Media: Publishing brands

Video to take an increasingly central role in audience development for the digital brands

Accordo con Wochit per potenziare la produzione di contenuti video originali sui social network

L’audience dei brand digitali del Gruppo Mondadori cresce sui social network. Con un’offerta d’eccellenza che conta un portafoglio di brand leader nei settori chiave – quali femminili, cucina, salute e benessere – e una strategia che mette al centro contenuti originali e una curation editoriale innovativa, oggi le fan base dei brand del Gruppo Mondadori giungono a quota 13 milioni di fan complessivi attraverso 38 pagine attive su Facebook.

In particolare è il video il contenuto di punta sui canali social, in grado di creare engagement e garantire elevati tassi di reach: nel mese di aprile sono 90 milioni le video views totalizzate dai brand Mondadori su Facebook, specialmente su Giallo Zafferano, Cookaround, Donna Moderna, Nostrofiglio.it, Focus, Pianeta Donna, Pianeta Mamma. Tra i casi di successo quello di GialloZafferano, che raccoglie quasi 3 milioni di visualizzazioni e 30.000 condivisioni con il video tutorial della ricetta dei biscotti girandola e 2 milioni di visualizzazioni e oltre 27.000 condivisioni per quello della cheesecake alla Nutella.

Risultati raggiunti grazie a video brevi e accattivanti girati ad hoc per i canali social, privilegiando tecniche come il jumpcut e lo stop motion, e a un rapporto costante e attento con i propri utenti, che riconoscono e premiano la qualità di GialloZafferano anche nei contenuti video, realizzati con lo stesso criterio di preparazione delle ricette, testate più volte prima di essere girate. Un rapporto confermato dal numero di interazioni: una media di 4.000 per video, tra like, condivisioni e commenti degli utenti che inviano le foto delle loro realizzazioni culinarie.

In quest’ottica è stata siglata una partnership con Wochit, piattaforma internazionale di creazione video, che consente di potenziare la produzione di contenuti video originali. Wochit offre un tool di editing per gestire la personalizzazione grafica delle diverse linee di produzione dei brand: viene utilizzato dal team di content editor di Mondadori, mettendo a frutto l’esperienza nella content curation per la creazione di video efficaci e in linea con il tone of voice del brand.

Durata breve, formato quadrato che si adatta a tutti i tipi di device, immagini selezionate e d’effetto con anteprime a tutto schermo immediatamente visibili nei feed e testi capaci di catturare gli spettatori amplificano l’impatto dei video sui canali social.

I video realizzati dai brand del Gruppo Mondadori con Wotchit hanno ottenuto oltre 30 milioni di visualizzazioni. Tra i più apprezzati, il video di Focus, Come berremo l’acqua nel futuro , con più di 4 milioni di visualizzazioni e 70.000 condivisioni; quello di Donna Moderna, Rapporto tra zia e nipote, con 2,7 milioni di visualizzazioni e 60.000 condivisioni; e quello di Pianeta Mamma, Un papà non è solo un papà, con oltre 2 milioni di visualizzazioni e quasi 60.000 condivisioni.

Donna Moderna presents two days dedicated to beauty

Treatments, workshop, talks, all free and open to the public

Milan, 20 and 21 May, Bagni Misteriosi

Donna Moderna, the women’s weekly edited by Annalisa Monfreda, always sensitive to issues related to the world of women, has announced the Donna Moderna Beauty Experience, two days entirely dedicated to beauty; one of the topics of most interest to the magazine’s audience.

On 20 and 21 May, the Bagni Misteriosi (Via Carlo Botta 18, in Milan), will become an exclusive “beauty centre” and theatre of a range of activities organised with Garnier and Lancôme, involving all participants and free of charge.

“For years, Donna Moderna has promoted an idea of ​​beauty that today is, finally, a trend: i.e. beauty as authenticity and the courage to be oneself, but also beauty as a commitment and care,” said Annalisa Monfreda. “To talk about and practice this philosophy, during a weekend open to all our readers, is an extraordinary opportunity. And I’m sure all those who come to our Beauty Experience will go home with a clear personal beauty mission in mind,” the editor concluded.

For this weekend in May, readers and users will be able to take part in more than 230 initiatives: including Beauty Bars, Beauty Workshops, Beauty Treatments, Beauty Talks and  a Yoga Lounge.

