Master of Graphic Design

Graphic Design I - 6 CREDITS -

The class will focus on graphic design principles and will guide the students thru workshops to improve their skills about visual design. After an analysis by the teacher, every assignment will challenge the students to develop their own design language thru the most important stages of a project, from brainstorming to final details. Each assignment will be followed by group critiques that will help to evaluate the projects.

Sketching - 6 CREDITS -

The course will introduce students to the fundaments of drawing, by exploring different approaches and techniques. Included activities will be outdoor sketching on several locations in Florence and practicing at the museums. Each lesson will have a theoretic part with examples slides and demos, as well as a practical part with exercises. The focus will be on interior, industrial and on graphic design. The goal of this course is to provide the students the appropriated tools in order to be able to express their own ideas and concepts on paper. The teaching consists on a learning-by-doing method with increasing difficulty to cover different tasks and different levels of accomplishment. The instructor will always be at hand for further advices, coaching and guiding students through their projects. A Projector with camera is also available for Video tutorials and live-sketching demonstrations. For the evaluation of each single student a mid-term project and an end-of-the term project will be requested to presented in class with individual and group critiques. the course heavily focuses on developing fundamental skills. No previous drawing experience is demanded, classes are held in English. The main tasks are learning how “to see” better by practicing observational drawing, getting to know the importance of perspective and how to apply it to your design. Besides gaining ability in understand values, light and shadow and 3d effects, students are also requested to plan out, execute, compose and deliver a project within time-limitation.

Advertising and visual communication- 6 CREDITS -

The class will focus on the analysis of communication and advertising through different media. The students will first understand what advertising is and is meant for, then a working method will be defined and suggested, starting from simple questions in order to sort out creative ideas and find a way to transform them into advertising concepts that works. Each assignment will be followed by group critiques that will help to evaluate the projects.

Italian Language I - 6 CREDITS -

The course is designed for absolute beginner students and is aimed at developing basic communication skills. A communicative approach will be used. The course will be in Italian. Students will improve the four skills of language learning: reading, writing, listening and speaking. At the end of the course students should be able to understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type; introduce themselves and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where they live, people they know and things they have; interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help. Grammatical content such as the present tense, the definite and indefinite articles, singular/plural, the demonstrative and possessive adjectives and the prepositions are studied.

3D Graphic Design - 6 CREDITS -

The course will provide students with no starting knowledge enough skills to use Autodesk 3d Studio Max as a professional user, to add photorealistic rendering as tool to express their projects. Students will learn how to navigate through the interface of the software and how to use all different file manager options. Course will be subdivided then in three main areas, which are modeling, materials and rendering. Modeling techniques will include use of standard and extended primitives as well as other parametric objects. Then we will study how to use splines and how to integrate cad drawings inside this 3d software. Modeling includes also very specific tools like modifiers and Boolean operations. Last area to explore into modeling will be how to use editable poly in a designer workflow. Materials is the topic that will give the student the ability to give 3d models the look he has imagined, exploring several parameters and techniques like UVW mapping to reach a photorealistic aspect. In the rendering part of the course we will explore everything related to “take a picture” of previously created 3d models. Students will learn how to set lights in a virtual environment, to simulate both artificial and natural conditions. They will learn how to properly set cameras inside a project and all those complex parameters that will involve final creation a rendered image ready for a professional presentation. During the course, exercises will be given to the students according to their design field. After seven weeks there will be a mid-term exam to check overall level of each class. This course will also have a final project to be developed individually related to the student design field.

Web Design- 6 CREDITS -

Today having an online presence is mandatory for any company or professional. Being able to create portfolio websites/blogs/e-commerce websites is a very handy skill for any designer whether self-employed or part of a bigger team. Web Publishing course is designed to provide students with a basic set of tools required to create and independently hosted website of low/medium complexity with the help of world’s most popular web platform - WordPress. 2. CONTENT INTRODUCTION After a brief introduction to basic concepts and terminology of World Wide Web, student will start the hands-on class exercises. WordPress platform will be covered gradually in all of its aspects: content types and thier management, appearance customization, website navigation and internal linking etc. Students will be introduced to some of the most powerful WordPress plugins that will help to create more complex page layouts, improve website security, optimize performance, integrate Social Media, improve SEO and more. While working on independent and team projects students will be able to implement their newly acquired skills, share ideas and create ready-to-publish websites.

