The perceived value of Italian Design in Vancouver. What people buy when they choose the Made in Italy!

Simon Fraser University‘s students of Italian language, coordinated by Professor Elena Caselli (LT Lecturer, Department of World Languages and Literatures, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences) carried on project called “The perceived value of Italian Design in Vancouver. What people buy when they choose the Made in Italy” in collaboration with the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Canada – West.

Below you can find some of the conclusions and considerations reported by students after conducting this research about the offer of Italian design products in Vancouver, with particular attention to those offered by the showrooms involved in the project, such as Ambry Interiors, AEON Stone & Tiles, Poliform, Habitat by AEON, Cappelleria Bertacchi, Armani/Casa, Vetrina Moda, Valcucine/Montauk Sofa and M. Zanatta Homes & Design.

CONCLUSIONS

Authors: Isabella Del Castillo, Tristanio Coppola, Kristen Joy Hunter

“[…] Italian design is known for being the perfect combination of elegance, style, innovation and beauty. Italian design mixes shapes, colours and shades while keeping quality and versatility as a priority. They pride themselves on their attention to detail and the high quality of their materials and manufacturing processes. Consumers want the ideas that come with the product that they are buying; those ideas allow the consumer to feel closer to the Italian life-style and more familiar with the idea of the beauty that influences all their products […]”

Authors: Gurleen Grewal, Ivana Nisiteo

“[…] It is difficult to trust the products of companies today. Given that Italian design is undoubtedly considered reliable, distinct, and sustainable, many Canadian consumers trust in objects of Italian origin. Today the identity of each company is shared in the same place: the website. Here, you will find their advertisements using abstract names such as balance, harmony, and passion. By combining the images of the sea and the mountains with those of their products, and referring to Italian traditions, the advertisements convey emotions. Canadian consumers like these strategies, and they recognize them well. Although many Canadian consumers lack knowledge of Italian culture, they love the manifestations of Italian cultural heritage in Italian products […]”

Author: Ward McLean

“[…] The first thing I noticed about this discussion is that the English word “design” is used in Italian. This struck me in as much as there is an Italian word “disegno”. Finally, I began to realize that “disegno” refers to specific patterns or designs. “Design” in Italian is actually what is called style in English or “the art of design”, the way in which something has been made or put together. I toyed with the word “progettazione”, but decided it was more to do with “planning” in English […]”