Any revelations? At the beauty bars, instead of enjoying culinary delights, visitors can sample creams, facial beauty treatments, masks and hair care shampoos with Garnier and try perfumes and the latest make-up with Lancôme.
Expert make up artists will demonstrate how to enhance beauty thanks to the Lancôme make up school, in a number of meetings and workshops about skin, hair colouring and hair care with Garnier.

Having a direct experience, relaxing and trying new things are the keywords of the Donna Moderna Beauty Experience.

The Donna Moderna Beauty Experience will take care of  ‘its women’ for two days, with innovative body and face remodelling treatments, but also a perfect hairstyle and a tint in the nuance that best suits each woman. By booking your ‘beauty moment’ online at www.donnamoderna.com/beautyexperience, readers and users can ensure their free beauty appointment.

At the Bagni Misteriosi everyone will have the opportunity to attend the Beauty Talks in which Annalisa Monfreda will talk with exceptional guests about relevant issues related to the world of beauty. And during the day there will also be Mini Beauty Talks: briefings and short talks during which the partners of the initiative will look at issues such as authentic beauty and the links between food and beauty.

“We are delighted that the L’Oréal Group has joined this initiative that is so important for us,” said Davide Mondo, chief executive of Mediamond. “The creation of great joint events, like the Donna Moderna Beauty Experience, is one of the evolutions of the role of today’s advertising companies. And “joint” means that this type of operation is the result of collaboration between publishers, advertising companies, clients and partners. And, not least, the advertisers. In fact, they are the ones who determine the success by participating and getting involved in the proposed activities. It is a paradigm shift that is giving us great satisfaction, and an area where we want to continue to work,” Mondo concluded.

Donna Moderna, Italy’s leading women’s publishing network, is an ecosystem which, through the magazine, web and social channels, embraces an audience of 11.2 million net contacts, between readers and users (Source: Audipress 2016/3 and Audiweb February 2017) able to expand and develop further thanks to this type of activity around the country. The magazine currently has some 4 million monthly readers with a circulation of 230,000 copies. Meanwhile, Donnamoderna.com has 8.2 million unique users (Source – Audiweb View February 2017), 500,000 followers on Twitter and 580,000 fans on Facebook.

On 20 and 21 May, participants will also be able to take and receive a beauty snapshots, practice yoga, learn new relaxation techniques and watch a ‘real women’ fashion show.  In addition, a photographic exhibition dedicated to the magazine’s cover protagonists, portraits of real women who represent the brand’s idea of beauty and a number of dance and music shows. In fact, with Donna Moderna you can also attend the live concerts of three musicians at Milano Piano City – the annual event that on the weekend of 19, 20 and 21 May will transform the city into a musical stage.

The hashtags for the initiative are: #dmbeautyexperience and #dmbex.

At www.donnamoderna.com/beautyexperience, users can keep up to date with all the beauty appointments scheduled during the event, book their beauty appointments and find information on how to reach the location.

For those who will not be able to attend the event, there will be a chance to follow live coverage of some of the activities on Donna Moderna’s Facebook profile and on Twitter with live tweets on both days. All of the beauty tips will also be reported in the magazine feature dedicated to the event with photos, videos and stories by the title’s journalists.

The Donna Moderna Beauty Experience has been organised thanks to the support of the main sponsors Garnier and Lancôme and additional sponsors including:  Instax Fujifilm, Acqua Mood and Natura Buona by Spumador, YogaEssential and Caffè Pellini.

The communication campaign in support of the Donna Moderna Beauty Experience has been organised by Hunbranded, and planned on print, web and social channels.

The event is organized by Adverteam.

Chi gets a facelift and is enhanced with more content

New features include: an extensive fashion & beauty section and new columns accessible also using the augmented reality app

Chi, Italy’s most popular people magazine – with 2.2 million readers (source: Audipress 2016/III) – will appear on newsstands this week in a renewed and enhanced form. The Mondadori Group magazine edited by Alfonso Signorini, had reinforced the fashion & beauty and introduced  new columns that are accessible using the augmented reality app, “Gruppo Mondadori AR+”, available for both iOS and Android, the provides access to videos and other additional content and enables users to interact with other active users.

“With this operation we want to consolidate and reinforce an already highly successful formula,” Gianluigi Piccinali, brand manager for entertainment. “Chi has long been a point of reference when it comes to celebrities and scoops and, from today, it will be an even more complete women’s title, rich in content, useful, amusing and able to meet the all-round needs of readers. Plus, thanks to augmented reality, it will be the first magazine in Italy to “expand” the experience from the page to a smartphone, or similar device, thanks to exclusive multimedia content,” Piccinali concluded.

