With the digital transformation, the exponential increase in the number of tools and types of support with which human expressions can be created and transmitted brings with it new cultural paradigms that feed creative productions and vice versa, giving rise to new questions regarding how Heritage “works”, what it “does” and what it “serves”. This is the general context in which the research project described in this book is set, and the convergence that has been created over time between technologies, cultural heritage, and design, which today seem to implement a triangulation in which each vertex favors the relationship between the other two, opening up new and interesting research perspectives to explore.

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The negative social and environmental impacts of the fashion industry refer to a global industry, with its ubiquitous supply chains driven by big brands that determine what to produce, where to produce, and at what prices to sell. Do we want to continue to keep fashion as a beautiful artifact? If so, we need to consider how resources are deployed. Accelerating climate change is looming, portending an uncertain and damaging future. Can fashion be sustainable? Why is sustainability in fashion seen as an oxymoron? Can a return to slow fashion accompany digital towards a sustainable future?

The design of mass-produced products is a design process aimed at the masses, which describes approaches and phenomena in strong transformation. The production techniques, the semantic value of the products, the concept of mass production and the similarities between these factors explain new production and design balances following the latest technological and cultural transformations within contemporary society and the market. The paper discusses and investigates the theme of industrial design aimed at the masses, reporting relevant case studies and experimental tests.

"Digital transformation (DX) drives transversal change, breaking disciplinary silos to transition to more sustainable paradigms through new ontological and epistemological frameworks. This has consequences on product design and development too: since DX concerns cultural and meaning shifts, it enhances product development as a high-intensity knowledge-based process. Thus, product design shifts into its “Advanced” stage, enacting transcendence and translation of different kinds of knowledge into future-oriented artefacts. This highlights new needs in the generation and transmission of Advanced Design knowledge stemming from future artefact production instances. By focusing on recent challenges rising in product design and development, this paper aims to discuss the cultural intermediation enacted by Advanced Design knowledge through the results of an applied research experience."