Design and innovation exhibitions as a line of research

Abstract

The tradition in the relationship between design and exhibitions goes back to the very origins of contemporary design if we look at the most accepted historians such as Maldonado, Heskett, Conran and Bürdek, who place the origins of contemporary design with the Universal Exhibition in London in 1851. Without wishing to enter into historicist discussions, what I do consider to be a phenomenon to be highlighted is the conception of design from its beginnings as a cultural and industrial activity that can be converted into a media event. Indeed, the origin of the universal exhibitions themselves already lay in the need to demonstrate to fellow citizens and foreign visitors the industrial and innovative potential of a country. This has not changed so much, because today we still need to constantly demonstrate what we do in order to be visible in society.