The new section “In Stile Chi” will be a fixed appointment for readers, a fantastic window on all that’s new in the world of fashion (looks, collections, accessories, catwalks) and beauty (make-up, treatments, hair, trends). Lots of pages to get a feel for the glamour inspired by celebrities and breakthrough stars.

The columns of the magazine – the most widely-read in Italy by those who make buying decisions (1.4 million, source: Audipress 2016/III) – have been expanded and, alongside the most popular, a number of new columns have been added, such as “Wellness”, with exercises and advice on how to keep in shape and the best wellbeing products. There is also a new Food sectionwith a recipes by a famous chef and lost of tips on preparing vegetarian and traditional dishes, as well as surprising cocktails.

An entire section is also dedicated to culture and leisure, with indications about which exhibitions to see, the ideal books for a trip or a relaxing weekend, as well as newly released music, museums, food fairs, openings and much more.

In rotation, there will also be columns on Travel, Animals and Must Haves, featuring all the current season’s trends.

The Mondadori Group strengthens its leadership in food: a unique portfolio of brands for variety and range

• A total audience of 9 monthly contacts, between readers and users
• A growing market share that reaches 70% in terms of circulation
• Advertising: +30% also thanks to the success of Giallo Zafferano

On the strength of a range of consolidated brands, covering all segments in the food area and reaching varied and loyal targets, over the years the Mondadori Group has been able to innovate and enrich the offer of its food system, while reinforcing its leadership in both magazines and digital.

Among the brands in the portfolio are thee historic titles that this year are celebrating important anniversaries: Sale&Pepe, for 30 years a refined, gourmet; Cucina Moderna, the market leader that for 20 years has offered useful and practical recipes; and Cucina no problem, for 15 years a simple, but never banal ally in the kitchen.

The offer is completed by Guida cucina, a source of everyday recipes for the family, and two recent arrivals: the web site Cookaround, a point of entry into the world of cooking and everything that surrounds it, and Giallo Zafferano, a young and “social” crossover brand, Italy’s leading cooking site, now also available on newsstands.

A continuously growing system of brands that, in addition to print and digital, also promotes events and courses led by professional chefs at the Scuola di cucina di Sale&Pepe, launched in the heart of  Milan from the experience of the upscale monthly.

The launch of the new magazine Giallo Zafferano – an operation that for the first time has seen the creation of a print magazine from an already leading web brand – will also strengthen the market share of the Mondadori Group in the food area, taking it from 54% to around 70% in terms of circulation.

The first issue of Giallo Zafferano, with a launch campaign that can count on an initial fan-base that is already strong on social media , sold around 450,000 copies separately or in combinations with some of the Mondadori Group’s other magazines.

A multi-brand e multi-channel offer that enables the food system to reach a combined total audience of almost 9 million contacts every month between readers and users (source: Audipress 2016-III and Audiweb, February 2017).

This success with the public has also been accompanied by an excellent response from advertisers, allowing the food system managed by Mediamond to record, in the first 4 months of 2017, an increase of 30% in sales compared with the same period of 2016, thanks also to the launch of Giallo Zafferano.

New York Architects Star in Material Immaterial 2017

Interni and the Italian Consulate General in New York present a meeting between the italian design system and design in the United States

The protagonists will include two of the world’s most interesting architecture studios based in New York: BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group and SHoP Architects

With the success of the exhibition event MATERIAL IMMATERIAL, INTERNI confirms its role as a strategic communication vehicle in the world of international contemporary design by organising in New York on the occasion of  NYCxDESIGN, the important design event organised every May in the city – with the Italian Consulate General in New York, a meeting to celebrate the relationship and synergies between the Italian design system and design in the United States.

A talk, entitles New York Architects Star in Material Immaterial, will take place on Friday 19 May, at 6 pm, in the historic consulate building at 690 Park Avenue.

The protagonists of the meeting will be two partners from two of the world’s most interesting New York-based architecture studios: BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group and SHoP Architects, both present this year at the INTERNI exhibition event with two projects, the lighting installation Quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog (created by Artemide) and the pavilion in terracotta extrusions Wave / Cave (created by Metalsigma Tunesi, NBK Keramik). After an introduction by Francesco Genuardi, the Italian Consul General in New York, and Gilda Bojardi, editor of INTERNI, the two studios will talk about their experience during the Milan Design Week, focusing on the personal and professional dynamics during their installations and the increasingly growing value of the FuoriSalone phenomenon, an urban fringe event conceived and developed by INTERNI in 1990 that, together with the ‘official’ Salone del Mobile, has helped to make Milan the unchallenged capital of international design.

