3-year undergraduate degree

in Industrial Design

director: Marco Zito

Borgo Cavour 40, Treviso

info: disegnoindustriale@iuav.it

tel +39 0422 415 403/883/882

fax +39 0422 590 799

admissions: 25.06 > 25.08.2012

available places: 115 (plus 5 available for students

non EU citizens non residents in Italy)

info fees: accessi@iuav.it

admission test: 5^th September 2012

info admission test: accessi@iuav.it

how to apply >>

The undergraduate degree programme in Industrial Design is offered at two locations, one in Treviso, the other in San Marino, in collaboration with the Università degli Studi della Repubblica di San Marino. The degree programme is distinguished by the aim of providing well-rounded training in product and communication design. It does so for two reasons: to provide graduates with the basic skills required for graduate studies in design and to respond to the industry’s demand for well-rounded technicians with an undergraduate background.

The programme’s main goal is provide the basic know how for planning, managing and carrying out projects in product and communication design. Students may define their own course of study with emphasis on product or communication design, choosing from a wide range of critical-historical, technical-scientific and design-related subjects and opting, in their third year, for either a product or communication design studio. Studio courses provide an opportunity to experiment with the diverse facets of design, as do workshops, internships and the thesis. Internships, which are required, may be done in companies and professional studios. In addition to offering a vital educational experience, they also provide an opportunity to build professional relationships with companies and professionals that are invaluable in entering the working world.

As a university degree programme a great deal of emphasis is also placed on subjects that are not strictly hands-on (subjects in the human sciences, history, criticism and the humanities), which serve to broaden students’ cultural horizons, provide them with tools for managing innovative projects, and position them to respond to demands of the rapid changes in technology, production, socio-economics and the environment. Being rooted in two locations (Treviso and San Marino) provides a solid foundation for a degree programme of national and international scope and is one of the programme’s distinctive features. 

what is taught?

The undergraduate degree programme teaches collaborative project design in the field of industrial design by offering a wide selection of courses ranging from the humanities to criticism and history, to representation and “images” (analogical and digital, static and dynamic), to materials and techniques, to geometry, semiotics and sociology, to subjects that are key to the design of artefacts (for use or communication).

claDIS graduates fill vital and necessary roles in cooperative design. They are capable of positioning themselves appropriately on design team and, at the same, of dealing with the demands of company strategies, serial and mechanical production, market distribution and promotion, and the communication of corporate and institutional identity.

how is it taught?

The claDIS curriculum combines studio and lectures courses as well as workshops and internships at companies and professional studios.

The studio courses are taught by some of the most qualified professionals in Italy and abroad, and focus primarily on design, both in the field of industrial artefacts and in that of graphics and visual communication. Students have access to IT, photography, model-making and prototyping labs.

The curriculum is completed by a 400-hour internship, a requirement that may be fulfilled at manufacturing or service companies in Italy or abroad.

The final exam requires the discussion of project that develops a theme addressed in one of the studio courses attended during three-year programme or a new topic proposed by the student. It may also be done in collaboration with outside entities. The final design project is developed without a supervisor, demonstrating the student’s ability to work independently at the end of their studies.

what is achieved?

claDIS graduates are qualified to work in public or private production or service companies. They are competent in designing, analysing and evaluating products from ergonomic, technical-performance, formal-symbolic, environmental and multimedia points of view. They are prepared to work on the different phases in the design of industrial artefacts and to resolve the most common problems in designing for the field of communications.

claDIS graduates are qualified to take on the following tasks:

- “read” a product or communication design project done by an external designer, complete it, and decide how it is to be realised in accordance with the company’s know how and organisational structure;

- act as a intermediary between the project designer, the management, the technical and suppliers;

- write technical reports;

- make video and paper presentations and 3D models;

- do research for product development.

other activities and cultural products

The programme organises conference series, studio work exhibitions, exchange programmes with regional manufacturers, activities that support coursework, exhibition and museum visits.