Service design is a holistic approach to designing useful, usable, and desirable solutions that meet customer expectations and create value for end users. But what makes it so effective? And how can it be adapted to develop services of various kinds? Let’s explore this through some projects realized by Studio SHIFT.

Service design is a strategic process that focuses on the creation and optimization of services through an in-depth analysis of the existing touchpoints between the service and the user. This discipline is based on the idea that services are complex experiences involving people, processes, and technologies. Consequently, it involves designing these elements so they interact harmoniously, centering the design process on the needs, expectations, and behaviors of the public. Through a deep immersion into the users’ experiences, real needs are identified and mapped to find solutions that satisfy them effectively and engagingly.

Fundamental principles of Service design

What is Service design?

User Orientation: Service design places the customer (individuals or communities) at the center of the design process. Through thorough research and analysis of user needs, it seeks to understand their expectations, preferences, and frustrations. This approach ensures that the service is designed to solve real problems and improve their experience concretely.

Holistic Vision: Services consist of a series of interactions involving different actors and moments. Service design adopts a holistic view that considers all service stages, from initial touchpoints to closure and follow-up. This vision helps ensure consistency and quality in every aspect of the user experience.

Co-Creation: Service design encourages the active participation of all stakeholders, including customers, employees, and partners. Co-design allows for the collection of valuable feedback and ensures that solutions align with users’ real needs and expectations.

Detailed Planning: The service blueprint is a visual tool that graphically represents the service, mapping processes, touchpoints, and interactions between customers and service providers. Blueprints help identify improvement areas or create new services, optimize workflows, and ensure every aspect of the service is well-coordinated.

Prototyping and Testing: Prototyping is a crucial aspect of service design. Creating prototypes and testing solutions with end users allows for collecting feedback and making improvements before final implementation. This iterative approach reduces risks and increases the chances of service success.

Benefits of Service design

The benefits brought by service design are numerous and tangible:

• Improved User Experience: Services designed with user attention offer a smoother, more pleasant, and satisfying experience, increasing customer loyalty.
  
• Greater innovation: Service design promotes the ideation of creative, distinctive, and consistent solutions with the corporate identity, allowing companies to stand out from the competition and capture new market opportunities.
  
• Higher profitability: A well-designed service is more efficient to deliver and requires fewer resources to manage, leading to cost reduction and increased profits for adopters.
  
• Greater agility and adaptability: The prototyping logic that service design proposes enables companies to be more agile and adaptable to changing market needs, including integrating new technologies.

Examples of Service Design Applied by Studio SHIFT

Studio SHIFT specializes in applying service design to a wide range of projects for third-sector organizations and in diverse contexts. Here are some examples:

• Sociosfera Academy: We collaborated with Cooperativa Sociosfera to develop Sociosfera Academy, a new service dedicated to teenagers that offers outdoor sports experiences with educational and social goals. Through a structured and engaging design thinking process, we identified the needs, aspirations, and desires of the youngsters, creating a socialization and personal growth experience that has been very successful.
  
• Cooperativa Ruah: We designed and conducted a service design training course for the educational staff of the Cooperative, which operates in the migrant and refugee reception sector. The course taught participants how to use service design techniques and tools to create better services for their users, focusing on their needs, cultural aspects, and vulnerabilities. Participants gained valuable skills to design more effective, empathetic, and inclusive reception, orientation, and training services, facilitating migrants’ integration into society.
  
• Hack4TIRANO: We designed and facilitated a mentorship program that fostered the meeting between young talents and companies in the Tirano area. Through a co-design and creative brainstorming process, we helped young people develop innovative entrepreneurial ideas and create connections with potential employers. The program generated a surge of ideas and new business opportunities for the region.

For a new User Experience

Investing in service design means adopting a forward-looking vision that sees innovation not as a goal but as a continuous process of improvement and adaptation. It also means recognizing that every interaction with the user (touchpoint) is an opportunity to create value and develop lasting relationships.

For organizations that wish to remain competitive and relevant, service design is an invaluable resource. It is not just about improving existing services but completely rethinking how they are conceived and offered to users. With our experience and passion for change, we can help you develop services that not only meet expectations but exceed them, creating valuable experiences for all involved.

Explore our services and discover how Studio SHIFT can help transform your project!

