After being awarded the title of World Design Capital in 2008 and of Unesco Creative City for Design in 2014, Torino is considered an important landmark for design in Italy. In Piemonte, there are around 6,000 designers and 3,000 design firms and companies, nearly 120,000 people are employed in the design sector and, every year, around 15,000 students attend institutes and faculties of design. In Torino, the universities offering specialised and structured educational courses in this field are four: Politecnico di Torino, IED Torino - Istituto Europeo di Design, IAAD - Istituto di Arte Applicata and Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti.
Historically linked to car design and manufacturing, in the early 20th century Torino could boast numerous manufacturers, thus consolidating its position in time until it became one of the main industrial cities in the country. In the second post-war period and until the 1970s, the city experienced an extraordinary time of cultural turmoil and international trade, with cultured clients and designers and a sophisticated level of research.
Torino started a gradual process of conversion which led to the creation of an outstanding cultural and manufacturing system, now including several museums (also corporate) and cultural centres dedicated to design, galleries, studios, book shops and stores with precious collections and accurate selections, historic and contemporary places featuring sophisticated restoration works and designs, creative workshops keeping up with the most up-to-date ideas, and festivals taking to the city some of the best designers at national and international level.