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Communication on DesignOn 10 December 2012 the international conference ‹Communication on Design – networks in design education and design practice› will take place at the Faculty of Design and Art of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano.

Has ‹communication about design› reached a new quality in recent years? Or can it still be adequately described by the common parameters of design journalism and public relations? Does the german proverbial recommendation ‹Do good and talk about it› still apply? Or is it necessary to ‹talk› differently and more about the discipline now and in the future? And how does this affect the practice of design? Do clients and designers find each other more easily? Does design education remain unaffected by these developments? 

Over the past decade, the so-called ‹Web 2.0› has become the technological basis for a vast expansion of information interchange, also regarding the design field. Since then, specialized platforms and networks of the ‹social web› have arisen, which operate on equal footing with traditional specialised journalism and professional institutions. Consequently, everyone has become a potential author and recipient of design-related news. This accelerates the exchange of trends, fashions and aesthetic perception, but also leads to a global equalization regarding a ‹language of design›.

At the same time ‹design practice› has steadily become more and more ‹networked›. From a commercial viewpoint, design has developed into a global market, where creative resources can be purchased regardless of where they are located. Companies find the right designer for the job through platforms on the Internet. Networks, which are no longer geographically determined, combine various skills to handle these jobs. Consequently, requirements of self-marketing are being transformed. In these digital networks, a ‹good reputation› emerges faster, but at the same time it also requires a continuous reinforcement through prompt and frequent updates.

The study of design is no exception. For students ‹networking with the design community› already starts during their studies and in its methods does not differ from practice of design. How should – a mostly locally oriented – design education react to this internationalization?

The event aims to provide a current overview and insight regarding this field. Therefore speakers from well-known design networks, national design foundations and traditional design institutions, from weblogs and design competitions from the Netherlands, the UK, Italy and Germany have been invited to dicuss their views. Therefore, the panel offers a representative range of topics regarding ›communication on design‹ in practice and its impact on education.

The international conference Communication on Design – networks in design education and design practice takes place on 10 December 2012 in Bozen/Bolzano and is hosted in co-operation with the ‹Museion›, the museum of modern and contemporary art Bozen/Bolzano. It will be held in the auditorium of the Museion. All lectures will be given in English.
All lectures will be given in English.

The conference is organized by Professor Antonino Benincasa (Department of Visual Communication) and Prof. Christian Upmeier (Department of Visual Communication) of the Faculty of Design and Art of the Free University Bozen-Bolzano.

Participation in the conference is free of charge. However, a registration via e-mail is required. The registrations are open starting today until Friday, 07 December 2012.



Bozen/Bolzano, 19 November 2012 
Antonino Benincasa, Christian Upmeier
Conference secretariatManuela Degasperi
Room SER F 5.02
Universitätsplatz 1 - piazza Università, 1I - 39100 Bozen-Bolzano
T: +39 0471 015003F: +39 0471 015009manuela.degasperi2@unibz.it
Faculty of Design and Art - Secretariat
Universitätsplatz 1 - piazza Università, 1I - 39100 Bozen-Bolzano
T: +39 0471 015000F: +39 0471 015009design-art@unibz.it
Opening hours:Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: 09:00 - 12:00
Wednesday: 10:00 - 12:00
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