Design Thinking for Business Observatory at the Polytechnic University of Milan

How do we create desirable futures in the phygital era? The key word is provoke, explore all possible future scenarios to identify the most desirable ones. At the Design Thinking for Business Observatory of the Polytechnic University of Milan, of which Electrolux Professional is a partner, we participated in the Design Thinking Jam on September 29^th entitled ‘Provoking through Design Fiction in the Phygital Era’, with the team Davide Benvenuti, Francesco Lillo, Marco Limani, Omar Dal Pos and Chiara Battistoni.

The Design Thinking for Business Observatory at the Polytechnic University of Milan aims to be the reference point for the community of innovators who adopt pioneering approaches such as Design Thinking to create value for their business by seeking new methodologies.

The day was an opportunity to think about the methods and strategies for creating desirable futures using the Discursive Design framework to guide intentional and positive ‘provocation’ approaches together with Speculative Design and Design Fiction.  It consisted of several workshops, such as “Fostering Sustainable Energy Consumption – Phygital Local Communities in the Hospitality Industry”, with the focus on some specific sectors – resorts, restaurants, events, mobility, water- given a fictional context of reference and different extreme challenges as the total elimination of organic food waste, a maximum level of energy consumption or free water for everyone.

The day ended with a speech by the spouses Tharp, professors at the University of Michigan, Stamps School of Art & Design, about their book “Discursive Design”, a new approach to design where reflection is the main design goal.