Ico Migliore is an Italian architect and designer, co-founder with Mara Servetto of the international studio Migliore + Servetto in Milan. Trained at the Politecnico di Torino under the guidance of Achille Castiglioni, he is now Associate Professor at the Politecnico di Milano and Chair Professor at Dongseo University in Busan. His research focuses on the design of narrative spaces that combine architecture, light, graphics, and technology to convey content and emotions. With over 800 projects in more than 21 countries, the studio has created museums, exhibitions, and installations awarded with prestigious recognitions, including three Compasso d’Oro ADI prizes. At the core of his work is an inclusive and ever-evolving design, capable of transforming places into experiences.
Approach to Exhibition Design
How does your approach to exhibition design contribute to the training of students in the MID Master in Interior Design?
As architects and designers, we don’t simply design spaces or forms, we design behaviors and the freedom for people to act. The physical presence of our projects impacts how people behave, opening up possibilities and encouraging actions in specific ways. That’s why we view every project as a living entity over time, whose true value lies in how it interacts with people. In teaching, I try to transmit this same perspective, guiding students toward an approach that focuses more on empathy rather than just the aesthetics function binary.
What are the most challenging and stimulating aspects of designing an exhibition space?
It all starts with listening: understanding the context, the surroundings, and how people will relate to an object or space. By “context,” I mean not only the physical environment but also its history and meaning. Listening is a rich starting point, full of both inspiration and challenges. Another essential element is orchestration: the ability to weave together light, technology, graphics, sound, and timing into a unified perceptual project. For me, the true measure of architecture is time a variable that must always be considered and designed. Projects don’t grow out of “brilliant ideas” but from new perspectives: the ability to look at things differently, in unexpected ways that lead to meaningful solutions.
Creativity and Functionality in Exhibition Design
How do you balance creativity and functionality, and how does the MID Master prepare students to face this challenge?
The word creativity can be misleading and overused. Today, I believe the old form–function duality has been replaced by the emotional–multisensory. The real purpose of design is to improve people’s lives, and the only true innovation is social innovation. A project must therefore consider not only its aesthetic and practical aspects but also the empathy it generates with its users. As Achille Castiglioni taught us, “Space is generated by action.” Architecture must shift its focus from pure aesthetics to a new idea of beauty that creates well-being in use. Architecture can heal; places can heal. Functionality also means working not only with objects but with the void between them, with time, and with the dynamics of human proximity.
Technology and Innovation
How do you see the role of new technologies in exhibition design, and how does the MID Master prepare students to use them?
Technology expands vision, offering enhanced accessibility and extending physical experience through digital tools. Today, projects demand ever-greater integration of different elements and research, including the use of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
Which innovations are truly transforming exhibition design, and how can students take advantage of them?
Innovation is real only when it changes our behavior. The evolution of the phone in the last 30 years is a clear example. Likewise, projects like the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao show how formal innovation can transform our perception and relationship with space. Interior design is increasingly driven by behavioral dynamics, where sensory, perceptual, and emotional dimensions intersect. True innovation emerges when design crosses with other arts poetry, literature, music creating identity and memory while fostering inclusivity and new forms of habitability.
Exhibition Design and Brand Identity
How can exhibition design express brand identity, and how does the MID Master prepare students for this?
Every project is a project of identity. Through light, graphics, and interactions, it tells a story built around values and content. People love stories — just think of the success of podcasts and TV series. Exhibitions too must be captivating narratives, enriched by technology and designed to engage diverse audiences. This isn’t about shallow entertainment but about creating knowledge, awareness, and accessibility. Brand identity in design is like identity in architecture: a system of structures, materials, and paths that together generate meaning. Architecture is not just a monument but a lived space, carrying the identity of those who inhabit it. Likewise, graphic signs are not just decorative symbols, they arise from content and meaning.
Preparing for the Professional World
What do you look for in young designers entering the field of exhibition design, and how does the MID Master prepare them?
I value the ability to zoom in and out to move from the small detail to the big picture while working with materials, light, technologies, acoustics, and spatial perception. Training at a university like the Politecnico, where advanced technology intersects with humanistic and scientific approaches, helps students develop a broad, integrated vision. This “polytechnic approach” fosters divergent thinking the ability to find original solutions by thinking outside the box, exploring multiple directions rather than one correct answer.
How can MID students expand their creativity in designing exhibitions and installations?
As Calvino wrote, “Imagination is a place where it’s always raining inside.” I encourage students to see creativity as a system in constant evolution. One of the university’s main goals is to nurture free imagination capable of connecting disciplines and ideas. Creativity is not about creating from nothing; it is about intersections. What excites me most as a teacher is helping students discover their own point of view. In this exchange, I too grow questioning, revisiting, or deepening my own perspectives while guiding theirs.