Sharing skills in design driven innovation processes

The traditional culture of many companies puts design in an advanced phase of the innovation process, acting vertically and in parallel with the other business functions. In Italy this is the standard process for many companies where management consists of engineers or professional figures with a “technology-based” educational background. However in recent decades, leading enterprises in many sectors have begun to develop design at an early phase, adopting a well-established “strategic design” process which requires building a platform of integrated competencies throughout the process of product innovation. In this paper we will examine cases in which design is intended as a mediating and infra-structuring mean, used to involve and structure the innovation process to a degree that does not directly influence the product/service, but is entirely dedicated to the way (process, environment, instruments etc.) by which the desired result is achieved. Key words: infra-structural design, design mediation, strategic design.