Italian Interior and Furniture Design Academic Year - Fall Intake.
One Year Courses - Florence
Attendance: Full-time
Language: English
Interior Design is more than just aesthetics. It's about finding creative design solutions for interior environments while supporting the health, safety and well being of occupants and enhancing their quality of life.
Following a systematic and coordinated methodology including research, analysis and integration of knowledge into the creative process, interior design is a multi-faceted profession whereby the needs and resources of the client are satisfied to create an interior space that fulfils the project goals.
The Academic Year in Interior and Furniture Design trains Designer specialised in furniture able both to create and manage the whole design process of a project focused on space organisation and interior decoration. The education path works on shaping the individual’s design sensitivity, the construction of a personal expressive language, the acquisition of a multidisciplinary culture that combines theoretical and practical aspects.
Schedule:
Lessons run from Monday to Friday morning and/or afternoon.
Level and prerequisites:
This is an intermediate program designed for students with at least one year of academic background or professional experience in Interior Design, Industrial Design, Furniture Design, Architecture. Applicants have to master representation techniques such as drawing, sketching and rendering, and visual communication skills such as computer graphics and rendering, as well as model making and verbal communication.
Methodology and structure:
The Academic Year is integrated in the 3 year Interior and Furniture Design course, and corresponds to the 2nd year of the undergraduate program. By enrolling to Academic Year you join the regular classes and study alongside with IED undergraduate students.
The program is made up by 2 semesters, through which you refine cultural, methodological, technical and technological skills previously acquired. Furthermore you will examine new areas of investigation and knowledge, in order to complete and extend your familiarity with the interior and furniture design field. The programme develops theoretical and practical knowledge of domestic and commercial spaces, focusing on technological tools, production processes and materials.
Throughout the course you develop three different projects: a first one that will consist in the development of a commercial space, with a focus on restaurant design; a second one that deals with innovative materials to be applied both for the design of interior spaces as well as furniture pieces; and finally the third one that tackles the production of a furnishing product, from its components to its assembly, learning about the disposal processes as well.
New Column.
- MATERIALS TYPOLOGY 2: This course introduces studies related to new technologies and their applications in the fields of the construction industry and of design, building on your analytical skills and understanding of materials and of structures, including habitats, in the framework of a project and referring coherently to all the latest legal regulations and the results of research in this sector. It examines the physical and mechanical properties of several families of materials in relation to the
technologies that can be used to work with them and to related risks and advantages. In particular, the course discusses the relationship between design and a material’s energy and environmental qualities, including its construction and structural properties. Theoretical and practical studies are co-ordinated, so as to encourage you to become more aware of innovative technical methods in line with the international and domestic Italian contexts. Through an active dialogue with firms that produce certain materials, you analyse the materials’ individual properties and potential for application, both for the category of traditional and for that of natural or ecological materials.
- DRAWING TECHNIQUES AND TECHNOLOGIES:
Through this course you will acquire the techniques of representation by software and hand drawings. The teaching method, through theoretical lectures demonstrations , is organized into two main parts: the basic knowledge of the instruments of representation and professional application of them. The course deals with the issues of visual thinking and uses visual and conceptual maps as an essential tool for the storytelling and the expression of an idea . Use of the software alternates with exercises in which you learn to use the acquired technical and instrumental knowledge and to communicate through an effective presentation your project.
- HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE 1:
The history of architecture is analysed from the point of view of project methodologies and the technological and social contexts. The course explores the heritage of the Modern Movement and its expression in various geographical contexts, both European and international. Through the analysis of buildings, projects and documents, the characteristics of the architecture of the last fifty years are outlined.
- MODELING TECHNIQUES 2: This theme is fundamental for the project design courses, for which a thorough knowledge of materials and their sustainable use is essential. The course provides basic knowledge about certain innovative materials and opportunities for making use of them, combining technological knowledge with the culture of craftsmanship. You will tackle the materials used for architectural elements, for finishing flooring, walls and ceilings, for architectural details and for décor. This material research serves to create a personal style and to develop a sensitivity of juxtaposition of materials. The practical part of the course is constituted by a simulated application on the project model.
- DESIGN 2: The aim of this course is to stimulate your abilities to imagine new spaces and and new interior scenarios, so as to develop projects on a large scale and with more complex service, flows and regulations. Together with your peers you will develop 2 design projects: a first one that will consist in the development of a commercial space, with a focus on restaurant design, and a second one that deals with innovative materials to be applied both for the design of interior spaces and furniture pieces. You are expected to rigorously analyse people’s behaviour, habits and customs, and other functions that determine space organization. Moreover, you will analyse the context in which the project is developed, the brand’s values, and current trends in order to conceive both emotional and functional spaces, which may enrich and simplify people’s life.
- PRODUCT DESIGN: The course provides the key elements for a correct furniture design and the technical and technological skills related to the production of a furnishing product, from its components to its assembly. You will learn about the furniture disposal process which will raise awarness for a more sustainable furnishing design. Also you will acquire knowledge on new trends in terms of materials, colours and forms, which will be applied while designing the furnishing elements.
- 3D COMPUTER MODEL – MAKING TECHNIQUES: The course focuses on digital image processing in a 3D context. The first part analyses 3D surface modeling software, automatic generation of perspectives, views and sections, shadows, surface texturing and rendering. In the second part you explore rendering and animation to create, view and assess 3D spaces with texturing and lighting techniques.
- SOCIOLOGY OF CULTURE: Sociology, as the science of social phenomena, represents one of the most effective tools to understand people behaviors. Hence, it is one of the most valid instruments to study the development of cultures, ethical and social values and lifestyles. The course also explains the techniques and the tools to understand dynamics of social interaction.
- DESIGN MANAGEMENT: The course tackles the concept of brand value, which constitutes the main issue when defining the values that a business wants to communicate to its market – and the values that the market actually perceives. Next, it analyses the new generation of consumers and their attitudes to objects and to space, from a standpoint of marketing experience, which today is the primary lever to pull when positioning brands and products. The course then discusses the strategic aspect of marketing, so as to understand and anticipate consumers’ expectations. Students examine several case histories of successful and unsuccessful products, so as to highlight the importance of the nexus between design, marketing, the firm and its market.
- HISTORY OF DESIGN 2: Objective of the course is the development of a personal architectural language. It analyzes the application of different design languages in different geographical contexts, in order to provide an historical and critical knowledge of formal archetypes and main exponents. Through the analysis of architectures and furnitures, you explore the compositional, formal and expressive features of projects and designers in recent years.
About IED:
The faculty comprises experts and professionals with the ability to teach applied skills and a constant stream of innovation. Each individual course is run in direct contact with and supported by companies operating in the fields in question.
As a school with an international vocation, the Istituto Europeo di Design welcomes students with different nationalities and cultures to all its campuses. Some 2,000 foreign students – primarily from the Far East, Central and South America and Europe – enrol in its courses every year. To date, the IED has trained students from about 100 different countries.
