUDENTS

Prof Silvio WOLF

Professor of Photography and Visual Arts, Istituto Europeo di Design (IED)

15:30 HKT (UTC/GMT+8)

Silvio Wolf is an artist known for his site-specific installations and lens-based work, leading viewers to perceive a simultaneous past and present, here and elsewhere, a threshold and coexistence of time and space, using still and moving images, projections, light and sound, either individually or in combination. Wolf creates multimedia and public art installations that engage a location’s specificities and histories. Responding to the cultural and architectural personality that a place can convey, Wolf seeks to establish a symbolic relationship with it.

This lecture will address his personal experience as an artist, in relation to the panorama of contemporary Italian Photography, and add the perspective of a new generation of photographers nurtured, artistically and intellectually, through his academic practice in Photography and the Visual Arts.

[Lecture 2] 7 Nov 2023 | MADE IN ITALY: CRAFTSMANSHIP AND TECHNOLOGY

Prof Frances VENNERI

Lecturer , Istituto Europeo di Design (IED)

10:30 HKT (UTC/GMT+8)

To embrace effective development strategies in design, it is necessary to have traditions, skills, technology, knowledge and cultural experiences. The Italian creative industry's skill is the ability to create designs through the interaction between cultural traditions and local factories that are capturing the global market. The definitive success of a project lies in the intersection of new values that are linked to the environment, social equity and the important role of culture.

[ Lecture 3] 8 Nov 2023 | TRENDS IN DESIGN: NOTHING WILL EVER BE LIKE TOMORROW

Prof Giovanni OTTONELLO

Creative Director , Istituto Europeo di Design (IED)

11:30 HKT (UTC/GMT+8)

Even today, three years after the pandemic, we are still trying to find a difficult normality and we observe the events happening around us with bewildered eyes. What will be the future scenarios? What will be the words that will help us design objects useful to get through this phase?

We will also see how the past Milan Design Week narrated new forms, technologies and colours. The tale of upcoming trends will help us to be more contemporary and more coherent in order to design solutions for tomorrow's citizens.

[Lecture 4] 8 Nov 2023 | REALITY SHIFT: IN THE AGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Prof Martin ROMEO

Coordinator of Master in Visual Arts for the Digital Age , Istituto Europeo di Design (IED)

16:30 HKT (UTC/GMT+8)

The lecture explores emerging trends in the creative design field, influenced by the rapid advancement of web 3.0 and new online work platforms. Artificial intelligence is not only shaping a shared vision but also opening doors to personal and participatory creativity, offering a range of tools from idea generation to product design. In Italy, hybrid realities are redefining digital cultures, creating synergies among design, fashion, and art. A prime example of this transformation is Red-Eye Metazine, showcasing how design, embracing technology, is applicable in various contexts, spanning from augmented reality to virtual reality and the metaverse. The new Italian design landscape witnesses digital artists collaborating with algorithms to craft storytelling that aligns with the dynamics of social networks, effectively communicating through text and imagery. This evolution reflects the adaptability and versatility of Italian design, embracing the digital era and fully harnessing its potential.