The two studios will be supported by Carlotta de Bevilacqua, vice-president and CEO of the Artemide Group and Carlo Geddo, CEO of Metalsigma USA, who will talk about the synergic relationship between designers and industrialists that underlies the projects put on show by INTERNI. Talking parts in the talk as a special guest will be Mauro Porcini, SVP and Chief Design Officer of the American multinational PepsiCo, who will talk about the current scenario of Italian creativity in the United States, how Italian design is perceived in the US and current prospects for collaboration between the two countries.

For more information, please go to: www.internimagazine.it

Radio Festival for Europe

A temporary web radio by Radio 105 and Tv Sorrisi e Canzoni dedicated to the Eurovision Song Contest

Online at, unitedmusic.it and sorrisi.com fans will find a temporary web radio dedicate to the Eurovision Song Contest, the great European musical event that this year will take place from 9 to 13 May in Kiev in Ukraine.

Representing Italy, as per the rules, will be the winner of the Sanremo Festival: the Tuscan singer-songwriter Francesco Gabbani who will bring to the stage of the Eurovision Song Contest his now celebrated song, “Occidentali’s Karma”.

To support Francesco Gabbani, Radio 105, in collaboration with TV Sorrisi e Canzoni, has created Radio Festival for Europe, a web radio entirely devoted to the European Festival which will feature a non-stop rotation of all of the songs in the 2017 competition, as well as some of the biggest success from past editions, including the Italian songs that have represented the country since 1956. Songs including, Gigliola Cinquetti’s “Non ho l’età” and Toto Cutugno’s “Insieme: 1992”, both of which won the prestigious prize in 1964 and 1990, respectively. And then also Gianni Morandi’s “Occhi di ragazza” (1970), Umberto Tozzi and Raf singing “Gente di mare” (1987) and the more recent efforts of Marco Mengoni, Emma, Il Volo and Francesca Michielin.

The schedule will be further enhanced by interviews with the artists, alternating with a collection of anecdotes, curiosities and news about the contest.

The launch of the new series of In forma con Starbene

Health, medicine, psycho-physical wellbeing and quality of life in a programme on Canale 5 presented by Tessa Gelisio in collaboration with Starbene

From 6 May 2017, every Saturday, at 8.45

Saturday 6 May at 8.45 sees the return of In Forma con Starbene, the Canale 5 programme presented by Tessa Gelisio, with an important new feature.

This year each episode will focus on a single pillar of wellbeing: water, prevention, seasonality, balance, movement, diet, information, naturalness; eight fundamental issues for our physical and psychological wellbeing.

After the success of the previous series, the programme’s collaboration continues with Starbene, the Mondadori Group brand that is a reference point in the world of health and wellbeing. In fact the title, edited by Annalisa Monfreda, brings to the programme a network of experts and the Starbene.it web site, and offers responses to all topics of interest.

With studio discussions, features and regular slots, each episode will examine a full range of issues related to our wellbeing: diet, fitness, medicine, beauty. And each area will be treated with scientific rigour, but in a clear and accessible language for viewers. The programmes guests will include Professor Santo Raffaele Mercuri, head of Dermatology and Cosmetology at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, with his light touch cosmetic procedures and, among the many new faces of this series, the cook Alice Balossi, the food technologist Giorgio Donegani, and the explorative hiking guide Michael Bolognini.

“The contribution of the Starbene experts on TV has been much appreciated by viewers and readers, that we reach every day not only through the newsstands and on TV, but also on the radio, with the RMC Doc feature, and on the web with our newsletters, podcasts and social networks,” said Annalisa Monfreda, the editor of Starbene. “We are delighted to get going again with the new series of In forma con Starbene, that this year will host new experts who will take a closer look and different aspects of healthy living: in fact, during this series we will rediscover a contact with nature, one of the best sources of wellbeing.”

In Forma con Starbene” is online at www.informaconstarbene.mediaset.it and is also present on social networks with the official Twitter profile @In_formaTv and official Facebook page Facebook.com/InFormaconstarbene providing information, previews, background detail, videos and backstage material.