Art History - 6 CREDITS -

The advenced course on the history of design wants to provide the basic tools to understand the meanings of design, in order to create in the students a critical skill and a sensibility necessary to assess the role of design today. The study of design, its development, the historical and social context and its evolution thorough the centuries, is a useful way both to explore the past and to make sense of the visual communication of modern life. The advanced course will cover the history of design from its origin during the second half of the 19th century, with the analysis of art movements such as Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau, the Vienna Secession, Catalan Modernism (and its main protagonists, William Morris, Hector Guimard, Victor Horta, Alfonse Mucha, Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser, Antoni Gaudi), passing through the revolutions brought by the school of Bauhaus and the Modern Movement and its protagonists (Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Marcel Breuer, Herbert Bayer) during the the first half of the 20th century, and will then reach the contemporary age and personalities that are “moulding" the 21st century design: Philip Stark, Ross Lovegrove, Thomas Heatherwick, Zaha Hadid and others. The students will be able to understand the past in order to shape the present, in graphic, industrial and interior design of the contemporary age.

Graphic Design II - 6 CREDITS -

The class will focus on advanced graphic design rules ad principles. The students will research great examples of graphic design to learn how to take inspirations for new projects. During the lessons we will analyze the most important printing techniques and type of binding and folding papers. Visual book and paper samples will be analyzed to learn how to choose the best support for every design concept. Each assignment will be followed by group critiques that will help to evaluate the project.

Italian Language II- 6 CREDITS -

The course is designed for waystage or elementary students and is aimed at improving basic communicative skills. A communicative approach will be used. The course will be in Italian. Students will improve the four skills of language learning: reading, writing, listening and speaking. At the end of the course the student should start being able to understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment); communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters; describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need. Grammatical content such as the present continuous, the “passato prossimo” tense, the future tense and the pronouns are studied.

Portfolio Projects- 6 CREDITS -

The Portfolio is a professional tool indispensable for career advancement of any designer. It is required to get clients or jobs, to attend special workshops, internships and residencies. In this course, students will acquire all necessary skills necessary to create an efficient, professional and attractive portfolio. This course combines explanations and discussion with hands-on exercises and projects both in classroom and home. The theoretical part consists of learning how process of hiring works, what companies are looking for in applicant’s resume and portfolio. Students will learn best practices of resume writing and portfolio design; multiple examples of student and professional resumes and portfolios will be discussed in class. Graphic design and print production processes will be explained and put in practice. Projects and examples will come in such an order that will permit students to gradually learn the most important aspects of Adobe InDesign.

 

*Program may be subject to change in any moment (updated on the 17/09/2019)

Dual Master of Graphic & Interior Design

Topics to add to the Master program of Graphic Design:

Interior Design I - 6 CREDITS -

The course provides a general and complete overview over the processes and design thinking that determine an interior design project. Particular emphasis will be put on the language of design and how to translate a concept to a product (which could be an interior space) and also technical drawings through a simple domestic interior architecture project; the final project will be the design of a small flat and the student will have to develop preliminary sketches, graphic layout (zoning), plans and sections with measurements. We will have 3 projects; fist one is representing a concept. This exercise is the beginning of design thinking process. Student begin to embody a concept to a 3 dimensional object using appropriate materials to then obviate and forget these usual readings of the object to focus attention and explore the many possibilities to express a design using all instruments that a designer can have, such as material, shape and form, color and texture. 2: An information desk. The Interior Design history begins with the first pieces of furniture, especially chairs and tables. Through this project you learn how to deal with a real project of interior with the needs and the issues that you can know deeply. The desk has to respond to the functional, ergonomic and social needs. It is a great project to deepen the themes mentioned above particularly, ergonomics and technical drawing. 3: Transform a classroom to a loft for a couple; Student must study the city of Florence and the downtown area and the building itself. After analysing this raw information and surveying completely the room, they design a small loft with a bathroom and a kitchen.

