This theme examines communication design as an empowering practice, capable of reducing information asymmetries, improving access to rights, and fostering people’s cognitive and operational autonomy. The programme examines communication artefacts in complex contexts: law, healthcare, public administration, education, welfare and civic media.
Critical and interdisciplinary perspectives are adopted: design, semiotics, pedagogy, cognitive
sciences, sociology, media studies, visual studies and computer science.

Examples of possible PhD research topics:
– Communication design frameworks for highly complex, high-risk and emergency legal contexts.
– Visual modelling and cognitive empowerment in educational contexts.
– Communication artefacts as tools for equitable access to public services.
– Metrics of communication effectiveness in low-literacy populations.

Doctoral research into material design and waste studies, as well as biomaterials, forms part of a broader effort to redefine the role of design within production and environmental systems.
Adopting a transdisciplinary approach, design is considered a means of generating knowledge and conducting applied experimentation. Research directions include designing second-generation materials from organic, agricultural and industrial waste using controlled physical, chemical or biological processes; developing design protocols to characterise, prototype and evaluate materials in terms of performance, durability and end-of-life; and integrating materials into product-service systems and circular economy models where material flows, use and reuse are part of the concept.
Central to this is the analysis of waste supply chains and local production contexts as the project's material infrastructure, taking environmental, social and cultural impacts into account.

This research is conducted in collaboration with businesses, local authorities, and institutions, focusing on transferability and sustainable innovation.

This research explores spatial design, with a focus on exhibit and interior design. These fields must address the challenges of the contemporary world. The study is structured around three cross-cutting themes:
– the temporality of design and the role of the ephemeral as an opportunity for interdisciplinary experimentation and a new aesthetic code;
– secondly, sustainability is examined in its environmental, economic, social and psychological dimensions, in line with European and national regulations geared towards ecological transition;
– the proximity of space is examined as a relational, symbolic and inclusive place, capable of generating new models of public habitability and accommodating a pluralistic and constantly evolving society.

These themes are applied to museum and exhibition installations conceived according to the principles of the life cycle, reuse and sharing, the temporary reuse of abandoned buildings as tools for urban and social regeneration, and urban installations and interiors on a local scale, including events and in-between spaces. Additionally, the research explores the role of digital tools in spatial design, as well as the importance of a systemic vision supported by qualitative and quantitative tools (such as LCA) to inform design decisions and reduce environmental impact.

This line involves applied and experimental studies and research focused on analysing changes in product design processes, particularly with regard to industrial products.

It includes:
– observation and experimentation regarding the impact of tools introduced by the 4.0 and 5.0 industrial revolutions, such as extended reality and artificial intelligence, on product design processes;
– studies, research and design experiments aimed at understanding how new production processes alter, or may alter, the way products are designed and manufactured. This includes examining how additive manufacturing systems or the introduction of new machinery may influence processes and product characteristics in relation to adopted production technologies;
– analysis of innovation processes arising from the introduction of data collection and management, as well as tools such as product life cycle assessment (LCA), sustainability reports, and the principles of the circular economy, and their impact on design processes.

Research and studies in this field focus on:
– historical reconstructions based on the examination of primary and secondary sources relating to various design fields;
– historiographical and methodological reflections that may highlight non-canonical contributions to design history with regard to objects of investigation, contexts, and individuals involved;
– the construction or reconstruction of theoretical and critical foundations concerning design theory and epistemology.

The proposed research and studies should particularly focus on topics intersecting with the design heritage preserved at the Iuav Project Archive, such as the Melchiorre Bega, Diego Birelli, Giorgio Casali, Franco Giacometti, Enrico Griffini, Luca Meda, Sergio Polano, Luca Scacchetti, Cesare Scoccimarro and Giorgio Wenter Marini collections.

Research and studies concern theories and practices for enhancing tangible and intangible heritage, with the aim of ensuring accessibility and sustainability for future generations.

The research is based on the collection of primary and secondary sources, as well as in-depth observation of the local communities involved.
It aims to:
– identify and classify marginalised and/or neglected tangible and intangible heritage;
– map collaborative, interdisciplinary and site-specific practices for the cultural and social enhancement of heritage and communities.

The research investigates models of cultural transmission through physical and digital tools and devices, such as interactive archives, exhibitions and participatory events, which aim to activate dynamics that regenerate the relationship between heritage and communities.
Particular attention is given to heritage relating to design in its various forms.