Research
Research
Research
Research
Period
2026, April 16th
Event Venue
Adi Design Museum, Milan
Tipology
Conference
LED Team
Francesca Tosi, Ester Iacono - Department of Architecture DIDA - University of Florence
Group Work
Andrea Morelli Area Ricerca Fondazione Symbola, Mariangela Campalani Partner | Head of Growth Deloitte Italy, Ilaria Donà Thought Leadership & Market Research Manager Deloitte Italy, Carlo Branzaglia Coordinatore Centro Studi ADI, Yara Cutolo Assistente di Direzione ADI, Ignazia Maria Alessandra Dal Piva Indagini Occupazionali Politecnico di Milano, Claudia Girotti Responsabile Indagine Occupazione AlmaLaurea, Lara Tampellini Ufficio Indagini e Statistiche AlmaLaurea, Marina Timoteo Direttrice AlmaLaurea, Venere Ferraro Professoressa Associata Politecnico di Milano, Ester Iacono Assegnista di Ricerca Università degli Studi di Firenze, Cristina Marino Ricercatrice Università di Parma, Paolo Tamborrini Professore ordinario Università di Parma, Francesco Fumelli Vicedirettore ISIA Firenze.
Coordinators
Domenico Sturabotti - Direttore Fondazione Symbola
Romina Surace - Area Ricerca Fondazione Symbola
Ernesto Lanzillo - Deloitte Private Leader
Francesco Zurlo - Professore ordinario Politecnico di Milano
Cabirio Cautela - Professore Politecnico di Milano e Consigliere d’amministrazione POLI.design
Luciano Galimberti - Presidente ADI
Francesca Tosi - Professore ordinario Università di Firenze e Presidente CUID
Description
On 16 April, the Design Economy 2026 Report was published by Symbola – Fondazione per le qualità italiane, Deloitte Private, POLI.design, and ADI Associazione per il Disegno Industriale.
As the Ergonomics and Design Laboratory at the University of Florence, together with the research group from the University of Parma, we conducted a study for CUID (Italian University Conference on Design) on approximately 17,000 job advertisements, which forms the basis of the chapter “Does design run faster than its recognition?”.
The study highlights a significant paradox: design skills are increasingly sought after by businesses, yet are rarely explicitly attributed to the role of the designer. This contribution reinforces the discussion on the role of design in contemporary economic and social processes and the need for its full recognition.
We would like to thank the CUID research coordinators Francesca Tosi, Paolo Tamborrini, Ester Iacono, and Cristina Marino, as well as Domenico Sturabotti, for their involvement in the Report.
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