The ADI Design Museum in Milan hosted on October 15 the presentation of the 2025 edition of the ADI Design Index, the annual selection of the ADI Permanent Design Observatory, which gathers a selection of products and projects that stand out in the contemporary Italian landscape, the first step towards the ADI Compasso d'Oro Award 2026. 

After the institutional greetings from the Regional Councilors of Lombardy and the Municipality of Milan, the ADI President, Luciano Galimberti, retraced the origin of the Index project, explaining that “In 70 years of the Compasso d'Oro Award, design has extended its field of action into ever-new territories, addressing the changes of a globalized and increasingly complex society. The Index Observatory offers a privileged point of view for professionals and the general public. But observing is not always synonymous with seeing: with the ADI Design Index 2025 we want to restore a broader and more inclusive portrait of Italian design, a tool for knowledge and perspective.”

Luciano Galimberti, ADI President - Courtesy of Associazione per il Disegno Industriale - photo by Elisabetta Valente

The ADI Research Center

The ADI Permanent Design Observatory intends, however, to evolve its role: not only a selection platform for the Compasso d’Oro, but a place for research, dialogue and interpretation capable of offering an updated and strategic overview of the state of Italian design and its future prospects. Precisely with this objective the ADI Research Center was created, a new structure dedicated to research and to enhancing the expertise developed by the association. 

Antonella Andriani, ADI Vice President and member of the ADI Research Center working group - Courtesy of Associazione per il Disegno Industriale - photo by Elisabetta Valente

2025 Selection: a portrait of Italian design

The selection, curated by the ADI Permanent Design Observatory, under the supervision of a steering committee composed of Makio Hasuike, Domenico Sturabotti, Laura Traldi and Francesco Zurlo, gathers 344 projects representative of the quality and variety of contemporary Italian design. Design for living confirms itself as the most represented sector, with 69 projects dedicated to domestic spaces and new ways of experiencing the everyday environment. Ample space is also given to materials design and technological systems, with 21 projects.

The territorial distribution of the 344 selected projects highlights the widespread vitality of Italian design, with a strong concentration in the North and a growing presence in other areas of the country. Lombardy remains the main hub of national design, followed by Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige.

The exhibition at the ADI Design Museum in Milan - Courtesy of Associazione per il Disegno Industriale - photo by Elisabetta Valente

ADI Design Index on display in Milan and Agrigento

From this year the path of the ADI Design Index intersects with that of the Italian Capitals of Culture. The exhibition of selected products will be open to the public from October 16 to 30, 2025 at the ADI Design Museum in Milan; it will then move to Agrigento, Italian Capital of Culture 2025, with the inauguration on November 11 at the Palacongressi and open to the public from November 12 to 28, 2025.