Funzione: una diagnosi adorniana alla prova dell'Experience Design

This paper aims at showing the usefulness of Adorno’s contribution from the stan- dpoint of his analysis of the concept of function, for the understanding of a recent phenomenon such as Experience Design. This analysis is widely carried out in the essay Functionalism Today, which appeared in 1966, and is then retrieved in a densely synthetic form in various paragraphs of Aesthetic Theory. Here we will take into con- sideration a peculiar diagnosis he makes in the conclusion of this essay. We think that, by verifying Adorno’s prognostic ability, it will be possible both to shed new light on him and to extract from his analysis of the transformation of the concept of function a conceptual grid which is consistent with problems that today are central in a number of aestheticization phenomena i.e. the design of experiences. The comparison between Adorno’s perspective and the implications of the latter will allow us to outline some indications concerning the possibility to restore a particular aesthetic competence, which often seems to be covered by design, and hence a more sustainable attitude, which are ever increasingly needed in the current context of life.