Product Design
Create your vision of the world by designing products, strategies and services for people and the surrounding environment.
Milan
On campus
ITA
First Level Academic Diploma in Design - Specialization in Product Design
Language
Italian
Start date
October 2025
Frequency
Full time
Fruition
On campus
Duration
3 Years
Credits
180
Course Coordination
Giovanni Baffetti
Find out how to develop new products that fully meet people’s requirements. This means designing new experiences that will improve their quality of life, while still respecting the environment. And you can do all this with our Product Design degree programme at IED Milano
With a practical approach and workshop activities, you will have the opportunity to experience first-hand the multidisciplinary perspective of this job. You will be working on challenges of growing complexity to meet people and market requirements.
You will be involved in the whole design cycle of a product, working on related services as well, to cover all the key steps of the process: from user research to market analysis, from prototyping to usability testing.
Issued Degree:
Diploma Accademico di Primo Livello (DAPL), corresponding to a Bachelor of Arts Degree (BA) – EQF6 Level (European Qualification Framework).
Credits:
The course awards 180 CFA (Academic Formative Credits), corresponding to 180 ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System).
Information to decide
Just step into a new way of looking at products using a user-centred approach, just like we do in our Product Design degree programme at IED Milano. We will work on making products -as the tangible part of projects- but also on providing related services. These are intangible parts revealing the connection between products, their users and the system around them.
Over the three years of your Product Design programme at IED Milano, you will have the opportunity to explore the Italian culture of design, which is well-known and respected worldwide. You will have the chance to join a long-standing tradition that began with Leonardo’s creative genius and is now recognized everywhere for its commitment to bringing excellence of project design to the world market.
You will further explore different subjects and acquire a solid theory background that will help you understand how behaviours evolve. You will learn to interpret market trends and people’s requirements through a thorough study of key marketing techniques.
You will develop a critical strategic thinking and project design methodology using the most advanced tools and technology to cover both physical and digital design: three-dimensional modelling, 3D rendering and printing, electronic prototyping on the Arduino platform, as well as the integration of advanced sensors.
Professionals and market leaders partnering with the school will give you the tools necessary to address challenging situations that might arise. You will also work with other students to build models and prototypes in an environment of experimentation and constant sharing.
The Product Design programme at IED Milano is for anyone who wants to approach with curiosity and enthusiasm the interactions produced through products and services in our day-to-day life, trying to improve things as best as possible.
Whatever your previous experience or education, if you really want to move into the world of product design, all you need is a passion and curiosity to explore all the tools available for you to make your ideas come true, and fulfil your dream of becoming a product designer.
You will be part of a large family made up of lecturers, students and experienced professionals who will be with you as you develop all the theory and technical skills needed to successfully move into your future career. Teamwork and collaborations with our partner companies will give you the opportunity to explore your own talents, to build your own strategic thinking and develop your personal approach to product design.
You will come into close contact with market demand as you create and maintain relationships with leading national and international companies and design studios that are part of the IED partner network.
The Product Design degree programme at IED Milano will provide continuous updating of its curriculum with the help of qualified lecturers, who are all professionals in their own fields. The whole faculty, working together with designers having their backgrounds in the professional, cultural and manufacturing worlds, will introduce you to a profession where the final result is achieved through a careful and detailed process.
The aim of the Product Design degree programme is to train professionals who want to experiment and develop their ideas, so they can achieve the skills required to design products, strategies and services for companies, self-production or small-scale craft production. At the end of the three years, you will be able to work as a Product Designer, Service Designer or Concept Designer.
You will attend school in small classes where you can experience a lab-based mode of learning, exchange with others and elaborate on creative ideas coming from workshops, contests, seminars or special projects. You will be inspired by your own critical thinking skills, while also building your own identity as a product designer.
The main software you will need during your course is provided by IED!
On this page you will find all the features you need for your computer.
Syllabus
first year
The year of discovery: over your first year, you will study theory and practice to learn how to take your first steps into the project design process - from the product idea to be produced and all the way to prototyping and execution. You will also experience how to give shape to your creativity working on real projects outsourced by partner companies.
