Business Design
Find out how to make an impact by combining design, innovation and technology in a unique course validated by the University of Westminster
Barcelona
ENG
Bachelor of Arts (Hons)
Language
English
Start date
September 2026
Frequency
Full time
Fruition
On campus
Duration
3 Years
Credits
360 UK Credits
An exclusive course in which you’ll learn how to apply your creative mindset and design skills to a specific context.
You’ll develop your skills as never before to convert creative ideas into viable and sustainable business proposals, defining your user, value proposition and ecosystem of action. You’ll also discover the technologies, resources and methods required to apply design to business.
The market needs more and more multidisciplinary professionals, designers who can recognise opportunities for innovation and come up with the ideas needed to create and implement new systems. This program will help you to combine design, innovation and technology to drive positive change in the 21st century.
In the 3-year program, you’ll develop as a member of a team, and gain the experience you need to launch your own start-up. Your lecturers are professional designers working in the sector, eager to pass on their first-hand experience and knowledge.
Information to decide
With a project-based learning method you’ll gain experience that’s easy to apply in an international context.
Hands-on experience and a creative methodology is always our point of reference, an essential part of design thinking, the very core of the program.
In this program you’ll learn all the basics of 'diverging' work, how to analyse the context of the project, find and recognise opportunities and come up with ideas, as well as 'converging' work to find and propose, validate and implement a variety of solutions in various real-life scenarios.
You’ll work with a hands-on learning method, playing an active role in learning activities, alternating between theoretical input and hands-on exercises. The program, which includes a project to be developed every year, is held in an interdisciplinary and international setting, alternating between individual reflection and collaborative teamwork.
The BA (Hons) in Business Design is a program for students with an ambition to make the world a better place by providing solutions people can use, solutions that are both technologically feasible and economically viable for the companies that implement them.
If you find inspiration in a range of design disciplines and want to apply a design mindset to various business areas, this is the program for you.
At the end of the program you’ll have learned everything you need to turn your passion for design into design solutions in a fully functional business context.
We live in an ever-changing world where design visionaries have an increasingly crucial role to play.
This program is one of the few that offers Business Design in an undergraduate program, giving you a broad understanding of different design disciplines (product, service, web, application, strategy, etc.). You’ll also learn how to apply a design mindset to a business context.
Project-based learning gives you the opportunity to put your knowledge into practice. This course is offered in collaboration with the University of Westminster, so on completion of the course you’ll have a degree from a renowned British university.
Syllabus
What will you learn?
In the first year you’ll learn all the fundamentals of design, innovation and technology. You’ll explore graphic and product design, and design as a key element of communication; you’ll also learn how to use the concept of "user-centred" design to improve user experience, focusing what you create on specific customer experience.
Part of the first year course focuses on innovation, finding innovative solutions to solve complex challenges and discovering how new technologies evolve. This lets you take your first steps in user experience (UX) design.
DESIGN FUNDAMENTALS
History of Design
Introduction to Social Sciences for design
Semiotics of Communication
Design Thinking
Product Design
INNOVATION FUNDAMENTALS
Business Strategy
An introduction to Marketing
Introduction to Innovation
Finance Fundamentals
Operations Management
TECHNOLOGY FUNDAMENTALS
Technology Evolution
- Digital Marketing Strategies & Data Analytics
LEVEL 4 PROJECT
What will you learn?
In the second year you’ll delve deeper into product research and prototyping and begin to learn about user experience and service design concepts.
You’ll learn exactly how the process involved in generating and defining ideas works, while studying the most relevant aspects of business management: the legal and financial side, branding and communication, among others, with a syllabus focused on the digital domain.
During the second year you’ll also discover various different frameworks such as Lean-Start-up, Agile Project Management and Team Management techniques.
APPLIED DESIGN
Design Research
Trends
Service Design
Strategic Design
UX Design
APPLIED INNOVATION
Finance
Business Law
Business Model Innovation
Entrepreneurship
Project Management
APPLIED TECHNOLOGY
Principles of Web Development
Principles of App Development
LEVEL 5 PROJECT
TRANSVERSAL WORKSHOPS
What will you learn?
In the third year you’ll explore more intangible design concepts, how to define strategies, critical and speculative thinking and design analysis. The innovation and technology modules focus on implementing innovation processes.
Finally, you’ll apply all the knowledge you’ve acquired during the course to a final project working for a real client, combining in-depth research with hands-on development, fully focused on meeting the requirements of the client’s brief.
You’ll start this final assignment with all the fundamental knowledge and practical experience you need; you'll also discover all you need to know about creating and promoting your own personal brand identity, helping you to make your mark in the industry or launch your own successful start-up.
DESIGN MANAGEMENT
Social Innovation
Design Management
Speculative Design
INNOVATION MANAGEMENT
Innovative Company
Team and Change Management
TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT
Smart Design in Digitalisation Era
Digital Management
LEVEL 6 PROJECT
Final Project
TRANSVERSAL WORKSHOPS
Faculty
Director
Raffaella Perrone
PhD in Theory and History of Architecture
Course Coordinator
Joan Maroto-Sales
PhD in Architectural Projects
Teacher
Manuela Procopio
Service Designer and Digital Design Specialist
Teacher
Gabriela Pedranti
Teacher
Mireia Dilmé
Tech Enablement Program Manager at Google Cloud Consulting
Teacher
Joao Antunes
Teacher
Francesca Tur
Trend Analyst and Futures Communicator
Teacher
Aviv Shany
Designer and Multidisciplinary Maker
Teacher
Rafael Pérez
Design and Innovation Management Specialist
Inside the labs
+3
Hybrid Lab
+2
Media Lab
+4
Design Labs
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