On the occasion of its 30th anniversary, the Department of Design—together with the School and the Poli.Design Consortium—launches the project Philology | 1963–2023.
Design Philology is a historical and philological research project that, starting from a reflection on memory and the cultural roots of the design discipline, narrates its evolution through documents, texts, images, videos, and data. Its aim is to reflect and celebrate the complexity and richness of design culture at the Politecnico di Milano.
Design Philology is at once a digital archive, an editorial platform, and a space for temporary exhibitions and hypertextual narratives. It is a multifaceted and open system that reflects the identity that has always defined Italian design and its polytechnic component—an identity capable of embracing diverse perspectives and welcoming even dialectical contributions. The project is supported by a sophisticated digital infrastructure designed to organize and make accessible documents, images, objects, and video testimonies. The Philology Archive includes both a Timeline and curated Narratives.
Inmagik was responsible for the implementation of the platform, while the project was developed by the Department of Design at the Politecnico di Milano. In particular, three tools were created to allow interactive access to a selection of documents that represent the history of the Department.
Timeline: Dates, events, key figures, places, and documents collected and organized along a multidimensional, navigable timeline. These are the concrete traces that mark the development and evolution of design education and research at the Politecnico di Milano.
Narravites: Stories and testimonies anchored to the timeline, offering space for multiple "curators" to share their perspectives and construct a plural and multifaceted view of history. In 2023, Philology launches seven narrative paths, with new ones to be added periodically.
Archive: A collection of photographs, documents, videos, publications, and press reviews — a digital journey through the history and evolution of the Design System at the Politecnico di Milano.
