Rome Through Design is a three-week communication design program I developed around Rome as a classroom, research site, and source for creative work.
The program is organized around two sides of Rome: Iconic Rome × Living Design Rome. Iconic Rome uses the city’s historic sites, architecture, typography, monuments, and visual culture as primary research. Living Design Rome introduces students to the contemporary city through designers, museums, archives, publishers, bookstores, and cultural institutions.
Students work throughout the city, with research at the Terme di Diocleziano, Trajan’s Column, Mercati di Traiano, Ara Pacis, and Centrale Montemartini, along with visits to contemporary institutions and resources including the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica, ICPAL, MAXXI, MACRO, Leporello, and Spazio Sette.
Throughout the three weeks, students build a Field Record and complete six investigations, making exercises, and a final designed object. The work starts with what they see, record, and research in Rome and brings that material back into the studio.
