Experiment, develop and provoke: the prototype as an instrument of design. Sperimentare, sviluppare e provocare: il prototipo come strumento del progetto.

The aim of the essay is to investigate the strategic role of physical prototyping in design, from concept to application, in a context characterised by the increasingly widespread presence of digital technologies and virtual prototypes. Starting from the identification of certain categories of prototypes (provocative, experimental, production), the article proposes a critical overview of the elements that characterise prototyping activities in the fields of education, research and technological transfer.