Out of oblo - April 2025
From supporting international talents moving to Milan to watching a sailing lab inaugurating their journey, while getting ready for upcoming conferences and talks.
Dear oblo friends,
What even happened to April? We just came back from some days off to see the launch of a couple of projects we worked on in the past months, and get ready for new challenges and events.
How might we improve the experience of expat professionals moving to Milan?
Last week Roberta Tassi and Alessandra Del Nero proposed this challenge to the Poli.Design Master in Strategic Design students, in the context of a workshop aimed at exploring the boundaries and impact of user experience design.
The brief was inspired by previous research we conducted in 2023-2024 to support YesMilano in envisioning a new One Stop Shop (OSS) service for international professionals settling in Milan.. Thanks to in-depth interviews with a broad spectrum of expats and several co-design sessions with YesMilano experts, we were able to understand the main challenges of starting a new life in Milan, and propose possible solutions.
Our work led to the definition of a new strategy where YesMilan plays a pivotal role as connector and enabler of inclusion, by engaging private companies and local event organizers as part of the welcome ecosystem towards foreigners. A new “Getting started” guide has also been released, as an initial improvement of informative materials.
Can a sailing project mix innovation, sustainability and citizen science? Yep, and we are part of it :)
A few weeks ago the official launch of the sailboat Class40 Maccaferri Futura took place in Genova. Maccaferri Futura is not simply a boat: it’s the symbol of a program by Maccaferri, aimed at transforming ocean navigation into a platform for environmental monitoring and global collaboration, by creating a sailing lab that combines exploration, performance, and sustainability.
We took part in the preliminary phases of the project, way before the launch, to help Maccaferri shape a cohesive narrative and strategy to integrate this unique project in the organization's approach and activities. We helped identify a set of initiatives that could support the enrollment of Maccaferri Futura, focusing on both internal and external engagement, and considering potential synergies with the broader partner ecosystem, from research centers, to universities and schools.
What contribution can service design bring to start-ups and Small and Medium sized Enterprises?
On April 15th Roberta Tassi gave a speech at Circolo del Design in Turin, in the context of a formative program for local businesses - called Ask to Design.
The main goal of the talk was to share our insights and experience in supporting SMEs in their processes of digital transformation and innovation, and the contribution design can bring. In particular, Roberta introduced the application of design practices to learn from users, deliver better product/service experiences and innovate internal processes.
Making service design competences and methods available to SMEs is one of our core missions, that we pursue through both institutional partnerships and direct project engagements. As part of this stream of work, we are also collaborating with Make in Progress on a new toolkit to help SMEs meaningfully navigate the landscape of innovation opportunities. More soon :)
The second edition of our coaching program with Sardegna Ricerche is open for application
From SMEs to start-ups: on May 15th Roberta Tassi and Serena Talento will be in Cagliari to host an open masterclass about service design. The event will be the official introduction to the second edition of our Service Design Coaching Program in collaboration with Sardegna Ricerche.
The programme will involve 10 selected start-up and SMEs (PMI innovative) based in Sardinia, with the goal of supporting them in better defining their business offer, optimising internal processes and potentially developing new products or services.
If you want to learn more about who participated in last year's edition, here’s our public diary.
If you are interested in the program, you can check more details and apply here:
Upcoming conferences in Milan and Lisbon: how research could evolve to increase its impact (at URCA!), and how to design AI-enabled services (at UX Lisbon)
On May 30th Chiara Albanesi will be giving a speech called “Research in transition" at URCA!, the Italian conference for User research, organised by UNGUESS.
In a moment in which we are all experimenting with the potential of AI, we see it less as a matter of integrating a technology to accelerate existing processes, and more as an opportunity to evolve what role research could play and amplify its impact.
The conference will take place in Milan on May 30th (for Italian speakers). If you are curious to learn more about the topic, here’s a 20% discount code URCA-SPEAKER20 to join us and shake hands :)
Speaking about AI, On May 15 Yulia Besplemennova and Serena Talento will host a workshop during UX Lisbon, in which they are going to introduce oblo toolkit for AI strategy, guiding participants in how to use it. The kit is available for download here.
It’s all for this month, see you soon!
Anything you want to discuss with us? You can book a 30 min call or drop us a line.
Enjoy May,
Chiara, Roberta and oblo team