The Starbene experts are available to all users free of charge on the Starbene.it web site to respond online to questions on medicine and health.

Icon Design makes its debut in Spain

In 2017 two issues of the first international edition of the Mondadori Group brand dedicated to the world of architecture and international design with a spotlight on the protagonists and emerging talent on the Spanish scene

Icon Design, the Mondadori Group’s upscale design and furnishing magazine launches in Spain in a completely autonomous version, edited by Lucas Arraut, formerly the editor of the local edition of Icon.

The launch of this first international edition continues the success of the title which, in addition to Italy, will this year also publish two special issues in Spain. The first, on newsstands as a free supplement to the top selling Spanish daily, El País, will be available until the publication of the second issue, in September, a the price of €3. The launch issue is made up of 154 editorial pages, including interviews, background and overviews of the objects, places and images that define international design. The issue will also have 32 pages of advertising featuring high profile clients and an expected circulation of 200,000 copies.

“The Spanish brother of Icon Design – declared Lucas Arraut – has been created with the same desire to combine a precise and focused journalistic approach with the most fascinating images of architecture and interior design, bringing such content to a wider public beyond professionals from the sector. We set of on a search for exciting stories to tell, new talent to discover and great masters to celebrate, while making sure to use the best editors and photographers. The whole project starts from a very simple premise: interesting people live in interesting homes and have interesting things to say.”

With regard to masters to celebrate, the cover of the first issue of Icon Design Spain features Giorgio Armani the founder and leader of the fashion house, who opened his home to the editor of the first international edition of the Mondadori Group magazine, that describes it as a “an unpretentious Milanese palace, but decorated with the same radical simplicity that the designer uses for his clothes, fragrances and even the furniture he designs.” Because “between beautiful but uncomfortable and ugly but comfortable, the first is by far best,” says Armani in the interview with the editor Lucas Arraut.

The first issue also features a number of Spanish designers who are making an important mark on the international scene, including Miguel Milá, Patricia Urquiola, Lázaro Rosa-Violán, Pascua Ortega and many more.

Il mio Papa launches in Portugal

Il Mio Papa, the world’s leading weekly entirely dedicated to Pope Francis arrives in Portugal with the name of O meu Papa.

Week by week, the magazine will offer Portuguese readers  an account of the figure of Pope Francis through anecdotes, stories and curiosities, also about the daily life of the Pontiff, with the same design – colourful and vibrant, high-impact, rich in photographs – that characterises Il Mio Papa.

In addition to keeping all the main characteristics of the Italian edition – in particular the weekly publication, a decisive factor in ensuring a constantly up to date magazine that is close to readers – O meu Papa will have pages specifically conceived for the Portuguese public that Pope Francis will meet on 12 and 13 May in Fatima, on the occasion of the centenary of the apparitions of Our Lady at the Cova da Iria, to which, every week, the magazine will devote a special section.

On newsstands every week, on Fridays, O meu Papa will also give space to the biography of Francis, told in 15 parts.

O meu Papa is published under license by Goody, Portugal’s leading publisher with an extensive portfolio of magazines that also includes numerous foreign titles.

Icon Design presents Icon Design Talks

A new appointment with architecture and design during the Milano Design Week

  • In Milan from 4 to 9 April master classes, lectures and round table discussions with big names from the world of design
  • Special event: Friday 7 April Rem Koolhaas in conversation with Stefano Boeri

Tomorrow, as part of the Milano Design Week, sees the start of Icon Design Talks, an important appointment in the world of architecture and design, produced by Icon Design, featuring the protagonists who are re-designing our cities, our homes and our lifestyles.

A special event of the meetings will take place on Friday 7 April at 11.30 am, “Writing and the city”: a talk between Rem Koolhaas, winner of the Pritzker Prize for Architecture, and Stefano Boeri, the Italian architect and urban designer.

The Icon Design Talks, that will continue to Sunday 9 April at the Microsoft House, spring from the desire of Icon Design, the Mondadori Group magazine edited by Michele Lupi, to offer the city an authoritative, useful and curious overview of the future of design, and to speak to the many international visitors who come to Milan for one of the most eagerly awaited weeks of the year.

“A laboratory of ideas to extend our reach in the design area,” said the editor Michele Lupi, “giving the entire city the opportunity to know the personalities and stories of some of the leading protagonists of the world of architecture, a characteristic trait of a magazine with a unique formula, that is widely appreciated by both enthusiasts and professionals.”

