Summer Course in Graphic Design and Portfolio - IED Firenze

Language

English

Start date

June 2026

Frequency

Full time

Fruition

On campus

Duration

3 Weeks

Course Coordination

Marco Innocenti

Price

2.800 €

Through lectures, case studies, labs and site visits, you will enhance your theoretical knowledge and technical skills, in order to complete a creative portfolio, developed during this three-week experience.

The course in Graphic Design and Portfolio offers you the possibility to challenge yourself with a creative programme that combines traditional lectures and project work to approach the basic tools and techniques of graphic and visual design. 

The following topics are discussed during the program: historical background of graphics and design, elements of visual communication, basic design, page layout, font and color, fundamentals of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, image placement, save and exporting, development and update of a professional portfolio:

Basic Design: The course focuses on the basis of visual communication, giving an historical overview of graphics and communication, elements of semiotics and graphic perception, including the study of colour palette, families of fonts and typography.

VISUAL DESIGN LAB - Photoshop and Illustrator: The aim of this course is to enable you to use the essential graphic design softwares. You will learn how to use the tools necessary for graphic representations on different digital media. From the first steps in the world of vector graphics with the use of Illustrator, the program proceeds with Photoshop and the versatility of photo editing techniques. The learning-by-doing approach and the workshops will facilitate the comparison with your classmates, on various more and more concrete cases.

Information to decide

This course is meant to provide you with a hands-on introduction to graphic design principles and tools. Through theoretical lessons, the programme covers high-level concepts like layout, typography, and color. You will have the chance to get hands-on, using Illustrator to build a custom logo and practice the vector drawing techniques. Next, the course takes you into Photoshop, where you learn how to creatively adjust and retouch the images you will use in design projects. During the Final Project presentation, together with your fellows you will show the results of the work carried out through the course.

Summer course includes a strategic combination of theoretical lessons, case studies and workshops with industry professionals, as well as site visits to design studios and exhibitions. Site visits are an integral part of the program’s learning experience and are designed to complement what is acquired in the classroom as well as serve as an on-going orientation to the field.

This course meets from Monday to Friday on a full time basis (morning and afternoon) the course has a duration of 75 hours spread over 3 weeks.

The course is designed for aspiring designers who wish to acquire the fundamentals of graphic design in an intensive three-week program.This is an introductory course and no previous studies within the field are required. However we suggest students to familiarize themselves with the major themes that will be presented. 

Faculty

Course Coordinator

Marco Innocenti

Art Director

Laura Ottina

Professor    

Marco Peluso

Art Director & Brand Designer

Federico Cagnucci

Projects

Graphic Design and Visual Communication

Florence

Final projects / thesis projects
My portfolio: feel, travel, music

Graphic Design and Visual Communication

Florence

Final projects / thesis projects
My Portfolio

Graphic Design and Visual Communication

Florence

Final projects / thesis projects
An Afternoon Mapped in Florence

News

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 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.

Display case of a typography exhibition

26 February 2026

TDC 71: The Power of Typography Arrives at IED Barcelona

From 25 February to 25 March, the campus will host, for the second consecutive year, the exhibition of the finest international works awarded by the Type Directors Club (TDC) of New York in 2025.

23 February 2026

IED Kunsthal Bilbao presents “¿Y TÚ? TA ZU? ” in collaboration with the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum and the Mayor of Bilbao.

The graphic intervention emerges from the students’ direct engagement with the exhibition dedicated to Barbara Kruger at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, inviting the public to reflect on their role within today’s complex reality.

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.

20 February 2026

VISIONI DAL FUTURO - A century of posters from the Triennale Milano Archives, animated and reinterpreted by young designers

The installation, part of the European project SISS – Sounding Images, Screening Sounds, was presented in the Agora of IED Kunsthal Bilbao with a live performance.

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.

Don't miss it

Exhibitions and Festival

17 February 2026 - 23 March 2026

Madrid

Latam Creative Talent: Valor Ancestral

IED Madrid presents Latam Creative Talent: The Shapes of Nature, an exhibition led by Istituto Europeo di Design, highlighting Latin American talent and its contemporary dialogue with nature as part of the Madrid Design Festival.

Exhibitions and Festival

11 March 2026 - 15 March 2026

Madrid

AULA 2026

From 11 to 15 March, come and see us at Stand 10A12 in Hall 12 at IFEMA

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