I’m Alex Piacentini, an independent designer working with graphics and code. In my work I test different mixtures of interface design, data visualization and creative coding, researching new possibilities at their intersection.
For collaboration proposals or any other info contact me here.
FREELANCE PRACTICE
Since 2016 I run an independent design practice based in Milan. I specialize in digital and cross-media design, data visualization, full-stack web development and creative coding. My experience includes a diverse range of projects of various scale and type, sometimes making heavy use of data visualization, conveying information through various media and formats, from print to custom digital interactive experiences. I favor clients and projects that have social, educational, cultural or research finalities.
SELECTED CLIENTS
Abandon Normal Devices ↗
AND is a nomadic commissioner and born-digital producer unafraid to enter new territories and broker new partnerships.
Design Lab at Harvard University ↗
A cross-pollination hub operating on product design theory, research, and practice.
The Centre for Investigative Journalism ↗
The CIJ is an experimental laboratory that teaches reporters new tools alongside the traditional craft of investigative journalism.
Neutopica Collective ↗
Neutopica is a project that promotes local and temporary utopias, realizing experimental and collaborative formats of transdisciplinary artistic residencies since 2020.
Overseas Development Institute ↗
ODI is an independent, global think tank. Latest collaborations: Key Workers ↗ and Mayors Dialogue ↗ with Federica Fragapane.
United Nations Climate Change
2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 Annual Reports for UNFCCC's initiative Momentum for Change.
Columbia university
Website for Earth Institute's 'Sustaining Peace Project'.
EIT Climate-KIC
The EU's main climate innovation initiative. Collaboration on an interactive map titled Just Transition stories, a collaborative tool to facilitate a workshop focused on climate innovation for a just transition to a carbon-free society.
Mondiaal Nieuws Magazine
Flemish quarterly alternative news magazine with a special focus on globalization.
OCCRP ↗
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project: Investigative data-driven journalism.
BASE Milano
Performance at the opening talk of Europe City Milano, a festival that explores new ways to talk about Europe.
Siegen university ↗
Collaboration with the Technical University on the Code Historiographer, a project that uses data form the Internet Archive to perform sociological research.
IBM Italia
Visual language experiments for Watson Beats, IBM Italia, in collaboration with Planet Funk's Alex Uhlmann.
Napapijri
Interactive and collaborative installation for the launch of the collection Ze-Knit at Salone del Mobile Milano in 2018.
EXHIBITIONS
V&A Dundee, Scotland, August 2020 to May 2021
Exhibition Now Accepting Contactless.
Exhibition at Triennale di Milano, 2017
Identity Flows, Visual Routes Across the Mediterranean Sea.
Exhibition in Malaga, Lagunillas district (public urban space), 2017
UPHO Urban Photo Festival, Spain.
Exhibition at Pear 1 Thessaloniki (public urban space), 2017
Photobiennale Θεσσαλονίκη, Greece.
Exhibition at Manifatture Knos, 2017
Bitume Photofest 2016, Lecce, Italy.
Artist residency Urban Layers, Identity Flows, 2016
The residency took place in Fondazione Orestiadi, Sicily and was promoted by Milan's contemporary photography museum MUFOCO. The resulting project, titled TIME+HORIZON and realized with Federica Bardelli, has been exhibited at various collective shows.
AWARDS
Innovation by Design 2021 – Fast Company
Winning project in section Data Design for Key Workers, realized with Federica Fragapane for ODI.
Awwwards 2021
Honorable mention for Key workers: Migrants’ contribution to the COVID-19 response
Kantar Information is Beautiful Awards 2017
Honorable mention in the category Politics & Global with the project Stories Behind a Line realized with Federica Fragapane.
Winning project at Hack the Universe hackathon at AMNH, 2014
The project Starface made in collaboration with Dave Rife won first price in the category education at the hackathon held in New York's Museum of Natural History, where participants were invited to explore the possibilities of the Milky Way's stars dataset.
ON THE WEB
2021 andfestival.org.uk interview about AND Festival Hub
2021 commarts.com on ODI Migrant Key Workers
2019 www.migrantjourneys.com on Stories Behind a Line
2018 wired.it on Ze-Knit
2018 designformigration.com on Stories Behind a Line
2018 designboom.com on Ze-Knit
2017 MO* Dataviz interview on Medium
2017 infodata.ilsole24ore.com on Stories Behind a Line
2017 www.frizzifrizzi.it on Stories Behind a Line
2016 bitumephotofest.it, Time + Horizon
2014 www.wired.com about Friends in Space
PUBLICATIONS
Reassembling the Republic of Letters in the Digital Age
Data visualization for the book edited by Howard Hotson and Thomas Wallnig. Göttingen University Press, 2019.
Identity Flows - Visual Routes Across the Mediterranean Sea
SilvanaEditoriale, 2016.
Megastructure Schiphol - Design in Spectacular Simplicity
NAi/010 Publishers, in association with VU University Amsterdam, CLUE Research Institute, 2013.
PRIOR EXPERIENCE IN DESIGN STUDIOS
2013 — 2016
For three years I have been part of Milan and New York based studio Accurat, where I worked as designer and project manager for several data-heavy projects for clients like The Intercept (Online “fearless journalism” platform), Samanta Cristoforetti (Italian astronaut), Flight Club (startup in sneakers stock market based in LA and NYC), World Health Organisation (international organization), Trifcata (SF based startup, Big data), Nextatlas (Italian startup focusing on trend spotting using AI methods), Enigma (Big Data analysis and integration, startup based in NYC), Selle Royal (Italian bike accessories producer), Popular Mechanics (Science magazine, USA), JP Morgan Chase (London), Fineco Bank (Italy), Unicredit Business Integrated Solutions (Italy), Ladder Life insurance (Startup, USA), UpGuard (formerly ScriptRock, Network security startup based in Mountain View, USA).
2013
LUST (The Hague), designer and researcher.
2011 — 2012
Internships at LUST (The Hague), La Trezieme Heure and C-album (Paris).
MATERIAL
BACKGROUND
I studied Communication Design at Politecnico di Milano and partecipated to the Master of European Design program (MEDes) that led me to KISD, Köln International School of Design in Cologne and ENSCI Les Ateliérs in Paris, and to internships at C-album in Paris and LUST in Holland. During my studies I specialized in data visualization and developed my passion for technology and new media, which brought me back to The Hague for my M.Sc. theses where I worked as designer and researcher on the Europe Union funded R&D project Urban Sensing at the design studio LUST, where I had the chance to experiment with creative coding and generative design, that I later applied to several personal and commissioned projects.
PRACTICAL INFO
Address: Via Caroli 3, 20128 Milan, Italy
VAT number: IT09772430964