MILAN – Il The 28th edition of the Compasso d’Oro was celebrated on 20 June 2024, the oldest and most renowned award in the world dedicated to design. An important milestone that marks 70 years of history for this recognition, born in 1954 from an idea by Gio Ponti.
A special edition
The awards ceremony, which was held atADI Design Museum in Milanwas an opportunity to celebrate the winners of this edition but also the fundamental role that the Compasso d’Oro has played over the decades in the promotion of Italian design in the world.
Among the new features this year, the establishment of the International Golden Compassa special edition of the award in partnership with the General Commissariat for Italy at Expo 2025 Osaka. The objective is to present on a global scale the principles of quality and social responsibility that have always characterized the Compasso d’Oro, developing the central theme of Expo 2025: “Designing the future society for our lives“.
Awards and recognitions to personalities from the world of design
During the ceremony, which was attended by the president of the Lombardy Region Attilio Fontana and the mayor of Milan Giuseppe Salahave been assigned 20 Compasso d’Oro awards to products that have stood out for their quality, innovation and attention to sustainability. Furthermore, they were conferred 9 Compasso d’Oro to the careers of Italian and international personalities who have made a significant contribution to the world of design.
Among the winners, the names of stand out Manlio Armellini, Gaetano Pesce and Italo Rota. In addition to the awards, 39 Honorable Mentions were awarded to products chosen for their qualities. For the Targa Giovani, the recognition reserved for projects by students of Italian design universities, 3 prizes and 9 certificates were awarded. 311 other products included in the catalogue.
The awarded products: a sign of the evolution of Italian design
The products awarded in this edition of the Compasso d’Oro offer a complete panorama of the evolution of Italian design, ranging from furniture to lighting, from industrial products to service design. Among the main characteristics that emerge from the winning projects, attention to technological innovation and sustainability and the ability to combine functionality and aesthetic value.
All participating products were included in the preselections of ADI Design Index 2022 and 2023, and were proposed to a jury composed of Maria Cristina Dideroindependent author and curator; Luciano Galimbertidesigner and president of ADI; Francisco Gómez Pazdesigner; Renata Cristina Mazzantinidirector of the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome; Toshiyuki Kitadesigner and Ambassador of the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka.
The Compasso d’Oro: point of reference for Italian and international design
With its 70 years of history, the Compasso d’Oro confirms itself as a an essential point of reference for Italian and international design. An award that has been able to evolve over time, valorising new talents and anticipating future trends.
The Compasso d’Oro award,” he observes Luciano Galimberti, president of ADI “has developed over time the methods of analysis and judgment, as well as the organizational structure which today presents itself as a permanent multidisciplinary observatory, distributed throughout the national territory. An evolutionary path that has always interpreted with great responsibility the commitment to building a concrete scale of value for the quality of Italian design in the world, to be offered both to professionals and to the general public.”
The awarded objects and those that have obtained the Honorable Mention will become part of the Compasso d’Oro collection, permanently exhibited at the ADI Design Museum, which, he says Umberto Cabini, president of the ADI Foundation, “it is also constantly evolving and each edition of the award increases its heritage. It’s a challenge, a test. It is a continuous evolution, which is expressed and realized with the variety of interpretations it offers to its visitors and its ability to re-present well-known objects in new contexts. The challenge that is never won is the ability to interpret history in the light of the present with an eye to the future.”
The exhibition at the ADI Design Museum
To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Compasso d’Oro, an exhibition was set up at the ADI Design Museum in Milan, which will remain open until September 16, 2024. The exhibition exposes to the public 174 products among those awarded in this edition. The exhibition project is by Pearl Gianni Falvo And Carlo MalerbaThe graphic design of the catalog is by Giulia Peretti And Silvia Recalcati (Paffi), the installation was created by Merlo SpA.
ADI Design Museum
