Chi Siamo

We are designers, technologists, and managers with a long history of innovation and value creation. Over the years, we have developed a rare ability for both horizontal and vertical problem solving across many different industries.

Our mission is to generate ideas for processes, services, and products, bringing to life projects and solutions that are useful, usable, efficient, effective, desirable, and sustainable.

Expertise, experience, and freshness give us the agility to seize opportunities inspired and enabled by evolving technologies, never forgetting that people are the main value.

We could talk about ourselves for hours, and we’d be happy to if given the chance. For now, here are a few quick highlights about us.

Maple

Why did we choose “Maple” as our name? Because our story began in front of a generous plate of pancakes with maple syrup.

But we could have just as easily called ourselves Sushi, Tamales, Injera, Tandoori, Taboulé, or Carbonara. We’re curious about food from all over the world - starting with our own Italy - and open to every kind of experience, appreciating the culture and knowledge that food represents. Maple is pronounced [mepol].

Cultures

Many cultures, one humanity, dozens of possible futures, and endless opportunities to seize. We see differences as a strategic resource. Rooted in our Mediterranean culture, we love to soak up inspiration from the north, south, east, and west, with curiosity, passion, and method.

Exploration and discovery aren’t optional extras, but crucial steps in the creative and design process. You have to know and understand what already exists in order to innovate.

In a globalized and ever more connected world, it no longer makes sense to design a one-size-fits-all product or service. The ability to understand different cultures, sharpened by real experience, is a strategic skill Maple offers its clients and partners.

Technology

A technology is only as good as its ability to let you do new things well and familiar things better than before. And by “better,” we mean with less effort, higher productivity, lower costs, greater sustainability and, why not, more enjoyment.

We love using technology. It almost excites us. Of course, it’s not the technology itself that we’re passionate about, but what can be achieved with it. In this way, a nanomer glue for wood is as fascinating to us as the latest 32-core server, a 200-gram tablet, or a desktop 3D printer.

We’ve always dedicated a lot of time to observing and studying how people use technological tools in their work and leisure, looking at people of all ages and backgrounds. This experience allows us not only to create systems and tech solutions but also to support and facilitate their adoption in production contexts that require specialized training and assistance.

Build

We’ve been passionate about building things since we were kids, playing with Lego and Meccano. Playing more and more, then through study and experimentation, we learned to create objects made of wood, plastic, metal, paper and bits.

We’ve become particularly skilled at building with bits because we love it, and because moving bits instead of atoms allows us to travel faster and lighter, connecting with people, places, and knowledge simply and efficiently.

You can learn to build by studying and gaining experience, but the drive and passion for breaking down problems into simple parts and using them to shape valuable solutions is something you have to have within you from the start. It’s a challenge with yourself even before it is with the project at hand. A wager on your abilities, your creativity, your preparation, and your will to succeed.

Experience

We’re proud of our more than thirty years of experience. But we’re even prouder of the things we’ve only just learned how to do, sometimes together with people who are barely twenty today. After all, experience teaches you first and foremost the true value of people.

Curiosity is in our DNA, and it’s something we’ve always pushed beyond the boundaries of professional convention, exploring and proving the worth of a multidisciplinary team, even in contexts where it once seemed almost heretical. That’s why the experience Maple accumulated is a unique creation, not just the sum total of the individual skills of the professionals who take part in our projects.

Network

We’ve spent a lifetime - and that’s no metaphor - building our network of relationships. We’ve done it believing that the true value of a network lies in the clarity and integrity of the bonds that are created and nurtured over the years.

In the era of web 2.0, networks, alliances, and professional communities are assets of fundamental value. We’ve always believed this, and we’ve consistently sought out and cherished every opportunity to expand our network and build solid, lasting relationships with people, companies, and professionals whose interests align with or complement our own.

This network now made up of hundreds and hundreds of people, many spread across the globe, is one of the key strengths of our problem-solving ability, giving us the capacity to respond swiftly and effectively to even the most diverse needs and requests.

Communication

We love communicating and helping our clients communicate the very best of themselves. We enjoy crafting strategies and content that help convey ideas, passion, projects, values, quality, and innovation. We’ve done this since Maple began, utilizing both analog and digital media with the same agility and skill - making the most of every square centimeter, minute, or bit.

We know how to engage specific audiences with measurable results, and we know how to listen, which is always the best starting point for any effective communication effort.

Sustainability

Our idea of sustainability is grounded in the awareness that we have only one planet and it has to be enough for everyone: humans, animals, and plants. We can all learn to consume intelligently by choosing products and processes that use resources without waste, recycling what’s recyclable when it makes sense to do so, and avoiding both demagoguery and extremisms.

We know how to observe nature - the result of millions of years of evolution - and find inspiration for designing effective solutions to everyday problems.

Environmental and social sustainability isn’t just a necessity, it can be an exceptional opportunity to design and redesign products and processes in ways that are more people-centered. You can start with small actions, even simply becoming aware of your ecological footprint—whether as individuals, businesses, or consumers.

Even here at Maple we haven’t always been this “green” either. We got here gradually, often struggling to overcome laziness, because many good behaviours take effort, and bad ones can be hard to break.

Want an example? The paving you see in the photo is what we installed in front of our offices. They’re simple tufa stone blocks, set on a base of gravel and sand, bonded together with soil sourced right on site. Between the stones, we planted Bermuda grass - a hardy plant that needs almost no maintenance.

Though it’s a durable surface, it blends nicely with the garden, lets rainwater pass through, and doesn’t heat up in the summer. We could have poured a concrete slab or tiled it in two days with standard ceramic, but while that would have cost less upfront, we would have had to manage rainwater runoff, and in the summer the surface would have reflected heat right into our office windows.

Thinking in terms of total sustainability, our choice - just like we planned in the design - turned out to be much better than the option that might have seemed quicker and cheaper. If you want to see how it looks today, more than twenty years on… come visit us!