SPD - Scuola Politecnica di Design

HEI INTERNATIONAL MASTERS

Master in industrial design
The Master provides an overall experience in product design, from the preliminary concept to its refinement, from physical and digital representation to the communication of the project. The educational approach stresses the experience provided to the user and the social meaning of the product. Students are proposed an open, interdisciplinary methodology that values their own cultural background and emphasizes the role of dialogue and mutual exchange in the creative process. The association with major industrial partners has the purpose of perfecting the education by providing students with challenging tasks that allow them to face the relationships with business and organizations in a mature way. Technical training is particularly emphisized to build up solid professional groundings. Students can use modelling and computer design laboratories equipped with the most advanced softwares.

Master in interior design
Interior design is a clearly expressed system created to respond to multiple demands for efficiency, comfort or entertainment. Interiors trigger a sense of personal identity, aggregation or emotional engagement with the introduction of sensory experiences or through the use of carefully woven narrative threads. Course contents deal with concept design, space planning, interior layout and display. The programme provides discerning insights into the language of materials, lighting, colour, furniture and the integration of technical components. The relation with the building is deeply investigated. All these aspects meet in the studio classes led by renowned professionals that support the creation of a working knowledge base. Collaborations with brands and institutions enable the students to comprehend how interiors communicate the brand values in a retail environment or in a corporate space through the use of architectural elements and spatial graphics. As a result of this education, on the one hand students are encouraged to develop a conceptual approach in design practice gaining a strategic understanding of elements and processes involved. On the other hand, technical representation and architectural detailing serve the students as a mirror for reviewing their design and refining their professional skills.

Master in transportation and car design
The Master’s programme embraces the entire design development process by researching into new experiential concepts, redefining architectural solutions and moving forward with new criteria for comfort and efficiency. Parallel to the technical training, studio projects are organized in collaboration with major car companies. In particular SPD has signed a long term educational partnership with Volkswagen Group Design involving the participation of designers from the various brands - from Audi to Lamborghini - into the teaching activites. After the initial exploration, students move forward into design concepts and their refinement up to both physical and digital modelling. It’s a long process that demands a high level of personal committment and flexibility, organizational and time management skills as well as a strong attitude to teamwork. Projects are subject to group critiques and critiques with outsider reviewers. Transportation designers thus acquire a constant spur to innovation both in form language and function, allied with the understanding of engineering and production processes.

Master in visual design
From identity to editorial design, from information graphics to digital communication, the programme develops in an ongoing relation between these disciplines. Format, layout and composition, typography, content management and visual references are closely investigated as key elements of the language of the graphic representation. The plan of studies includes advanced training into all the professional tools and up-to-date technologies. Finally, studio classes draw up the students’ visual culture and enhance their overall design skills by reproducing challenging dynamics which are peculiar to the professional practice.

Master in web and digital design
The Master offers an experimental pathway at the forefront of design, marketing and technology. The plan of studies blends art direction and design contents with solid technical skills and a comprehensive background in digital communication. The programme develops in the interplay between theoretical teaching and practical tasks. Project-based activities in particular are central to the learning experience and leverage abilities and information acquired in the other courses. All projects follow a proper workflow encompassing the definition of the digital strategy and its relevant objectives, concept and information design up to front/back end programming. As the user experience is increasingly developing through social media, companies are changing their business accordingly. This new and thrilling scenario is deeply investigated with specific regard to the integration of content and navigation flow between websites and social network platforms and viceversa. The overall didactic experience provides the students with professional abilities that allow them to engage in dialogue with the different figures involved in digital media projects.

Master in Food Design and Innovation
The Master degree in Food Design develops the necessary skills to give a creative contribution to an increasingly growing sector, of which Italy constitutes one of the main benchmarks known worldwide. It  is an opportunity not only for students holding a degree in design, marketing and communication, but also for managers and professionals working in the field. The programme combines a focus on food-related markets with the design approach and methodologies.

One Year Courses (post-graduate):

One Year course in product and interior design:
The One Year course in Interior and Product Design is taught following a single theme approach with cycles of lessons on theory integrated with workshop exercises and subjects. In this way students can acquire the solid cultural, methodological and operative foundations and can opt to pursue their education further by applying for following a Master’s course in Industrial Design or Interior Design.

One year course in car design tools:
The One Year Course in Car Design Tools is designed to transfer a complete understanding of automotive strategy, planning and the relevant design techniques.

The programme is devised as a first approach to the most fascinating and competitive careers in the world of design. It is intended as a primer to the Master in Transportation and Car Design.