The ADI Design Museum in Milan unveils 344 standout projects that map the future of design in Italy
On October 15, 2025, the ADI Design Museum in Milan hosted the official unveiling of the ADI Design Index 2025, the annual selection curated by the ADI Permanent Design Observatory.
The Index features 344 outstanding projects that reflect the richness and diversity of Italian design today — from objects and spaces to services, materials, and research.
A New Research Hub for Design
ADI also announced the creation of the ADI Research Center, a new platform dedicated to research and knowledge-sharing, in collaboration with Symbola, Confindustria, Federculture, and others.
“Design is systemic, like life itself,” said Antonella Andriani, ADI Vice President. “The Center will help us better understand the forces shaping our production and innovation systems.”
What’s inside the 2025 Index?
Curated under the guidance of experts like Makio Hasuike, Laura Traldi, Domenico Sturabotti, and Francesco Zurlo, the Index embraces diversity and cross-sector insight. Here’s how the 344 projects break down:
- Living Design: 69 projects rethink domestic spaces
- Workplace Design: 36 ideas reshape how we work
- Design for the Person: 27 well-being focused solutions
- Mobility & Lighting: 34 innovations
- Food Design: 8 projects exploring food and culture
- Materials & Technology: 21 cutting-edge proposals
- Service Design: 15 new user experience approaches
- Social Impact Design: 14 projects addressing inclusion and sustainability
- Enterprise Research: 17 projects enhancing production processes
- Communication & Exhibition Design: 50 standout works
- Theoretical, Critical & Editorial Projects: 25 contributions
- Targa Giovani: 28 student and emerging designer projects
A nationwide vision
Lombardy leads with 263 projects, confirming its status as Italy’s design powerhouse. Other northern regions — Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Trentino-Alto Adige — follow.
Central Italy contributes 70 projects, while Southern Italy and the Islands present 30, reflecting growing design awareness and innovation across the country.
A double exhibition: Milan and Agrigento
The ADI Design Index 2025 exhibition is open to the public from October 16 to 30 at the ADI Design Museum in Milan.
Then it travels to Agrigento, Italian Capital of Culture 2025, opening on November 11 at the Palacongressi and running through November 28.
Road to the Compasso d’Oro ADI 2026
The Index is the first step toward the Compasso d’Oro ADI 2026, the most prestigious Italian design award. The award ceremony will take place in Milan in June 2026, during the Salone del Mobile. The exhibition will then move to Rome, at the MAXXI museum, in autumn 2026.
More than a selection — a strategic platform
The ADI Design Index 2025 goes beyond recognition. It’s a strategic and cultural tool — a living portrait of how Italian design thinks, acts, and transforms.
From sustainability to systems thinking, from youth talent to industry, the Index offers a global perspective on design as a lever for innovation and identity.
