Desarrollo de métodos y herramientas para la industria del envasado: el papel mediador y facilitador del diseño

Packaging is a complex artefact: it is an object of use and a communication de-vice. It has become an interface for consumption and an important mediating element that activates contact processes between different actors and contexts. given the multifaceted nature of the object and the complexity of its supply chain, innovating packaging concerns not only the productive and technological dimension of the container, but also the needs of the product, the different requirements of the actors in the supply chain, the expecta-tions of users and, more generally, the responsibilities towards society and the environ-ment. All these factors intersect through packaging, forming a true ‘innovation platform’. Through a project developed at the University of Bologna, aimed at developing guidelines for the design of packaging with a view to preventing and facilitating recycling processes, this contribution proposes to reflect on the role of design in mediating and facilitating innovation processes through the creation of specific methods and tools for a particularly complex and articulated sector such as packaging.