Interior Decoration- 6 CREDITS -

This foundation course introduces the fundamentals of design and decorating necessary to create a decorating project. The course introduces the student to color theory, design styles, textiles and basic industry terminology. With the aid of a course project, students follow the order of a real life project, necessary to reinforce the skills taught throughout the course. Students learn how to communicate their design ideas thru different design boards. They then learn to space plan and to create an effective furniture layout, a basic tool of interior decorating. Finally they learn how to select the appropriate furniture, colors and materials needed to finish their projects. At the end students present their projects by using effective presentation skills

Furniture Design- 6 CREDITS -

This course will be composed of two parts which are theoretical part and its practical application. The theory will start with overview of furniture design history and continue with lectures on different concepts, typology, ergonomics, materials, furniture construction and furniture production technology, technical drawings and 3D visualization and presentation which are related to furniture design. Emphasis in practical part is put on construction and technology of furniture manufacturing, on principles of industrial design for small and large scale production, but also for tailor-made solutions for individual users. In the practical part the students will learn the methodology of furniture design thus how to generate conceptual ideas and work them through to a final manufacturing stage for various clients and private as well as public users.

Interior Design II - 6 CREDITS -

The course will provide deep insight into the topics regarding design composition aspects and languages. Interior residential design will be the main focus of the course. As the first step, the clients needs and requirements will be explored and analyzed with analectic methods, in order to develop a project functionally correct and linguistically consistent. The project will continue with designing the interior spaces and will finish with finishing and other issues related to FF E. Lessons and lectures will focus more on technical aspects, such as plumbing and electrical systems, and those aspects that cooperate to the formal solution of the project, such as significant and consistent use of light, color and materials. Projects: 1: Francesca Dattilo and Fernando Fazzari are a young couple who have recently purchased a beautiful apartment in Florence; an attic with 2 bedrooms and 3 balconies. Plan and sections of the house will be provided. It will be fundamental to study the clients and analyze the existing information and the building itself. The project should include the architectural project, space planning of all rooms and spaces and the best choices of furniture, materials and finishing.

Eco Design - 6 CREDITS -

This course explains how materials and building components impact the planet and suggests solutions to limit urban pollution and energy consumption through the correct use of materials, the implementation of renewable energy systems, and a “0” miles approach. The course will analyze specific case studies and go deeper into two particular areas: sustainable products and sustainable architectural spaces. Students will first study product sustainability, learning how to use the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool and becoming familiar with the Leader in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Cradle to Cradle certification systems. They will realize an individual project that requires them to test the performance and durability of a specific material in certain given conditions. Students will then further develop their understanding of sustainability in architectural space by realizing a group project that requires them to develop a residential unit from the concept stage through the executive design illustrating the structure, materials selection process, light layout, and rendering the visualization simulating both daylight and artificial light scenarios. The aim of this course is to raise the environmental awareness of each student and to develop their sensitivity towards preserving quality of life and the environment.

Photography - 6 CREDITS -

The course will provide students with no starting knowledge enough skills to use Photography from the perspective of a designer. Students will go to through a path that will include both theoretical and practical aspects of photography. After a brief historical introduction, students will start learning principles of the physic behind a photographic image. We will explore then all camera aspects that will give each image a certain look. Main topics will be EXPOSURE, APERTURE, SHUTTER SPEED, ISO LEVEL with all their values and effects on final creation of the image. During this course there will be several practice sessions in order to fix concepts explained during each lecture. After developing a deep feeling with the camera as tool to take pictures students will explore language of photography so that they will better understand how to properly use the camera when shooting a portrait, a landscape or a still life subject. During the course, exercises will be given to the students to be developed during each week. This course will also have a final project where each student, individually, will show how deep is his knowledge on all topics discussed during the semester.

