Let’s start with a definition of “industrial design,” by Argentinian-born, Milan-based, painter, designer and philosopher, Tomás Maldonado: “Industrial design is a creative activity whose aim is to determine the formal qualities of objects produced by industry. These formal qualities are not only the external features but are principally those structural and functional relationships which convert a system to a coherent unity both from the point of view of the producer and the user. Industrial design extends to embrace all the aspects of human environment, which are conditioned by industrial production.”

Generally, the term “design” is connected with the age of the Industrial Revolution, which reached Italy later than the rest of Europe.