This prize, first awarded in 1954, aims to acknowledge and promote quality in the field of industrial designs Made in Italy and is awarded by ADI (Associazione Design Industriale). ADI is an association of 750 manufacturers, as well as the most capable architects and designers in Italy.
The importance of the Compasso d'Oro is evidenced by its impressive juries, composed of today's greatest Italian design and technical talents.
Due to reasons organizational or economic in nature, the prize has not been awarded on a regular basis.
Note: The photographs accompanying the list of award-winning entries are,
in many cases, the only ones in existence. We apologize for the poor quality
of some of the images, but wanted to provide as complete a representation
as possible.
1950 - 1959, crucial years in the development of Italy's trend-setting sense of style and industrial know-how.
The 1960s signaled the emergence of a new generation of designers
pouring fresh ideas into one of the country's most important industries.
1970-1980
Only two editions of the prize took place in the 1970s. Economical crisis, but also cultural. The Sixties' ideological shockwave
still lingers. Nonetheless, design gains acceptance as a discipline establishing not merely the form of objects, rather, an activity bearing
important social and research implications.
1980-1990
The years of a new boom. Italy and the "made in Italy" are steering the world in terms of fashion, taste, design. This decade's production
though also reflects a crisis of values and a certain cultural backwardness.
The prizes are characterized by a double interpretation. On the one hand there has been great evolution and specialization, on the
other, one can sense great confusion.