*Program may be subject to change in any moment (updated on the 17/09/2019)

Dual Master of Graphic & Industrial Design

Topics to add to the Master program of Graphic Design:

Industrial Design I - 6 CREDITS -

This course will be composed of two parts which are theoretical part and its practical application. In the first part the students will get the knowledge of basic design concepts that will help them to pass from 2D sketched ideas to a 3D product thus making their designs functional, user friendly and aesthetically appealing using the main principles of composition such as harmony or contrast, dominance or recessiveness, repetition and transparency. In the practical part of the course the students will be asked to develop their own products and will learn the basics of market research, idea and concept generation, usage of scenarios and presentation and basic model making.

Materials and Manufacturing processes - 6 CREDITS -

The student will learn about different production methods that are used in traditional and modern factories in order to manufacture small and large scale products. The course also shows that the behavior of materials is directly linked to their usage in design, and how structures and hence functionality of and object may be altered through material choice. Moreover every third lecture the student will be asked to work with a particular material during the lecture hour and provide a work report after the completion of the project

Industrial Design II - 6 CREDITS -

This course will be composed of two parts which are theoretical part and its practical application. In the first part the students will learn the relationship of human behavior and ergonomics as applied to product safety. They will study hand ergonomics, hand anatomy, its movements and possible grip types in order to design a hand held object that would be safe, comfortable to use and will not cause any hazard to the user. Following that the students will learn about seating ergonomics so that the seats they design will provide a stable body support that will be physiologically correct and will minimize health problems related to inadequate seating. As a third part will cover the problematics of a manufactured product such as possible misuse, product liability and safety as well as the introduction to the legal protection of the designed product. In the practical part of the course the students will be asked to develop their own products considering the points.

Furniture Design - 6 CREDITS -

This course will be composed of two parts which are theoretical part and its practical application. The theory will start with overview of furniture design history and continue with lectures on different concepts, typology, ergonomics, materials, furniture construction and furniture production technology, technical drawings and 3D visualization and presentation which are related to furniture design. Emphasis in practical part is put on construction and technology of furniture manufacturing, on principles of industrial design for small and large scale production, but also for tailor-made solutions for individual users. In the practical part the students will learn the methodology of furniture design thus how to generate conceptual ideas and work them through to a final manufacturing stage for various clients and private as well as public users.

Eco Design/Sustainable design - 6 CREDITS -

This course explains how materials and building components impact the planet and suggests solutions to limit urban pollution and energy consumption through the correct use of materials, the implementation of renewable energy systems, and a “0” miles approach. The course will analyze specific case studies and go deeper into two particular areas: sustainable products and sustainable architectural spaces. Students will first study product sustainability, learning how to use the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool and becoming familiar with the Leader in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Cradle to Cradle certification systems. They will realize an individual project that requires them to test the performance and durability of a specific material in certain given conditions. Students will then further develop their understanding of sustainability in architectural space by realizing a group project that requires them to develop a residential unit from the concept stage through the executive design illustrating the structure, materials selection process, light layout, and rendering the visualization simulating both daylight and artificial light scenarios. The aim of this course is to raise the environmental awareness of each student and to develop their sensitivity towards preserving quality of life and the

Photography - 6 CREDITS -

The course will provide students with no starting knowledge enough skills to use Photography from the perspective of a designer. Students will go to through a path that will include both theoretical and practical aspects of photography. After a brief historical introduction, students will start learning principles of the physic behind a photographic image. We will explore then all camera aspects that will give each image a certain look. Main topics will be EXPOSURE, APERTURE, SHUTTER SPEED, ISO LEVEL with all their values and effects on final creation of the image. During this course there will be several practice sessions in order to fix concepts explained during each lecture. After developing a deep feeling with the camera as tool to take pictures students will explore language of photography so that they will better understand how to properly use the camera when shooting a portrait, a landscape or a still life subject. During the course, exercises will be given to the students to be developed during each week. This course will also have a final project where each student, individually, will show how deep is his knowledge on all topics discussed during the semester.

*Program may be subject to change in any moment (updated on the 17/09/2019)