The Great Beauty: Modena Academy of Design collaboration
O-Bento Design Studio is a proud partner of MAD | Modena Academy of Design and the European University of Rome bringing over two decades of professional design experience directly into the classroom. Based in Modena — in the heart of Motor Valley — O-Bento has worked across transportation, domestic appliances, and bath and kitchen design since 2005, collaborating with international clients and running design workshops at universities worldwide. As part of this partnership, O-Bento's designers lead MAD's live sketching courses, guiding students through the same rapid ideation and visualization techniques used in professional automotive studios, while providing ongoing industry knowledge support that connects classroom learning to real-world design practice.
International university workshops
Beyond the studio, O-Bento Design Studio has a long track record of bringing industry into the classroom through university workshops conducted in collaboration with design faculties around the world, including at institutions in China. These workshops pair professional design methodology with real consumer-centric briefs, guiding students through the full spectrum of product development — from advanced, forward-looking concepts to the everyday "ordinary" production goods that shape daily life. This hands-on, industry-linked approach reflects O-Bento's broader design philosophy: that good design serves real consumers, whether it's a flagship innovation or a mass-market staple.
Design workshop at Zhengzhou University, Department of Architecture. June 2018
International university workshops
International university/industry workshops
Research projects with Midea, NVC, Valtra in Shenzhen and Shanghai, China, and Bologna, Italy
