Product Design
Acquire the skills to you need to create products for a variety of sectors and the know-how to design them for a specific user and environment, with the ergonomics, social value, technology and materials required
Bilbao
ESP
Bachelor of Arts
Language
Spanish
Start date
September 2026
Frequency
Full time
Duration
4 Years
Credits
240 ECTS
Course Coordination
Lucas Abajo
Acquire the skills to you need to create products for a variety of sectors and the know-how to design them for a specific user and environment, with the ergonomics, social value, technology and materials required
This 4-year degree gives aspiring product designers the resources they need to fully comprehend and anticipate market requirements to become qualified, versatile and creative professionals, with in-depth knowledge of the technologies, materials and aesthetic-emotional concepts, and the innovation and management skills required to get ahead in the modern product design world.
The core of the program is project-based, giving you hands-on experience designing user experiences and product solutions for a wide variety of fields (lighting, consumer electronics, wearables, packaging, personal accessories, tools and utensils, furniture, household appliances, food, service design, and more). The program includes challenges that become more complex as it progresses, so you’re ready to develop your final project in the fourth year.
You’ll work hand in hand with your lecturers, all professionals in the world of design, and participate in workshops, visits and master classes.
The Bachelor of Arts has a total of 240 ECTS credits divided into four academic years. It is valid throughout the European Higher Education Area and, to all intents and purposes, is equivalent to an official university degree, and accredited by the Agency for the Quality of the University System. This program enables access to official master’s degrees.
Information to decide
Learn the ins and outs of product design: analyse the market, client and competition, develop and present ideas in viable creative projects, build digital and physical prototypes.
The IED Kunsthal Bilbao degree model is based on a collaborative strategy, with four principle concepts: learning from those who know, learning by doing, learning on demand, learning from reality.
The program is both theoretical and experience-based, with the emphasis on developing projects, to acquire all the knowledge and skills a professional product designer needs.
It’s a complete learning experience with a distinct humanistic vocation: you’ll acquire not only the technical and artistic know-how you need but also all the necessary skills to start working in the product design world.
If you see new ways of doing things, imagine new services and solutions that could make life easier, this is the program for you. In short, it’s for those who want to take the first steps in their professional career devising, creating and shaping the products we use.
If you love drawing, constructing 3D objects and furniture, using the latest technology, if you stand out from the creative crowd, come up with ideas but wonder how to make them happen, if you find yourself examining your environment and imagining how you could improve it, this BA in Product Design is for you.
The degree covers every stage of product design, adopting a methodological approach that combines theory with practice, actively encouraging your creative talent to let your ideas take shape in the form of digital and physical prototypes. The program is organised to present you with a series of challenges, the difficulty of which increases as you progress with the help of your lecturers, all professionals in the design world.
What’s more, you’ll be studying at a unique school in Bilbao where design has played and continues to play a key role in the urban, economic and social dynamics of the city.
Syllabus
What will you learn?
During most of the first year you’ll work with students specialising in other areas of design to acquire a grounding in design methodology and the skills you need to use plotting and communication tools in a creative design process.
This approach lays the foundations on which you’ll build all your subsequent work as a professional designer, developing projects as the course progresses.
You won’t have to wait long to get your first experience with real projects in the very first year of the course.
We believe the best way to learn to design is to learn hands-on working on a range of real projects from the start, using all the tools you’ll need as a professional designer. That’s why we start designing from the word “GO”, adapting the tools you use to suit your level and the knowledge you acquire as you make progress.
First Semester
Science Applied to Design
Design Fundamentals /
Method and Process
Second Semester
Design Fundamentals /
Product Projects 0
Computer Tools
used in Product Design
Communication, Methodology,
Productivity
Annual
Artistic Drawing
Representation Systems
The Basics of Colour
Form and Volume
The History of Art 1
Aesthetics
Digital Technology
Design Fundamentals / Theory
Materials and Technology 1
Analogue and Digital Sketching
What will you learn?
You’ll be studying fewer subjects with other design students and concentrating on more product-specific subjects. You’ll work on four different types of projects, finding solutions to new challenges in the modern world of design.
You’ll be working on outdoor furniture, small household appliances, tools and utensils, and take a first look at more technological products.
You’ll gain more and more hands-on experience with tools, and explore 3D development.
First Semester
Photography and Audiovisual Design
Project II / Technical Project
Project III / Ergonomics
Second Semester
Packaging Projects
Project IV / Styling
Project V / Furniture and Home
Year Subjects
Design Management
The History of Product Design
Design Culture
Materials and Technology 2
Computer Tools 2
What will you learn?
You’ll be studying very specific subjects in depth to acquire expert knowledge of tools like 3D design and digital sketching, and you’ll also start using video and animation in your projects.
The syllabus this year features a very high level of design methodology to put any kind of project on the drawing board, and we’ll also look into personal, artisanal design.
Your projects will include handmade fashion accessories made of materials such as ceramics, wood and fabrics.
First Semester
An Introduction to Animation
Sketching I
Project VI / Lighting
Project VIII / The Urban Environment
Product Design Trends
Photography
Second Semester
Contemporary Art and Design
An introduction to UX
Project VII / Services’ Project
Project IX / Interactive Project
Year Subjects
Materials and Technology 3
Computer Tools 3
Product Design Management
Participation in Activities
What will you learn?
During the first semester of your final year you’ll put the finishing touches to methodology, design, expression techniques, rendering tools, video and animation and product presentation, etc.
During the second semester you’ll work on your Final Project, a very personal project with significant social content, making good use of the know-how and skills acquired.
First Semester
Project Portfolio and Communication
Project Design Management
Scenic and Event Design
Virtual Modelling / Animation and Rendering
The Project and Project Documentation
Technology and Design / Digital Fabrication
Elective Courses
Final Project
Work Experience
Work Experience II
Here you can access the Study Plan of Higher Artistic Design Education.
Faculty
Teacher
Lucas Abajo
Teacher
Laxmi Nazabal
Teacher
Alejandro González
Architect
Teacher
Carlos Alonso Pascual
Teacher
Gorka Sánchez
Teacher
Fermín Hualde
Professional Collaborator
Eduardo Piédrola
Teacher
Borja Legarda
Teacher
Marián Rubio
Professional Collaborator
Tomás Carrascal
Teacher
Susana Zaldívar
Teacher
Itsaso Fernández
Teacher
Ainhoa Garmendia
Teacher
Adele Orcajada
Inside the labs
+3
Prototyping Workshop
+4
Textile Workshop
+3
Printmaking Workshop
+2
Multidisciplinary Workshop on Artistic Techniques
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