Language

English

Start date

September 2026

Frequency

Full time

Fruition

On campus

Duration

4 Years

Credits

240 ECTS

A learning experience to channel your creativity developing original, meaningful visual communication.

This program, taught in English, gives you the resources you need to find ideas, plan, create and make an impact with visual stories in a variety of settings. The program focuses on experimentation and developing your own style, refined in online and offline projects during the 4-year course.

You’ll discover all the steps of the creative process, from research and interpretation to creating proposals that meet the client’s expectations and more, thanks to the versatility, commitment to value and critical eye you’ll acquire. To do so, you’ll learn to work with text, colour, images, symbols and illustrations to convey an effective message on paper, digital media, internet, audiovisual media, and more.

There are 60 places available for first-year students majoring in Graphic Design. Of these places, there is no specific number assigned by pathway or language.

The Bachelor of Arts in Design is valid throughout the European Higher Education Area, equivalent to an official university degree, and is accredited by the Agency for the Quality of the University System. This programme grants access to official university master’s degrees and, where applicable, to doctoral studies.

Information to decide

A program in which you’ll acquire comprehensive knowledge of the world of graphic design with an emphasis on its social impact, learning from professional designers working in the sector. 

The program syllabus encourages interdisciplinary interaction with other areas of Visual Communication, Design, Design Strategies, Fashion and Management in collaborative workshops and joint projects.
 
Each subject you study is another step on the way to defining your own personal style as a professional graphic designer, a style you’ll refine with every project you work on.
 
The syllabus sets increasingly demanding goals as the 4-year program progresses, culminating in a Final Project working for a real company.
 
At the end of the 4-year program you’ll have all the resources you need to develop every aspect of a visual communication campaign: posters, banners, merchandising, a magazine, packaging for any kind of product, and digital platforms.

This program is for inquisitive people with questions to answer, who want to use graphic design to make a positive impact on society.
 
If you’re a creative person who wants to approach this profession from a critical, original and contemporary point of view, if you want to make your mark developing different proposals for a variety of settings, this is the program for you.

Today, graphic design is one of the most sought-after professional profiles in a creative city like Barcelona. What’s more, you’ll be studying at one of the best design schools, in an international and multidisciplinary environment that puts you in touch with leading companies in the sector.

The 4-year program gives you a holistic vision of the complex world of graphic design: you’ll delve into every area of visual communication where graphics are used, learning to adapt your proposals to meet the current and future demands of a constantly evolving sector.

Syllabus

What will you learn?

The first year introduces you to the basic concepts of design, project culture and methodology. You’ll be actively encouraged to break the mould, to create and communicate.



First Semester

Informatics Graphic Design I 
Animation Techniques in Graphic Design 
Graphic Design Workshop I 
The History of Graphic Design 
Semiotics 
Graphic Techniques in Graphic Design 
Graphic Design Photography I
Typography I



Second Semester

Foundation Project II
Representation Techniques II
Project Communication II
Technical Drawing I 
Sociology 
Volume



Year Subject

The History of Art and Design

What will you learn?

In the second year of the graphic design course you’ll study the technological and design tools you need to communicate a simple but effective visual message. You’ll learn the importance of typography in an editorial context, of narrative language in audiovisual production and discover motion graphics.



First Semester

Informatics Graphic Design I 
Animation Techniques in Graphic Design 
Graphic Design Workshop I 
The History of Graphic Design
Semiotics
Graphic Techniques in Graphic Design 
Graphic Design Photography I 



Second Semester

Audiovisual Graphic Design 
Digital Communication I
Graphic Design I
Informatics Graphic Design II
Typography II 
Digital Communication II
Interdisciplinary Project

What will you learn?

In the third year you’ll gain experience with companies and work on more technical and complex projects, developing prototypes and calculating real production costs. You’ll work on corporate identity, packaging, signage and poster designs.



First Semester

Graphic Design Strategy and Management 
Workshop II
Corporate Identity Project 
Editing Techniques 
Project Communication III
Project I



Second Semester

CREATIVITY 
Calligraphy, Serigraphy & Engraving Wsp
Editorial Project and Interactive Communication 
Contemporary Communication 
Packaging Project 
Multidisciplinary Workshop I

What will you learn?

In the fourth year you’ll put what you’ve learnt into practice in the form of mandatory work experience, and choose a professional specialisation. Last but not least, you’ll culminate the year with your Final Project working for a real company.



