Visual Communication
Data Ecologies for Decoding Complexity
Rome
On campus
ENG
Second Level Academic Diploma (DASL) in Visual Communication Design - Specialization in Visual Communication
Language
English
Start date
October 2025
Frequency
Full time
Fruition
On campus
Duration
2 Years
Course Coordination
Matteo Modena, Francesco Lapo Ceccherelli
We live in an era of extraordinary transformations, characterised by the multiplicity of information, the speed of change, and the global challenges of environmental sustainability design and social equity. These challenges demand new tools for understanding and interpretation, tools that must be based on the synergy between skills, sensitivities, and diverse perspectives. In this context, visual communication, which has rapidly evolved through digital tools and social networks, now faces the fourth industrial revolution—artificial intelligence design. AI is reshaping industries, content, and languages, raising new challenges and opportunities.
The Master’s Degree in Visual Communication. Data Ecologies for Decoding Complexity trains visionary, conscious, and informed communication designers capable of using visual communication design as a tool to decode and translate the complexity of the contemporary world. These professionals will be equipped to facilitate creative team collaboration and collective processes for understanding and communicating change, as well as contributing to narrating and guiding it.
The main goal of this two-year programme is to teach students how to develop visual communication strategies capable of addressing complex domains using ever-evolving languages and tools within interdisciplinary projects. This approach is framed within the unique cultural and professional setting of Rome, a crossroads of cultures and a privileged observatory of Italy's social and political transformations. Here, visual communication plays a pivotal role across sectors: from tourism and heritage enhancement to entertainment with the film industry and major events, as well as work with institutions and governmental or non-governmental organisations.
By integrating emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence design, data visualisation, and video storytelling, students will acquire both practical and theoretical skills through a collaborative approach. The goal is to transform complex data into dynamic and accessible visual narratives, making abstract phenomena tangible and building bridges of understanding between different realities. In doing so, students will be able to tackle global and local challenges with innovative tools, creating communicative solutions that effectively address the needs of a rapidly changing world.
This programme is open to candidates with backgrounds in fields such as Graphic Design, Communication Design, Visual Communication and Design, Product or Interior Design, Architecture, or Digital Design.
Developing critical and strategic thinking in visual communication: Students will explore innovative approaches to visual communication courses, considering ethics, visual perception, data visualisation techniques, and the impact of design decisions on data understanding.
Integrating visual storytelling to communicate complexity: Students will gain the skills to construct data storytelling that facilitates the understanding of multidimensional topics. They will learn to combine text, images, and different chart types into cohesive narratives that guide audiences through complex topics clearly and effectively.
Building advanced technical skills in data visualisation: Participants will deepen their knowledge of methodologies, tools, and techniques to transform raw data into understandable and informative visuals. Skills will include the use of data visualisation tools, concepts like data mapping, and selecting the appropriate data visualisation software for specific projects.
Exploring interactive visual storytelling: The programme includes designing interactive experiences where users can dynamically engage with data. Students will learn to visualise data in ways that encourage exploration and interaction, contributing to communication with data tailored to the needs of diverse users.
The two-year programme shapes an intellectual (because they generate thought), a Visual Designer with critical capacity and an extensive culture of media (because they consider the role of design in human experience to be crucial), and a mediator of knowledge (whose methodology and background also draw from social and human sciences, as their field of action is all of human society). A figure capable of leading other specialisations, invited to participate in boards and advisory committees of the most innovative organisations: a professional who learns every day from the Past and introduces innovation into the Present, blending their experiences with those of their interlocutors, in a progressive, open, and inspiring conception of the world’s transformations.
The primary aim of this two-year programme is therefore to teach how to develop visual communication strategies capable of addressing complex domains, using evolving languages and tools within interdisciplinary projects.
The study programme emphasises research, critical thinking, and the theoretical aspects of design, offering students the opportunity to improve their ability to conceptualise and analyse context from a more strategic perspective, paving the way for leadership roles in their respective professional fields.
Learning Outcomes
Ability to communicate complexity through accessible visual solutions: Students will be able to simplify complex concepts and present them clearly, transforming abstract data into easy-to-understand visual representations. They will be equipped to tackle complex topics such as science, economics, politics, or sustainability, conveying them through visual means.
Skill in visual storytelling with data: Students will develop the ability to construct engaging visual narratives that combine data and stories, facilitating the understanding of complex concepts through visualisation. They will be able to translate data into clear visual stories, with a narrative flow that aids interpretation.
Mastery of digital tools for data visualisation: Students will gain expertise in using data visualisation software and tools for creating interactive charts, dashboards, and visual reports. They will know how to select the right tools based on design requirements.
Competence in designing interactive visual experiences: Participants will be able to create interactive visualisations that allow users to dynamically explore data, contributing to personalised experiences tailored to the user’s needs.
Students who successfully complete the two-year programme will:
- Gain advanced knowledge in design, graphics, photography, architecture, and art, along with the tools needed to create original, informed projects within a contemporary context.
- Develop skills in research, critical analysis, and scenario-based experimentation for addressing present and future challenges.
- Acquire the ability to interpret the phenomena of their time.
- Learn to design and develop complex new visual artefacts, ranging from brand identities to digital interfaces, from interactive environments applied to exhibit design and retail to educational and entertainment spaces.
- Be able to conceptualise, design, and execute strategies for improving the quality of information and communication, whether editorial content (news, books, magazines, web, and TV) or commercial, industrial, or service-oriented.
- Gain knowledge to innovate communication systems and processes, mastering advanced techniques and technologies—from Artificial Intelligence to Virtual and Augmented Reality, from new technological materials to circular economy systems.
* The accreditation procedure with the MUR - Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca - for the academic year 2025/26 will be started for this course. The information on this page will be updated when the accreditation procedure is completed.
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