Montagna 4.0 Future Alps is a project promoted by the Società Economica Valtellinese (SEV) and the winner of the 2024 Legambiente Bandiere Verdi award. It demonstrates how participation and a collective vision of the future can converge through Co-Design for the benefit of Alpine communities.

Challenges of the Alpine Macroregion

As described in the article by Maria Chiara Cattaneo, Rocco Scolozzo, and Elena Enrica Giunta for Futuri Magazine, the mountains, particularly the Alpine macroregion, face complex challenges that put local communities to the test. 

These challenges include economic development difficulties due to geographical and political factors, which hinder the full exploitation of natural and cultural resources, as well as depopulation and accelerated aging, which exacerbate the imbalance in job opportunities and service availability between urban and mountain areas. Additionally, climate change, global megatrends, and increasing tourism demand, often in contrast with environmental protection and local development needs, add further complexity.

In this context, the Future Alps project aims to promote the sustainable development of the Alps through a participatory approach that actively involved local communities in the Valtellina, in northern Italy, in a Co-Design process utilizing Design Thinking and Future Studies methodologies.

A new approach to participation and innovation

Through collective design, Montagna 4.0 Future Alps editions 2020/21 and 2021/22 have raised awareness among the Valtellina community about present and future local changes, fostering a common reflection on sustainable development trajectories.

To this end, Studio SHIFT involved high school students, teachers, businesses, and local stakeholders in a series of six workshops, each divided into three sessions, held from September to December 2020.

Through creative workshops, participatory foresight, intergenerational dialogues, and open talks with experts, the workshops addressed specific topics such as the future of the mountains, sustainable and social innovation, events for Alpine tourism, and activities for the protection, production, and promotion of the territory.

This collaborative approach helped identify sustainable development strategies, using tools like scenario matrices of uncertainty and postcards from the future to make the identified strategies more realistic.

Results of the Future Alps project

The Future Alps project has produced a series of significant results, including:

• Increased awareness of ongoing changes and future opportunities among local communities;
• A shared vision of the future of the Alps based on the values and resources of the territory;
• The definition of concrete and actionable sustainable development strategies.

The project thus represents an example of how, through participatory design and future studies, education and community participation can be experienced beyond mere consultation, leading to tangible and positive results for the entire community. The initiative has also demonstrated the importance of engaging different generations in constructive dialogue, overcoming barriers between young and old to build a sustainable future together. The active participation of students, in particular, has shown that young generations can be a valuable source of ideas and innovative perspectives.

Some significant numbers:

• Over 300 students from 10 different high schools involved;
• 70 local stakeholders engaged, including municipalities, businesses, and civil society organizations;
• Hundreds of participants in the thematic evening open-talks (held in hybrid mode);
• Over 80 “Postcards from the Future” from the Alpine arc of 2040;
• One Radar scheme (backcasting) from 2040 to today, with ideas and strategies to achieve the desired change;
• One Technical Report for local institutions, with concerted “guidelines” for development;
• Over 80 entrepreneurial ideas generated.

Future Alps offers a replicable model for other communities, both Alpine and beyond, promoting a collective and forward-thinking approach to change and sustainable development, giving citizens the opportunity to build their desirable future. As designer Shawn Wolf stated, “If you are involved, you are co-responsible for the decision-making process.”

Mountains are territories rich in history, culture, and untapped potential, often overshadowed by major cities. After years of progressive abandonment, they are now experiencing a phase of renewal, thanks in part to non-urban regeneration initiatives aimed at transforming mountain communities through innovative community-making and co-design processes.

Our Elena Enrica Giunta, together with Laura Galluzzo and Ambra Borin, explored these themes in the paper “Designing transformative processes in mountain realms,” published by Linköping University Electronic Press, which provides a comprehensive overview of the ongoing transformations.

The article details the outcomes of the TUS – Alpine Experiment course at the School of Design and those of HOST2026, part of the joint international program of ASP – Alta Scuola Politecnica (linked to Politecnico di Milano and Torino) XVII cycle, which involved students in co-creation processes with Alpine communities.

The DUT Paper and Online Talk: designing inclusive spaces

On June 17, 2024, during the DUT online talk “Urban lunch talk: repurposing spaces in neighborhoods: bridging local challenges with societal ambitions,” Elena Enrica Giunta, along with Annita Douka, Ann Mudsley, and Diego Luna Quintanilla, explored the challenges and opportunities related to redesigning urban and rural spaces.