First Semester

Motion Graphics 
Workshop III 
Eco-design 
Project II
Digital Communication III
Professional Internship 
Multidisciplinary Workshop II



Second Semester

Final Project

Faculty

Director

Mery Glez

Video Designer and Creative Technologist

Teacher

Elio Salichs

Teacher

Joao Antunes

Teacher

Xano Armenter

Teacher

Anna Sodupe

Teacher

Borja Martínez

Teacher

Albert Ruiz Villar

Art Director

Teacher

Luisa Severo

Head of Brand and Communication Joko

Ferran Milan

Typeface Designer Letterjuice

Projects

Graphic Design and Visual Communication

Barcelona

Final projects / thesis projects
Ästhetik des Vergessens
Daka Archive Lia Ferreiro IED Barcelona Best Thesis 2024

Graphic Design and Visual Communication

Barcelona

Final projects / thesis projects
Daka Archive
Two black boxes with a central hole where you can see a fabric with colored patterns and the word SOMNIA on the packaging.

Graphic Design and Visual Communication

Barcelona

Final projects / thesis projects
SOMNIA
Two catalogues of coloured strips displayed in a fan-shaped arrangement

Graphic Design and Visual Communication

Barcelona

Final projects / thesis projects
What the Trees Told Me
A metal book with embossed letters on a black background

Graphic Design and Visual Communication

Barcelona

Final projects / thesis projects
Sutura: A Collective Unconscious
Caminos de Resistencia IED Barcelona – Estudiante: Irene Fuente Fernández

Graphic Design and Visual Communication

Barcelona

Final projects / thesis projects
Caminos de Resistencia [Paths of Resistance]
Budeugi Lyak IED Barcelona – Estudiante: Su Bin Shin

Graphic Design and Visual Communication

Barcelona

Final projects / thesis projects
Budeugi Lyak
Waisy, Echoes of Inca Symbols IED Barcelona – Estudiante: Laura Valdez

Graphic Design and Visual Communication

Barcelona

Final projects / thesis projects
Waisy, Echoes of Inca Symbols
Mórfosis IED Barcelona – Estudiante: Camila Kotliarksy

Graphic Design and Visual Communication

Barcelona

Mórfosis

News

15 April 2026

More than 9,800 students took part in the AQU Catalunya and Catalan universities' mass survey on recent graduate satisfaction

Responses will be used to identify areas for improvement in the higher education studies currently offered in the Catalan university system and in higher artistic education centres.

14 April 2026

Albert Folch leads a new session of IED MUSES Talks at Bilbao

A new session of IED MUSES Talks brings together Albert Folch and Isabel Fernández to explore design from an expanded perspective.

13 April 2026

IED presents The Searchlights: the urgencies of our time through the photographs of people in their twenties

As part of EXPOSED Torino Photo Festival, IED presents the second chapter of the three-year project Ti vorrei dire, developed in collaboration with Gallerie d'Italia - Torino, a part of Intesa Sanpaolo

Dos premios para el documental The Designer is Dead de Gonzalo Hergueta, Alumni IED Madrid

13 April 2026

Two awards for the documentary The Designer is Dead by Gonzalo Hergueta, IED Madrid Alumni

The film has won the Best Documentary Award in the Official Selection at Moritz Feed Doc 2026 and the Audience Award at the Atlàntida Mallorca Film Fest 2025

02 April 2026

Forbes Next Leaders: Noemi Giulianini designs the March magazine cover

Forbes Next Leaders and IED join forces to promote next-generation creativity, continuing the partnership dedicated to the Next Leaders covers.

25 March 2026

IED ranked among the world's top 100 academic institutions in the QS World University Rankings® by Subject 2026

Europe's largest Art and Design school network secures 78th place worldwide in the Art & Design discipline, marking its 60th anniversary year.

19 March 2026

Plural Intelligences: IED Announces the Theme of Its 60th Anniversary

IED reveals Plural Intelligences, the theme dedicated to the 60th anniversary of its foundation, which will take place in 2026.

Forbes Next Leaders – IED Student designs the February cover of Next Leaders

12 March 2026

Forbes Next Leaders – IED Student designs the February cover of Next Leaders

Forbes Next Leaders and IED come together to promote the creativity of a new generation: the partnership dedicated to the covers of Next Leaders begins.

06 March 2026

IED Madrid’s Workshop Week 2026 explores new creative territories with international guest lecturers thanks to the Erasmus KA131 programme

Guest lecturers Lavinia Rosseti, Filippo Rossi, and Nicolas Lambouris brought new perspectives on materiality and contemporary audiovisual practices within the #TimesNew concept.