The institute was based in the former Olivetti Study and Research Centre, sometimes referred to as Casa Blu, designed by Eduardo Vittorio in 1955 and restored by Sottsass Associati.

While the institute also did a measure of outside consulting work and hosted visiting researchers, its main activity was the Interaction Design Master course, a 2-year unaccredited course which graduated 56 students.

Gillian Crampton-Smith resigned as Director a result of the announcement, and Neil Churcher and Heather Martin became co-directors during the final academic year when the institute was moved to Milan to be in the same building as Domus Academy, another Telecom Italia investment.

[11] The institute was the birthplace of products like the electronics prototyping boards Wiring and Arduino,[12] the graphics software prototyping environment Processing (started at the MIT Media Lab)[citation needed], the CICCIO inflatable environment,[13] and the connected product Good Night Lamp,[14] which is included in the permanent collection of the London Design Museum.

[18] Alumni and ex-faculty have worked in places like Uber, Microsoft, Apple, IDEO, and frog design, or continued to teach in institutions like NABA, Domus Academy, Università Iuav di Venezia,[19] VCU, the Delft University of Technology, the Centro Metropolitano de Diseño of the City of Buenos Aires,[20] and the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam.