Chiara Barbieri

The professionalisation of graphic design in Milan forms the central subject of the PhD thesis. Attention is drawn to educational issues, professional practices, networks and mediating channels that have defined, legitimised, represented, articulated or, in some cases, contrasted the layout of the graphic design profession over a period of about thirty years. The thesis aims to offer neither a comprehensive history of Italian graphic design nor a final assessment of its professionalisation. Rather, it prioritises the process of professionalisation, by stressing tensions and contradictions. The Scuola del Libro and the Cooperativa Rinascita in Milan, the ISIA in Monza, the Milan Triennale, the Studio Boggeri and the professional associations AIAP and ADI are employed as case studies. Methodologies derive principally from design history and visual culture, and place great emphasis on visual analysis. Building on sociological stances, the thesis approaches professions as socially constructed concepts and argues that professional identities are constantly in formation and require continual adaptation to shifting environments and design discourses. The argument is built on close scrutiny of archival material and other primary sources, including extensive visual material and oral interviews. The originality and potential impact of the thesis lie in its endeavour to present a closely-articulated history of the graphic design profession in Milan that draws attention to economic, industrial, political, social and technological contexts, and to propose this as a template for the writing of graphic design history. Furthermore, it provides an outward-looking model for graphic design history as an integral part of the history of design.