This is the spirit that has led to the first edition of Icon Design Talks, an extensive programme of events that will enliven Milan during the Design Week. The heart of the event will be at the new Microsoft headquarters, in Viale Pasubio 21, in the dynamic Porta Nuova – Porta Volta district, a brand new space which aims to welcome over 200,000 visitors by offering technologies, skills, as well as opportunities for training and exchange in the digital area. This is where the six days of meetings, open to the public, will take place with more than 20 events including master classes, lectures and round table discussions featuring more than 40 guests from all over the world.

In addition to Rem Koolhaas and Stefano Boeri, taking turns on the stage of Icon Design Talks will be Mario Bellini, Alberto Alessi, Piero Lissoni and Antonio Citterio, Patrik Schumacher – Zaha Hadid Studio, Gregg Jones – Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, Marcel Wanders, Max Lamb, Alice Rawsthorn and the chef Bruno Barbieri, Massimiliano Locatelli Barber & Osgerby, Michele Brunello, Dror, Barbara Radice, Giovanni Gastel, Marco Amosso, Silvia Robertazzi, Patricia Urquiola and Alberto Zontone.

THE PROGRAMME

The Icon Design Talks will officially begin on Tuesday 4th at 6:30 pm with “Unconfined: The New Galaxy Design” at the presence of Patrik Schumacher, director of the Zaha Hadid Studio since 2016, Younghee Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of Mobile Marketing, at Samsung Electronics. Moderator: Michele Lupi.

The marathon will begin on Wednesday 5 April at 10:30 am with the first master class  “Porta Nuova: sustainability and innovation in architecture and design” in the presence of Alida Catella, CEO of Coima Image, Kelly Russell, Managing Director and Marketing & Investor Relations Manager of Coima and the architect Gregg Jones, of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. Together they will talk about the great adventure that began many years ago involving the Porta Nuova project, one of the biggest architectural and urban redevelopment projects in Europe, developed and managed by COIMA SGR, and now a symbol of the new Milan which has transformed the Garibaldi, Isola and Varesine districts. Moderator: Michele Lupi.

Then at 5:30 pm, the second master class entitled “Timeless Design” promoted by B&B Italia where, under the guidance of Manolo De Giorgi, architect and professor of interior architecture at the Politecnico di Milano, three key figures of Italian architecture and design: Mario Bellini, Antonio Citterio, Piero Lissoni will discuss how the concept of timeless design can change compared to a historical period characterised by rapid technological development and the contamination of increasingly expanding multiculturalism.

On Thursday 6 April  at 10:30 am Alice Rawsthorn, the New York Times design critic, will give a lecture entitled “Design Now” followed by a series of lectures by Max Lamb, Massimiliano Locatelli and Barber & Osgerby.

The afternoon begins with a round table that will launch “Manifesto for Urban Creative District“ promoted by China House Vision between Asia and Europe: neighbourhoods conceived on the basis of high aesthetic canons, functional, sustainable and socially inclusive. Live bodies linked to the territory, flexible enough to adapt to changes in a society in continuous transformation. These are the objectives that House Vision Future Life Lab, the Sino-European Innovation Centre, and Dontstop architecture, sponsored by UNESCO ICSSD, brought together in a manifesto with guidelines for new standards of design, for use in thinking about the development potential and urban renewal of Asian countries. Host: Michele Brunello, architect and co-founder of the Sino-European Innovation Centre, together with Vittorio Sun Qun and Caterina Fumagalli.

The afternoon continues with a lecture by Dror Benshetrit at 5:30 pm, followed by another round table dedicated to “Smart working: transparency and dynamism in the workplace” that will focus on the Microsoft case and the AGC Glass Europe Headquarters, and featuring Paola Cavallero, Marketing & Operations director of Microsoft Italia.

At 5.30 pm, Alberto Alessi will talk about “Italian Design Factories and the Alessi case history (1921-2017)” and at 6.30 pm Giovanni Gastel will take part in the presentation of the book “Why death doesn’t separate us” by Barbara Radice, published by Mondadori Electa.

Friday 7 April – Special Event

On Friday 7 April, at 11:30 am, “Writing and the City”, an unmissable conversation between Rem Koolhaas and Stefano Boeri, moderated by Manuel Orazi.

Starting from the their publications, the two ‘archistars’ will discuss the relationship between architecture and the city while trying to answer the question “Why should an architect write about a city when the modifications that he or she makes are already a powerful act of writing on the physical body of the city itself?”