In her presentation, she discussed regeneration as a methodological process that involves communities of various sizes in rethinking public spaces for the collective good. This process goes beyond the physical transformation of environments and includes a significant social aspect, strengthening the sense of belonging and identity of the involved communities and promoting a more inclusive and participatory environment. A concrete example is the “Stargate in the Alps” project, in which Studio SHIFT participated, involving young people from some rural Alpine communities in enhancing local cultural heritage.

The role of design in mountain communities

Studio SHIFT is at the forefront of seeking innovative solutions to regenerate internal areas, making them more attractive and inclusive. This is why we are proud members of RIFAI – Rete Italiana Facilitatori Aree Interne, a network of young Italians aged 18 to 40 who live in the internal areas of the Peninsula, promoting an innovative way of perceiving and living local realities. The network works to connect communities of young professionals, promoting new territorial policies and demonstrating that internal areas are creative and participatory territories.

Additionally, we are active members of the Lombardy Group, alongside Tracciaminima, Avanzi Discover, and Resinelli Tourism Lab.

The goal is to rethink the narrative of the mountains and their communities, designing new services and public spaces, infrastructure, and digital services to foster the socio-economic and cultural development of mountain areas through innovative and sustainable solutions that challenge and improve existing social configurations.

In this context, Studio SHIFT has realized several projects, including:

• “Io leggo, tu leggi, noi leggiamo”: an initiative by Comune di Tirano, supported by Fondazione Cariplo and in collaboration with the Biblioteca Civica Arcari, Tiralistori bookstore, and the Cooperativa Forme, aimed at promoting reading and the culture of books within the Tirano communities, involving various age groups and social contexts.

• “Educa in Rete“: a project dedicated to young people aged 11 to 17. Thanks to a synergistic network of “Cantieri dell’Innovazione” distributed throughout the province of Sondrio, pathways in education, care, and entertainment are activated as opportunities for personal growth and the development of transversal skills. Studio SHIFT supported the project from communication to brand development, creating dedicated promotional materials.

• “Open Fuentes”: a project by the Cooperativa Larius, financed by Fondazione Cariplo through the “Coltivare valore 2018” call, for the revival of the Fuentes Compendium, which includes a reception facility and a vast area of abandoned land. Studio SHIFT was responsible for strategic and service design, concept logo development, communication materials, internal and external signage, website creation, social media presence, merchandising, and event organization.
  
• “CAST – the Castle of Mountain Stories”: we guided the project team of the narrative museum of Castello Masegra in a participatory co-design process to define the name and logo of the new permanent museum section dedicated to the “three A’s of the mountain” – Climbing, Mountaineering, and Environment. We designed the website, launched social media, curated communication materials, internal and external signage, the concept for merchandising, and the setup of the first temporary exhibitions.

• “Human Tracks”: in collaboration with FabLab Sondrio, we created a project aiming to establish new modes of contact between local youth and digital creativity. The project transforms greenhouses into smart spaces, makes concerts accessible to everyone, and promotes volunteering as a key player in local communities. The project was funded by the  Ministero del Lavoro e delle Politiche Sociali and promoted by Regione Lombardia. It was realized in collaboration with Lokazione Aps Morbegno, Anffas Sondrio, and Associazione Il Quadrifoglio, demonstrating how cooperation among different entities can generate significant personal and social growth opportunities.

A new paradigm of regeneration

For Studio SHIFT, a more sustainable and inclusive future for non-urban areas involves collaborating with local communities and participatory design. This approach requires active involvement of people and the adoption of innovative envisioning and participatory design methodologies, representing both a challenge and a unique opportunity for local communities.

For more information and updates on Studio SHIFT’s projects and our regeneration initiatives, follow us on our social media channels (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram) and subscribe to our newsletter.

Promoting Civic Coexistence in Colombia

Studio SHIFT continues its mission to promote social innovation through engaging and impactful design projects. A prime example is the Design Sprint 4ETS, an intensive workshop format facilitating the co-creation of solutions to complex social challenges.

What are Design Sprint 4ETS?