THEORY OF PERCEPTION AND PSYCHOLOGY OF FORM
PROJECT DESIGN METHODOLOGY
TECHNICAL AND PROJECT DESIGN
GRAPHIC DESIGN
MATERIALS TYPOLOGY 1
HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY ART
DESIGN HISTORY 1
MODELLING 1
FUNDAMENTALS OF CULTURAL MARKETING
PRODUCT DESIGN 1
second year
The year of knowledge: over your second year, you will go deeper into the subjects useful for developing a solid background and for working on specific projects. Indeed, with each project you will continue to explore your own style and identity, learning how to bring to life new ideas that can combine environmental and economic sustainability.
SOCIOLOGY OF CULTURAL PROCESSES
DESIGN TECHNIQUES AND TECHNOLOGIES
MATERIALS TYPOLOGY 2
DESIGN
HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE
DIGITAL MODELLING TECHNIQUES WITH 3D SOFTWARE
MODELLING 2
DESIGN HISTORY 2
DESIGN MANAGEMENT
PRODUCT DESIGN 2
third year
The year of experience: on your third year, we will improve the skills you need to express your creativity independently. We will challenge the difficulties you were confronted with in the previous years, and together we will try to overcome these limits. At the end of the three years, you will be able to work on standard projects based on a brief, on self-produced projects for start-ups, as well as on more advanced projects involving larger systems of products and services.
3D RENDERING
LAYOUT AND GRAPHIC RENDERING TECHNIQUES
PRODUCT DESIGN 3
PRODUCT DESIGN 4
PHENOMENOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Faculty
Giovanni Baffetti
Coordinator of the Product Design course in Italian
Course Coordinator
Giacomo Bertolazzi
Product Designer
Generoso Annunziata
Freelance consultant
Raffaele Bocchetti
Consultant Marketing
Luciano Catena
Head of Modeling Lab
Luca Prandoni
Assistant Lecturer in the Modelling Laboratory, Lecturer
Paolo Lovati
Deputy Head of Product Design at e-Novia
Vito Ingoglia
Graduated in Design Service System Design
Matteo Moscatelli
Architect and PhD
Mattia Parlangeli
Co-Founder at Che Scena
Matteo Vilardo
Art Director and Designer at MVST
Simone Bonanni
Product Designer
Camilla Masala
Senior Service Designer at Avanade
Monica Albini
Eyewear designer at Luxottica
Filippo Garofalo
Authorized Rhinoceros Trainer
Leandro Sgro
Service & Business Designer
Davide Piersanti
Co-founder of Cono Studio
Luke Hornung Danton
Product Designer, Co-founder of TheSignStudio
Ginevra Franchi
Co-founder Cono Studio
Silvia Roth
Thesis Coordination IED Design Milano
Luca Schieppati
Entrepreneur - Designer - Lecturer
Elisa Saporiti
Product Strategic Designer
Matteo Cataldo
Film editor freelance
Gabriel Weirich
Innovation manager
Domiziana Rozza
Service Designer
Marco Fogaccia
Design Lead and Co-Founder in DilloStudio
Tiziana Gemin
A Lecturer in Phenomenology and Curator of Media Art
Emanuela Missanelli
Designer, Garden Designer and Lecturer
Filippo Protasoni
Owner of Design Studio Filippo Protasoni
Enrico Azzimonti
Architect and Designer
Cristiano Oliva
Design Manager
Guglielmo Urso
Product and Strategy Designer
Marco Bonanni
Freelance product design
Mario Redaelli
Architect
Ginevra Gallo Perozzi
Program Specialist Design School
Pasquale Fazio
Modelling LAB Technician Milano
Davide Dell'orto
Modelling LAB Technician Milano
Vittoria Moscon
Modelling LAB Technician, Lecturer
Giorgio Ferrari
CEO and Head of Business Experience Design at quo-d
Federica Biasi
Designer, Art Director
Attila Veress
Design Consultant
Inside the labs
+4
SCANNER LASER 3D - G-SCAN
+4
MODELING LABS - MECHATRONICS AREA
+6
MODELLING LABS - TRADITIONAL WORKING AREA
+8
MODELLING LABS - LIGHT MODELLING AREA
+3
MODELING LABS - PROTOTYPING AREA
+4
MODELING LABS - 3D PRINTING AREA
+2
MODELING LABS - PAINTING AND FINISHING AREA
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