“Language can be seen as an ancient city: a maze of narrow streets and squares, of old and new houses, and of houses with additions from various periods; all surrounded by a network of new suburbs with straight regular streets and uniform houses”.

Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophische Untersuchungen, 1953

 

Rem Koolhaas is one of the most influential and discussed theorists of contemporary architecture, some of his books have even become genuine best sellers. In 1975, with Madelon Vriesendorp and Elia and Zoe Zenghelis, he founded the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), of which in 1977 also Zaha Hadid become a member. In addition to designing buildings around the world with OMA, Koolhaas works in non-architectural disciplines – including politics, publishing, media, fashion and sociology – through the AMO think tank, founded in 1999, which is a counterpart of OMA on the research side. In 2000 he was awarded the Pritzker Price for Architecture.

Stefano Boeri is professor of urban design at the Politecnico di Milano and has taught as a visiting professor at many international universities, including the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD), the Berlage Institute in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, Strelka Institute in Moscow, the Accademia di Architettura in Mendrisio and the Politecnique du Lausanna. He is the architect of many notable buildings , such as the Bosco Verticale in Milan (winner of numerous international prizes), the Villa Mediterranée in Marseille and the Casa del Mare on La Maddalena. His studio, Stefano Boeri Architetti, is currently working on urban development plans around Europe and in other parts of the world.

The location for this special event will be the Maria Teresa Room at the Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense (Maria Teresa room), in Via Brera 28.

Friday 7 April afternoon continues with a series of lectures and conversations in the Microsoft House.

At 2:30 pm “The Art of Living” with Vincent Van Duysen; at 3:30 pm “This will be the place” featuring Felix Burrichter, Editor/Creative Director of Pin-Up magazine and the journalist Marco Morello, and at 4:30 pm “Designing designers” with Riccardo Balbo, Academic Director of IED Italy. At 5:30 pm the designer Marcel Wanders with Michele Lupi and Arraut Lucas, director of Icon Design Spain will animate a discussion on “Fashion, Media, Design – parallel convergences”.

Finally at 6:30 pm “Car design: back to the future” a conversation on the design of the cars of the future with Carlo Leoni, Director of Communications of the PSA Group Italy and Michele Lupi. Moderator: Angelo Pannofino, journalist.

Saturday 8 April at 10:30 am “Tailor-made design”, a panel discussion on new customised design with Eugenio Cecchin, CEO of Ideal Standard, Marco Grillo of ABITARE IN, and moderated by Michele Brunello, Dontstop Architecture.

At 2:30 pm “Design tales. Video storytelling”, Patricia Urquiola and Alberto Zontone, guest curators of the fifth edition of the Milan Design Film Festival, will talk about new video narratives with Silvia Robertazzi, founder and curator, with Antonella Dedini, of MDFF. Moderated by Michele Lupi.

At 3:30 pm “Masters in the mirror”. An original confrontation between two undisputed masters of contemporary communication, who have created, in light and graphic design, respectively, a descriptive language for their personal vision of art: Italo Lupi and Ingo Maurer. The two maestri will be interviewed by the designer Giulio Iacchetti.

At 4:30 pm the chef Bruno Barbieri and Filippo Polidori (CEO Polidori & partners) will discuss Food: between storytelling and design. Moderated by Michele Lupi.

The Moderator of Icon Design Talks is Gianluigi Ricuperati, a la Repubblica contributor and the author of “La scomparsa di me” and seven other books, translated in France by Gallimard and by other European publishing houses.

Participants must register at: eventi.icondesign.it. All events are free.

The launch of Icon Design Talks also gives life to IDD – Innovation Design District Porta Nuova – Porta Volta. This project, created to support initiatives related to innovation and creativity and sponsored by the City of Milan, was conceived by the Mondadori Group and Mediamond and the creative drive of Icon Design.

All of the events of Icon Design Talks and the Innovation Design District during the FuoriSalone are outlined in the guide produced for the current issue of Icon Design, on newsstands now.

PARTNERS

The participation of partner companies has actively contributed to the creation of Icon Design Talks and the invitation of speakers of international standing to enrich the programme.

Peugeot, the main sponsor of the event, will present for the first time in Italy Onyx, a concept car the prototype of which has opened the way towards the revolutionary i-Cockpit – a distinctive feature of the new Peugeot cars – as well as the use of innovative materials in car making. Onyx is the highest expression of the typical experience behind the wheel of a Peugeot and is characterised also by a dynamic design and the innovative coupe franche colour, adopted by the company’s other sports models. The discussion around the Onyx will focus on the car of the future, which must be able to excite consumers, with a round table discussion “Car design, back to the future”.