The Design Sprint 4ETS is a format devised by Studio SHIFT and implemented throughout 2023 with the support of Regione Lombardia, along with the Lombard social enterprises Alchimia di Bergamo, Sociosfera di Seregno, and Itaca di Romano di Lombardia. The format is based on an iterative and collaborative design process generated from an original adaptation of the well-known Design Sprint 2.0 methodology. It actively involves various stakeholders, including designers, third-sector entities, policymakers, and end-users, generating concrete proposals to address identified challenges. These challenges include awareness campaigns to promote tolerance and respect for diversity, digital platforms to facilitate citizen communication and collaboration, and inclusive public spaces designed to foster social interaction. The design experience of Design Sprint 4ETS has been documented in the volume “DESIGN FOR SOCIAL. Accelerating innovation in social enterprise,” demonstrating the crucial role of design as an accelerator of innovation in social enterprises.

Design Sprint 4ETS in Colombia: Overseas Social Innovation

Building on the learnings and outcomes of national initiatives, Studio SHIFT has launched the format overseas with the “Design Sprint 4 ESAL Bogotà” project: an international experience involving local entities in Colombia to address issues related to civic coexistence.

Shifter Daniela Montenegro led this special edition of Design Sprint 4ETS in her hometown, Bogotà. With the support of Studio SHIFT, which believed in the project to the extent of self-producing it with its 1% for Social, it was possible to engage a partnership of Colombian local organizations and institutions, including REDLAD, Corporación OCASA, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Facultad Arq. y Diseño – Design Factory Javeriana Bogotá, Fundación SandBox, Inngesta, and Fundación Lápiz de Acero, with the special support of Cooperativa Itaca.

Guided by Daniela, participants in Design Sprint 4ESAL – young experts in Strategic Design, Service Design, and Social Design – focused on promoting civic coexistence against racism and social discrimination phenomena, addressing challenges related to expanding voices, strengthening aesthetic identities, inclusion, and empowerment of the NARP community (Negros, Afro, Raizales y Palenqueros) residing in the city of Bogotà.

Specifically, through an intensive co-design process, participants collaborated with operators from Corporación Ocasa and the Local Youth Council NARP to develop new ideas and transform them into promising prototypes for the benefit of the community. They also experimented with a citizen participation mechanism implemented in the city of Bogotà (participatory budgets) during the phase of the methodology where the impact and effort of the proposals are evaluated.

The results:

• Group 1: Ukoloni wa kiakili
  An innovative space where young people from the NARP community in Bogotà are offered the opportunity to express their worldview. With activities focused on the meaning of braiding and uramba, information is documented to enrich cultural spaces.

• Group 2 – Trenzando desde la raíz
  A toolbox for individual workshops, led by a leader, promoting self-awareness and cultural attachment. It fosters self-learning and youth participation in community dynamics, aimed at young NARP people born in their territory and forced to leave, or born in the city, and those seeking to strengthen their identity.

• Group 3: Pazifica
  Safe inclusion spaces, where cultural and social processes are stimulated through sensory experiences and the transfer of ancestral knowledge, promoting territorial reappropriation of the NARP community through alliances with various sectors, such as youth houses, cultural houses, and NGOs.

• Group 4: Ekuba
  A traveling circuit that helps NARP communities who want to feel safer and more secure through the requalification of public spaces by jointly raising awareness among the inhabitants of Bogotà, reducing profiling and racist stereotypes compared to traditional campaigns and initiatives addressing diversity and inclusion in Bogotà.

Projects like these demonstrate Studio SHIFT‘s commitment to being a positive agent of change, promoting social innovation and civic coexistence at both local and international levels.

To stay updated on our initiatives and to join our journey, subscribe to the Studio SHIFT newsletter!

Navigating Resilience in the Era of Hyperconnectivity

During its second year as a Benefit Corporation, Studio SHIFT has made resilience the cornerstone of its activities.

The Integrated Report 2023, titled “Navigating Resilience in the Era of Hyperconnectivity,” tells the story of our commitment to promoting positive social impact through innovative design solutions.

In this article, we want to share the journey undertaken, the results achieved, and our future perspectives.

A Year of Challenges and Adaptation

2023 has been a year of extraordinary adaptability for Studio SHIFT. Inspired by Jeremy Rifkin’s “Era of Resilience,” we have adopted a method based on continuous learning and adaptation, embracing the principles of regeneration and co-creation to turn them into concrete actions.

