Language

Spanish

Start date

October 2026

Frequency

Evening

Fruition

On campus

Duration

6 Months

Credits

30

Price

€ 6,600

Learn to design environments that combine emotion, technique, and sustainability, understanding the essential role of light in shaping spatial experience.

The Postgraduate Program in Interior Design and Lighting at IED Kunsthal Bilbao offers specialized training that integrates two key areas of spatial design in a balanced and comprehensive way. In response to the growing demand for professionals capable of conceiving space and lighting as a coherent whole, this program provides a solid foundation for understanding, designing, and communicating interior design projects from an integrated perspective.

You will explore how light transforms the perception and character of spaces, how materials interact with it, and how projects can combine creativity, technical precision, and sustainability. Through practical learning methodologies, you will develop a sensitive and professional vision of contemporary interior design, recognizing that lighting is not an addition but an essential tool for creating atmospheres, emotions, and meaning.

Information to decide

Prepare to engage with space in a comprehensive way, combining interior design with lighting culture. This postgraduate program equips you to analyze, conceptualize, and execute projects in fields such as residential, hospitality, retail, and corporate design, integrating technical, material, and lighting aspects from the earliest stages of the process.

With a duration of six months and a part-time format, the program is designed to accommodate working professionals or students seeking an intensive and applicable education. Its practical and up-to-date approach responds to the new demands of a market that values versatility, aesthetic sensitivity, and the ability to lead projects holistically.

The program combines theoretical classes, practical workshops, and project development, encouraging active participation, critical reflection, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Throughout the course, you will work both individually and in groups, applying knowledge to real case studies that simulate professional contexts.

The curriculum is divided into two complementary modules:

  • Interior Design, focused on understanding space, materials, branding, and user experience.

  • Lighting, oriented toward lighting culture, lighting technology, control systems, and the design of light in different spatial typologies.

This program is aimed at:

  • Individuals with no prior background in design who wish to start a career in interior design and lighting.

  • Professionals from related sectors (architecture, furniture, decoration, retail, landscaping, visual merchandising) looking to expand their skills and acquire new competencies.

  • Students from creative disciplines interested in exploring spatial design from a technical and sensory perspective.

  • Professionals seeking a career change toward interior design and architectural lighting.

Basic knowledge of AutoCAD is recommended. For those without it, IED offers access to online introductory training.

IED Kunsthal Bilbao offers an inspiring learning environment, closely connected to the design industry and with a strong practical focus. This program was born from the merger of two consolidated specialization courses, combining their academic and professional experience to offer a more comprehensive education.

You will learn alongside experts in interior design and lighting — such as José Manuel Fernández and Daniela Viloria — and become part of a creative ecosystem where design culture, innovation, and technical skill converge. The program also collaborates with key industry institutions such as APDI, Lightexture, and Slowlight, providing professional visibility, networking opportunities, and international experiences.

Completing this postgraduate program will allow you to join an active professional community and prepare to participate in the transformation of the built environment through a contemporary, sustainable, and human-centered approach.

Syllabus

Foundations and Strategies for Interior Design

  • How to analyze spaces

  • The creative process: how to generate design ideas

  • Creating user-centered spaces

  • Accessibility and sustainability

  • Spaces that reflect a brand

  • The built space

  • Materials and surfaces

  • Light

  • Space conditioning

  • Visual merchandising: designing to sell

  • Interior design project management



Representation Tools for Interior Design

  • Drawing and analysis of forms

  • Graphic representation



Interior Design Projects

  • Retail space

  • Hospitality space

  • Workspace



Foundations of Lighting

Tools for Lighting

  • Key concepts

  • Documentation

  • Dialux EVO for lighting calculation and simulation

  • Control systems



Lighting Culture

  • Health and sustainability

  • How to advance in professional development (APDI)

  • Light art

  • Selected case studies and Slowlight



Lighting Projects

  • Thinking through light

  • Interior lighting

  • Exterior lighting

Faculty

Course Coordinator

Jose Manuel Fernández

Course Coordinator

Daniela Viloria

Teacher

Natalia Zubizarreta

Teacher

Borja Vildósola

News

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 and Filippo Rossi brought new perspectives on materiality and contemporary audiovisual practices within the #TimesNew concept.

03 March 2026

This was IED MUSES Talks: Omar Sosa

The co-founder of ‘Apartamento Magazine’ shared his creative dynamics at the intersection of art, architecture and editorial design in the second episode of the second season of the IED’s inspirational talk series.

IED Expands Its English-Language Offer with New Courses in Design, Fashion and Film

27 February 2026

IED Expands Its English-Language Offer with New Courses in Design, Fashion and Film

IED – Istituto Europeo di Design is broadening its international offer with a new range of English-taught courses. A strategic move that strengthens IED’s position as Europe’s largest design network, opening its doors to students and creative professionals from across the globe.

25 February 2026

AD100 IED Alumni: a talk series with Architectural Digest

The protagonists are three alumni who have been included over the years in the prestigious AD selection. The series opens with Federica Biasi, followed by Francesco Meda and Studio Klass.

23 February 2026

IED Kunsthal Bilbao launches 4 new postgraduate programs

IED Kunsthal introduces the Postgraduate format and begins a new academic phase focused on specialization.

Overhead view of a labyrinth of fabric panels and light

10 February 2026

IED Barcelona bathes Llum BCN 26 in warm light

The lighting design installation “Fabric Maze”, a labyrinth of fabrics, lights and shadows inspired by the textile past of the Poblenou neighbourhood, created warm visual compositions with each visitor’s passage.

09 February 2026

Creativity, design and architecture at the Workshop Week 2026

From 2 to 6 February, 430 students at IED Barcelona took part in this annual multidisciplinary academic activity, which offered 25 multidisciplinary workshops inspired by the Barcelona World Capital of Architecture 2026 event. And, for the first time, it included mobility between campuses.

Poster for the Saló Ensenyament 2026 showing two cheerful young people against a blue background

03 February 2026

IED Barcelona at Saló de l’Ensenyament 2026

From 18 to 22 March, attendees at this event focused on educational guidance will have the opportunity to explore the school’s design training programmes at stand D-453, located at the Fira de Barcelona Montjuïc venue.

26 January 2026

IED’s campuses in Madrid, Bilbao and Barcelona are hosting Valor Ancestral, the travelling exhibition by Latam Creative Talent.

The exhibition will debut in Madrid on February 17 as part of the Madrid Design Festival.

Don't miss it

Open Day

18 March 2026 - 21 March 2026

Multiple

IED Open Day Italy

A calendar of appointments to discover all IED Italia courses in the areas of Design, Fashion, Visual Arts, Cinema, Communication, Art and Restoration.

Exhibitions and Festival

18 March 2026 - 22 March 2026

Barcelona

Saló de l’Ensenyament 2026

From 18 to 22 March, we look forward to welcoming you at stand D-453 at the Montjuïc venue of Fira de Barcelona, where you will be able to discover our educational offer in Design, Fashion, Visual Arts, Marketing and Communication. Come and visit us!

IN-SONORA 2026
Exhibitions and Festival

19 March 2026 - 21 March 2026

Madrid

IN-SONORA 2026

From 19 to 21 March, IED Madrid Design District will host installations and performances from this international exhibition of sound and interactive art