Alessi has pursued a policy of design excellence that has made the company one of the leading examples of the phenomenon known as “Italian design factories” at an international level. As part of the Talks Alberto Alessi will discuss his vision of design, as the magical world of the circus, with five characters in a limited series designed by Marcel Wanders for the Alessi Circus series, which will form a part of the background of the events.

B&B Italia an authentic example of an “industry for design” has asked three masters of Italian design who work with the company – Antonio Citterio, Mario Bellini and Piero Lissoni to exchange ideas on the theme of “Timeless Design”, starting from the anniversary of the Charles seating system, designed by Citterio in1977, that this year celebrates its twentieth anniversary. B&B Italia has also overseen the outdoor look of the Talks and, in the spaces of Microsoft House, presents its Ray Outdoor Natural and Ray Outdoor Fabric systems, both launched in 2017 and  designed by Antonio Citterio.

Arclinea, leader in high-end kitchen design, presents its outdoor kitchen concept, which integrates perfectly with the outdoor setting designed by B&B Italy. The Artusi stove and preparation counter Flox, designed by Antonio Citterio, will be on show during a live cooking event featuring the chef Luca Marchini – of the Michelin star restaurant “L’Erba del Re” in Modena – a precious testimonial, with his Amaltea school, the Arclinea Design Cooking School, the international network of culinary schools, designed by Arclinea.

Food: between storytelling and design” is the title of the conversation in which Bruno Barbieri, star chef and ambassador of Franke, talks about food. The combination of the world’s leading manufacturer of sinks and high-end appliances and a chef with seven Michelin stars is based on a common passion for cooking, the pursuit of excellence and an ability to tell stories.

Design and technology are the elements that unite the work of Samsung with that of Zaha Hadid Architects. Patrik Schumacher, director of the Studio since 2016 will talk about  “Unconfined the new Galaxy Design“, drawing inspiration from the new Galaxy smartphone design, the heirs of Zaha Hadid, will explore the infinite possibilities that are the result of the union of design and technology.

AGC Glass Europe, European leader in flat glass production, supplied 1224 windows, a total of over 10,000 square metres of glass, for the Feltrinelli Foundation complex. An excellent example of how this material has an increasingly important role to play in architectural design and interiors, the theme of the talk “Smart-working, transparency and dynamism in the workplace” featuring Liesbeth Brake of AGC Europe, Marco Amosso architect of the Lombardini 22 studio which designed the interiors of Microsoft House, Luca Pasqualotto of Copernico and Paola Cavallero, General Manager of  Microsoft Italy.

Tailor-made design: customisation as the new language of ‘living” is a theme of the greatest relevance involving contemporary modes of production in architectural and engineering design, linked to BIM technology. It changes the perspective on spaces, which are no longer rigid containers to be filled with interior design and customised furniture, but a whole environment becomes customised, personalised and designed in a single space. Leading the discussion: architects Michele Brunello, Marco Brega and Alessandro Agosti, of Dontstop Architecture, pioneers of tailor-made design, with Eugenio Cecchin, CEO of the best known Made in Italy brand in bathroom furniture, Ideal Standard.

Kartell, one of the symbolic companies that represent Made in Italy design, brings light to the Icon Design Talks. For the occasion, the external lighting set-up will be made with Kabuki lamps, designed by Ferruccio Laviani in the new outdoor version and characterised by an outline structure, inspired by lace and recreated thanks to a highly sophisticated injection technology, with a perforated surface that diffuses the light. Meanwhile, in the interiors the protagonists will be the Aledin LED table lamps, designed by Alberto and Francesco Meda, in the flathead Tec version, with polycarbonate articulated arms, which have two aluminium slats that act as the conductors in place of wires, for workspaces.

In the January-April period, Icon Design’s advertising revenues grew by 31%, with one issue more than in 2016.
The Icon Design Talks event has further improved the result of the brand, which ended the period up by +78%.

Main Sponsor: Peugeot
Design Partner: Alessi, Arclinea, B&B Italia, Franke, Kartell, Samsung
Architecture Partner: AGC, Ideal Standard
Technical Partner: KE, Renson, Verso
Media Partner: Tgcom 24