Furthermore, we have embraced circular work processes, where needs emerge, transform, and are satisfied through increasingly sustainable solutions.

The concept of “flowers (and not products)” has guided our vision, acknowledging that success lies in the ability to thrive even in the face of challenges.

Together for Co-Creation

At the heart of our work lies a deep awareness of the power of co-creation. That’s why we have expanded our collaborations, involving not only colleagues and clients but also stakeholders, European partners, universities, and other key organizations. Thus, our value chain has become more hybrid, horizontal, and distributed, reflecting the complexity of the digital world in which we operate.

Through the principle of feedback, we have learned to receive and use external feedback to adapt and improve our way of working. This has made us more resilient and anti-fragile, able to face future challenges with greater confidence and determination.

Our Achievements in Summary

• Increased focus on co-design: We have seen a growing demand for our co-design services, particularly for design sprints, hackathons, and collaborative strategic foresight activities.
• Expanded research and development: We have increased investments in research and development, focusing on applying design thinking to the challenges of social innovation.
• Strengthened pro bono commitment: We have dedicated a significant portion of our time (7% of total produced value) and resources to pro bono projects, supporting organizations committed to social good.
• Expanded geographical scope: We have expanded our international presence, collaborating with partners and clients across Europe.

Tangible Impact: Benefits for All

Studio SHIFT’s work has had a tangible impact on all our stakeholders.

• We have helped our clients develop innovative solutions that have met their strategic needs and created positive social impact for their key targets. The indirect impacts of our work this year primarily concern minors, disabilities (physical and cognitive), and the staff of other social enterprises. This latter segment of beneficiaries consolidates a growing trend related to the effective use of design thinking and co-design approaches/tools for organizational design or for improving Employee Experience.
  
• The work environment offered by Studio SHIFT has continued to encourage the growth and professional development of our employees; in addition to on-field learning opportunities such as trips and conferences, which have helped maintain high levels of motivation and engagement among employees.
  
• Our projects have contributed to the improvement of communities, both locally and internationally. For example, we have donated 1% for Planet to the DS 4Communities project with a first international edition in Bogotá, benefiting the Ocasa Cooperative and the Youth Council. We also made a mini-journey of strategic planning and marketing for the Berlin artist collective UTOPIA TOOLBOX and we have developed activities of design thinking and career design within the Erasmus+ program.

In addition, initiatives such as “IO Leggo” and “SFI – Experiment, Do, Learn” have had a positive impact on the communities in our territory, including fragile and underrepresented groups, confirming our commitment to a more inclusive and sustainable society.

Looking to the Future: New Opportunities

Looking ahead to 2024, we have identified several key areas to focus our efforts on: expanding our projects in the areas of culture and green transition, focusing on resilience to climate change, but also expanding our inclusion activities, supporting marginalized communities and promoting diversity and equity.

Furthermore, we want to continue to value collaboration and co-creation, and remain a reference point for our community, offering support and resources to those who share our vision of a more sustainable and inclusive future.

We are confident that 2024 will be another year of growth and success: we will do our best to contribute to a more collaborative and anti-fragile world and we would love to have you by our side. Therefore, we invite you to subscribe to our newsletter for all insights into our work and to be involved in Studio SHIFT’s upcoming initiatives.

Click and download our Integrated Report 2023!

Equipping Youth for a Green Future

The Alpha Skills project, funded by the Erasmus Plus program, stems from a simple yet powerful idea: to provide young people with the tools they need to build a better and more sustainable future.

The initiative aims to provide teachers and educators, in Italy and Europe, with cutting-edge tools and methodologies to support young people between the ages of 11 and 15 in their educational and career choices, with particular attention to Green Skills, generating a positive impact on multiple levels:

• On teachers and educators: by jointly building and testing new methodologies for students’ career guidance and education in the green economy.

• On young people: by providing them with the tools to acquire green skills and make informed educational and career choices oriented towards the future.

• On local communities: by contributing to the creation of a more sustainable and inclusive work culture.

