Mnemotopes

The theme of memory has long intersected with the field of design. There is growing evidence that designers play a centrai role in the preservatian, representation and transmission of the past.
Within this broad panorama of experimentation, a lively discourse is developing on the relationship between piace and memory.
The volume proposes an exploration of this connection, favouring a transversal method of analysis that involves several disciplines and creates links between different lines of reflection. The focus is therefore on COMMUNICATION DESIGN as a mediator of the territorial past, capable of interpreting the complexity of places and reactivating their memory. One of the most significant aspects of the TERRITORY is its stratification, and this context requires a different positioning of communicative artifacts, which is no longer limited to the representation of physical appearances, but focuses on the polyphonic existence of plans, including immaterial and unofficial content.
In light of this scenario, the volume introduces the MNEMOTOPE, an interpretative object that offers an alternative way of looking at the MEMORY OF PLACES. By developing a plural definition of the composite term and categorizing its manifestations, the study introduces the mnemotope as a performative principle in design that can be a concrete response to the need for memory in communication projects.

Clorinda Sissi Galasso Postdoctoral research fellow at the Design Department of Politecnico di Milano. Her research focuses on memory representation systems and the valorization of documents preserved in historical archives. In particular, she is dedicated to the study of the connection between memory and places, with special emphasis on the concept of the mnemotope. In this series, she published Zone di memoria. Il design per gli archivi del territorio (2018).