Design for Archival Research
Tools for the Continuing Education of Designers in Corporate Archives
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.82068/pgjournal.2026.23.43.07Keywords:
Digital Cultural Heritage, Industrial Archives, Archival User Studies, Design Cultures, Visual DesignAbstract
This contribution explores the potential of corporate archives as a resource for designer education, recognising them as a context for reconstructing the relationships between design culture, production processes, and historical contexts. It examines the potential of the archival experience, as mediated by communication design, as a tool for the continuing development of design thinking. A methodological framework was developed by relating the model of archival research expertise to the cognitive processes involved in design research. This framework was tested through the exploratory pilot workshop Design for Archival Research, which took place at the Olivetti Archives in Ivrea. This workshop guided participants through the process of formulating a research question and selecting and interpreting sources using specific graphic mediation artefacts. Pre- and post-workshop questionnaires, field observation and a focus group were used to collect qualitative evidence of the experience. Preliminary results highlight three main functions of communication design: guiding cognitive access by facilitating the recursive reformulation of the research question; mediating digital access by providing complementary visualisations that reveal relationships within the archival structure; and supporting physical engagement with sources through adaptable interpretive tools. Each function provides educational insights into developing the ability to redefine problems, build connections and foster interpretive autonomy. The research suggests the potential for reciprocal activation between the methodologies of design history, archival research and design practice, leading to shared strategies for education and the valorisation of corporate archival heritage.
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