Alpha Skills, a collaborative initiative 

The development of the project involves a network of national and international professionals engaged in the development of innovative toolkits, the organization of workshops and training sessions, the creation of educational materials, and the activation of local practice communities:

• The Beroepenhuis (Belgium), lead partner of the project, a non-profit center of excellence for youth career guidance, offers its expertise in the labor market and student needs.
• Studio SHIFT (Italy), brings its experience in design thinking and in the design of career design toolkits.
• Cooperativa Margherita (Italy), a non-profit organization committed to social inclusion, provides its expertise in community work.
• Imago Mundi Association (Romania), an association dedicated to supporting youth development, particularly in rural areas, offers its experience in education and citizen engagement.

Each partner organization proposed its own school guidance practice, which was shared and adapted to different cultural contexts and to European objectives related to Green Skills in both school and extracurricular settings.

Alpha Skills, the work packages

Alpha Skills has a total duration of three years and is divided into five work packages with specific objectives:

1. Project definition (objectives, methodology, and work plan).
2. Development of innovative tools for school and career guidance, talent development, and green skills acquisition.
3. Adaptation to the specificities of each partner country.
4. Testing and final evaluations (the project’s effectiveness will be rigorously measured and tested in real contexts through quantitative and qualitative data analysis).
5. Dissemination of results, which will be shared with the international community through the creation of a comprehensive open-access guide and dedicated events.

Regarding Italy, in October 2023, the first community of practice in Lombardy led by Studio SHIFT was launched: the aim is to involve teachers and educators in experimenting with the developed methodologies. Local outcomes will be shared at the first international meeting with project partners, which will take place in Morbegno at the end of March 2024.

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the progress made, share the results of testing the first prototyped methodology (the #FutureMe – Green Version format), and outline the next steps. Additionally, it will be an opportunity to engage participants in a co-creation workshop for the project’s first User Generated Content campaign.

Alpha Skills: a replicable model

Through the active involvement of teachers, educators, and youth workers, Alpha Skills aims to innovate the way young people approach school guidance and, consequently, expand options for their future careers. With appropriate design tools, it is possible to increase awareness and the skills necessary to make more informed and satisfying choices about their future, with a view to shaping a sustainable world.

The initiative serves as a replicable model, making the project’s results a valuable resource for generating innovation in the educational field. Furthermore, it exemplifies how design and future-thinking can support processes of pre-vision and anticipation of possible futures, both in schools and in relation to labor markets. This is a concrete and positive example of design tools serving good (international) collaboration and the community.

Re-designing the city: city (Re)making according to Studio SHIFT

The process of urban development requires a holistic vision for the creation of resilient, inclusive, and sustainable cities. This is the concept that Elena Enrica Giunta, Designer, Project Manager, and founding partner of Studio SHIFT, explores in her recent article “Reimagining the City: City (Re)making,” published in the Pedagogika magazine. She also continues this exploration in another position paper, focusing on the theme of Regenerative Neighbourhoods, written for the Driving Urban Transition network, which will soon be published as a contribution to the DUT Conference 2024.

The international event, titled “Driving Urban Transitions through Joint Action,” aims to explore the theme of urban regeneration and provide a platform for sharing experiences, ideas, and best practices in the field of sustainable urban design. It involves communities, researchers, urban planners, environmental activists, and entrepreneurs in sharing perspectives and innovative solutions to address the urban challenges of the 21st century.

In her articles, Elena Giunta emphasizes the crucial importance of engaging local communities in the urban requalification process through the inclusive approach of CoDesign. According to her perspective, city-making is functional when it involves not only administrators and experts but also ordinary citizens — those who live and experience those spaces firsthand and who carry a variety of needs.

This participatory approach is crucial because it fosters social cohesion while simultaneously creating vital and meaningful public spaces capable of becoming places of encounter and cultural exchange.

With her work, Elena Giunta also explores emerging approaches on the international level, such as tactical urbanism and placemaking (Granata), without forgetting handmade urbanism (De Rosa), which aim at the rapid transformation of urban environments through innovative and participatory interventions. Finally, she emphasizes the importance of inclusivity and equality in the cities of the future, illustrating with practical examples how urban regeneration can become a strategic lever for promoting individual and collective well-being.

In this regard, two case studies implemented by Studio SHIFT are particularly useful to fully understand these concepts in real contexts and demonstrate their validity empirically: the “Family 2.0” project and the “STARGATE in the Alps” one.

Family 2.0

The “Family 2.0” project represents a reinterpretation of traditional street games aimed at creating a child-friendly city through the realization of temporary playgrounds and welcoming public spaces. It is a local interpretation of the recent approaches of tactical urbanism that are gaining ground in major European and Italian cities.

