Image created during the course ‘Magazine Art Direction and Creative Coding’ (2024–2025), Bachelor of Arts SUPSI in Visual Communication, 3rd year

Anyone interested in the world of creativity and innovation cannot miss a stop at Milan Design Week. The Department of Environment Constructions and Design SUPSI will also be taking part in the event. The SUPSI Design Area has been selected by an international jury to be present at the House of Switzerland Milano, a major exhibition at Casa degli Artisti, presented by Pro Helvetia and Presence Switzerland. The exhibition will feature 25 project-installations spread across three floors, showcasing the heritage, richness, and complexity of Swiss design on the international stage.

Among emerging talents and established institutions, the universities chosen to present their design visions include, in addition to SUPSI, the Basel Academy of Art and Design (Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz), Ecal in Lausanne, Head in Geneva and the Lucerne School of Design, Film and Art (Hochschule Luzern).

SUPSI is taking part in Milan with an installation featuring SEMESTER: a printed magazine and digital platform. Third-year students from the Bachelor of Arts SUPSI in Visual Communication explored the theme “Objects of Design”—what are today’s tools for learning, teaching, and working through design? Navigating between the physical and digital, between reality and fiction, they created digital, physical, and conceptual tools (objects) that rethink how we perceive, communicate, and understand the world—and ourselves. SEMESTER is, in essence, a space for experimentation and a meeting point between students and the design world, where the thin line between real and virtual is explored in an interdisciplinary and collaborative environment.
Among the tools created: a typography floating in the sky, a robotic hand taking photos from each finger, and a sort of dress made of iPads—each screen displaying fragments of a dance performance paying tribute to the Bauhaus.

SEMESTER, through the physical space of the magazine and the digital platform, presents digitally generated content, six photographic stories featuring the tools created, and six interview-stories offering a snapshot of the design community—from internationally renowned figures like Ben Ganz, Art Director of Pin-Up Magazine, to emerging talents graduated from SUPSI.

SEMESTER was developed within the course “Magazine Art Direction and Creative Coding”, part of the Bachelor of Arts SUPSI in Visual Communication, taught by Federico Paviani and Joshua Althaus (Art Directors of SEMESTER), with Leonardo Angelucci (Creative Coding Supervisor).
Interviews are curated by Naomi Accardi. The installation at House of Switzerland Milano is curated by students of the Bachelor of Arts SUPSI in Interior Architecture, under the guidance of Giuliano Gavin.

Public event

On Thursday, April 10 at 6:30 pm, House of Switzerland Milano will host a discussion with guests moderated by Naomi Accardi, editorial consultant and writer based between New York and Palermo. The event marks the launch of the magazine, celebrating creative approaches and collaborations. Open to all interested guests; free admission; in English.

Opening days and hours

The installation dedicated to SEMESTER on the 1st floor of House of Switzerland Milano (at Casa degli Artisti, via Tommaso da Cazzaniga, Corso Garibaldi 89/A) is open to visitors from Monday, April 7 to Sunday, April 13, 2025:
•    Monday: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
•    Tuesday to Sunday: 10:00 am – 8:00 pm
Free admission.
Members of the press can contact media@supsi.ch to request a Press Pass ahead of their visit to House of Switzerland Milano.

SEMESTER

Those interested in receiving a copy of SEMESTER magazine—launched during Milan Design Week—can get in touch by writing to info-cv@supsi.ch.