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It is well known that Italians are the first in terms of conviviality, an this is because food plays a major role in our culture and our tradition. But what really sets us apart from other populations is the fact that the table is the place where we gather and entertain ourselves beyond the simple idea of fueling ourselves with food. That's why design, whose ultimate goal is to improve our lives, is so very important whe we seat at the table.
The great Giò Ponti said that a great designer should be able to draw a spoon as well as a skyscraper. As a matter of fact he placed the simplest of the table tools as at the base of any design activity. Think about it: furniture, chairs and accessories meant to embellish the table are nothing more than simple shapes with which a designer can try never ending solutions for everyday practical life.
The Italian brand Alessi have found in the table an infinite field of experimentation and have collaborated with great designers such as Luigi Caccia Dominioni and the Castiglioni brothers. Piero Fornasetti, for example, has dedicated significant attention to porcelain plates, trays and other ordinary pieces used for eating. He embellished them as true works of art and decorated them with gold, in an effort to elevate them from their formal role. Today these objects are no longer service pieces, but rather collectibles.
And there is more, today there is a new professional figure who makes the link between the table and design even closer: the Food designer, or the one who deals with the design applied to food. This discipline, which lies between the cooking experience and conception of a plate presentation, is not only an expert in the art of mise-en-place, but rather the professional that deals with the revision and renewal of brands, packaging for food products and for the beverage sector.
All this extraordinary amount of work is dedicated to the simple emotion of tasting a good dish, something that we can all experiece. The great Massimo Vignelli - the Italian designer who designed, among other things, the map of the New York subway - once said that "Good design is a language rather than a style." Perhaps that's why the objects we use daily at the table are chosen among the most designed and reimagined objects in the world. Bringing more design to our table means enriching our experiece, our attention to deatil and ultimately our cultural language.
