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Alberto Giorgi / Product Designer

Alberto Giorgi/ Product Designer

Selected work

Open Stage

I co-founded and designed a physical-digital service that let artists book and unlock public stages, while helping municipalities activate underused squares.

Context

Originally "Hive" · IoT + Civic Tech + Service Design

Role

Co-founder & Product Designer

Timeframe

2018–2022

From university project to public-stage service

Open Stage grew out of a university project at ISIA Firenze, developed with Pietro Resta. The brief was to design a physical product with an accompanying digital service.

Coming from a family of artists and musicians, and from the province of Florence—where many public spaces sit underused—I saw art and music as a way to bring those places back to life. That idea became a bookable public stage where artists could perform and audiences could gather. The first concept was called Hive: an equipped, hexagonal stage conceived as part of a shared urban organism. As it moved beyond the university context, it became Open Stage.

How the service worked

Open Stage combined a physical station, an app and a service model. I mapped the actors—artists, audiences, municipalities and delivery partners—and the material, information and economic flows connecting them before, during and after each performance.

Artists could book, unlock and perform in one flow: reserve a slot, open the mixer hatch from their phone, plug in and play. Audiences could discover nearby shows, follow artists and support them directly.

One stage connected the whole service

FIG. OS.01

Shared centre

Stage + app

Book, unlock, plug in and perform

  1. Information + material

    Artist

    Availability · booking · access · performance

  2. Information + economic

    Audience

    Discovery · following · live show · donation

  3. Information

    Municipality

    Authorisation · hours · decibels · public-space rules

  4. Material + information

    Delivery partners

    Production · installation · maintenance · support

  • Information
  • Material
  • Economic
The service connected artists, audiences, municipalities and delivery partners through one physical-digital system.

Text alternative: A service map with Stage and app at the centre. Artists exchange booking and access information with the app and use the physical stage. Audiences discover performances and can donate to artists. Municipalities set operating rules and receive service information. Delivery partners build and maintain the physical station. A legend distinguishes information, material and economic flows.

Two journeys through one public stage

FIG. OS.02

  1. 01

    For artists

    Book, unlock, perform

    Artists could choose a slot, arrive at the station and scan its QR code to unlock the equipment and begin performing.

    Two reconstructed Hive app phones showing an artist's upcoming bookings and the QR flow used to unlock a station.

  2. 02

    For the audience

    Find and support local talent

    Audiences could discover nearby stages and live shows, open performance details, follow artists and support them directly.

    Two reconstructed Hive app phones showing nearby stages on a map and the detail of a public performance.

  1. Book, unlock, perform

    Artists could choose a slot, arrive at the station and scan its QR code to unlock the equipment and begin performing.

For artists

  1. Two reconstructed Hive app phones showing an artist's upcoming bookings and the QR flow used to unlock a station.
  2. Two reconstructed Hive app phones showing nearby stages on a map and the detail of a public performance.

Text alternative: Two reconstructed app journeys. Artists manage upcoming bookings and unlock the physical station by scanning its QR code. Audience members discover nearby stages on a map, open a place and performance detail, follow artists and support them.

My role across product and rollout

As co-founder and product designer, I worked with Pietro Resta and the founding team across research, service design, the physical product and the app.

I led research with artists and municipalities to understand goals, local regulation and operational constraints, then translated the findings into app flows, station design and rollout decisions. I ran early usability tests to reduce friction for artists less familiar with digital tools and helped move the MVP through certification and safety requirements toward real installations.

Four iterations toward a more flexible public stage

FIG. OS.03

  1. 01
    2018 · The Cell

    Academic platform

    The first concept combined a hexagonal platform with integrated audio, mixer and lighting. A lightweight canopy and photovoltaic floor explored how a stage could remain ready in the square with minimal specialist setup.

    Render of the original hexagonal Hive platform with a lightweight canopy.
  2. 02
    2019 · Hive

    Street-mounted unit

    The second iteration removed the platform and moved audio, lighting and smart access onto existing street infrastructure. The smaller footprint made the service easier to test in the city.

    Render of the compact red Hive stage unit mounted around a streetlamp.
  3. 03
    2020 · Open Stage

    Self-standing station

    The production model consolidated mixer, lights and professional audio into a self-standing, serviceable station that could be installed independently in public space.

    Render of the red vertical Open Stage station installed in public space.
  4. 04
    2022 · Oasy

    Slim movable station

    Oasy slimmed down the station to reduce production costs and make it easier to move between locations. Municipalities could use it for both longer-term installations and temporary events.

    Render of the slim blue Oasy music station with display, QR codes and speaker grille.
Each iteration reduced installation complexity and expanded deployment options, from an equipped academic platform to a slim station that could move between permanent installations and temporary events.

Text alternative: Four chronological product views: the 2018 hexagonal academic platform with canopy, the compact red Hive unit mounted to a streetlamp, the vertical red Open Stage station used for fixed installations, and the slim blue Oasy station designed to move between locations.

From prototype to public installations

Open Stage moved from a university concept to production and municipal installations. A station was installed in Pioltello in 2020 with the local council and a community foundation, followed by public programmes in Florence and Pisa.

The project also joined the Murate Idea Park accelerator, won a Comune di Milano public competition, passed Vodafone’s Action for 5G pre-selection, received NTT DATA’s 2020 special mention for social impact, and was among the six winners of Premio Impresa e Valore 2022.

Selected recognition

  • Murate Idea Park logo.

    2019

    Murate Idea Park

    Accelerator · Startup incubation programme

  • NTT DATA Open Innovation logo.

    2020

    NTT DATA Open Innovation Contest 11

    Recognition · Special mention for social impact

  • Camera di commercio Milano MonzaBrianza Lodi logo.

    2022

    Premio Impresa e Valore

    Award · Winner

Installed in public space

FIG. OS.04

  1. 01

    2020

    Milan

    Municipal installation inaugurated with the local administration and community.

    People gathered around the Open Stage station during its 2020 inauguration in Pioltello.

  2. 02

    2021

    Florence

    A performer using the service in an outdoor public-space programme.

    A musician performing outdoors beside an Open Stage installation in Florence in 2021.

  3. 03

    2021

    Pisa

    Temporary installation for Pisa Internet Festival, bringing the service into the city programme.

    A crowd gathered around the temporary yellow Open Stage station beneath the loggia at Pisa Internet Festival in 2021.

  1. Milan

    Municipal installation inaugurated with the local administration and community.

2020

  1. People gathered around the Open Stage station during its 2020 inauguration in Pioltello.
  2. A musician performing outdoors beside an Open Stage installation in Florence in 2021.
  3. A crowd gathered around the temporary yellow Open Stage station beneath the loggia at Pisa Internet Festival in 2021.

Text alternative: Three documentary photographs: the Pioltello station inauguration in 2020 with the local administration and audience, a 2021 Florence performance beside an Open Stage installation, and the temporary station installed for Pisa Internet Festival in 2021.

Alberto Giorgi beside a yellow Oasy station by Open Stage at the Pisa Internet Festival in 2022.

Pisa Internet Festival

2022

What the project changed in my practice

Open Stage taught me that product design extends beyond the interface. Decisions about access, hardware, maintenance and public-space rules shaped the business model, adoption and the experience in the square. That systems perspective still guides how I approach complex products today.

Florence, Italy · Working internationally

Growing your team?Let’s shape what’s next.

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