The target audience of the project are children aged 0 to 10, along with their families, who live or visit the city of Sondrio (21,000 inhabitants).

At the heart of the initiative is the desire to find new solutions to educational poverty by improving the overall quality of urban public spaces. To achieve this goal, a set of characters representing “The Family” was developed for children to play with. These characters have been translated into various artifacts, including three visual booklets available in city shops, three graphic installations on a street scale, and a family hub at the headquarters of the Forme Impresa Sociale.

In designing urban graphics, Studio SHIFT has reinterpreted street games to make them more inclusive and fun, adapting them to contemporary aesthetics and use. This allows children to explore and play both individually and in groups, increasing their familiarity with city spaces and attributing them personal meaning.

Stargate in the Alps

The “STARGATE in the Alps” project, in collaboration with Forme Impresa Sociale, together with Cooperativa Cramars, La Capagrossa, Associazione TSD in collaboration with Cooperativa Viso a Viso and funded by the Ministry of Culture (specifically the Directorate General for Contemporary Creativity), instead allowed young people under 35 to learn and experiment in the field, in a rural and alpine context, the effectiveness of CoDesign, creating new opportunities for mountain communities in the Alps.

Through the AniMakers Academy, an online school that provided them with the necessary skills, the participants were involved in a true Co-Creation workshop by Studio SHIFT and, together with the local population, designed and built temporary and mobile urban structures aimed at transforming underutilized public spaces into meaningful places. This promoted a sense of belonging, as well as communication and exchange of ideas, the organization of events and cultural activities, and access to information and public utility services.
These best practices from Studio SHIFT represent a tangible example of how the inclusive approach of CoDesign can be successfully applied to urban regeneration, creating enabling public spaces that respond to the real needs and aspirations of the local community and paving the way for the cities of the future.

Community Foodprint App: tackling food waste and promoting healthy, sustainable eating

Within the design for digital and green transition areas, Community Foodprint stands out as a web app with a bold vision and transformative mission. Developed by Studio SHIFT in 2022-23, as part of the “Frassati FOODprint” project for Cooperativa Frassati Onlus, it aims to redesign and streamline the food recovery chain for the five reception centers canteen to homeless people in Turin. The goal is to optimize resources and minimize waste.

The initiative’s merit has been acknowledged by Fondazione Compagnia San Paolo, Circolo del Design, and Torino Social Impact, naming it one of the five winners in the “Wonder: Experiments in Design for Social Innovation” competition. This initiative was created to foster collaboration between designers and third-sector players to develop projects with positive impacts on the community.

These insights guided our development of a customized food tracking software. The data collected by the software is accessible in real-time, enabling the generation of reports and analyses to improve supply chain management and reduce food waste. This includes quantifying both actual and avoided consumption (CO2 and water), creating also economic value through reductions and mitigations. Finally, the project also produced posters and recipe books aimed at enhancing the food offerings at the centers and promoting healthy, sustainable eating habits. 

The main outcome of “Frassati FOODprint” is the digital solution, the Community Foodprint app, capable of tracking emissions throughout the food’s journey, providing concrete metrics for the positive impact of food recovery practiced by Cooperativa Frassati. We are deeply connected to this project because it offers a simple and pragmatic opportunity for improving the health of homeless people while optimizing the environmental sustainability practices of the cooperative, offering concrete water and carbon footprint metrics.

In the broader context of research and social innovation in the Piedmont region, “Frassati FOODprint” serves as a tangible example of how the integration of Service Design and Data Visualization has been a successful response to this social challenge.

The Studio SHIFT’ solution promotes responsible attitudes toward food and the environment, innovatively addressing the challenge of valuing the impact of food recovery, a common theme for various third-sector players and communities with similar services and objectives. The initiative has been mentioned in the Fondazione Sant’Agata report dedicated to the Wonder competition, describing it as “an innovative initiative aiming to reduce food waste and promote healthy and sustainable eating“. The report emphasizes its potential for replication in other contexts. The prestigious Touchpoint magazine has also dedicated space to showcase the project, illustrating that Benefit Corporations can provide win-win-win product solutions, beneficial for themselves, the customer, their communities, and the planet too.