Diploma Accademico di Secondo Livello (DASL) in Visual Communication - IED Milano

Language

English, Italian

Start date

October 2026
October 2027

Frequency

Full time

Fruition

On campus

Duration

2 Years

Credits

120 CFA / ECTS

Course Coordination

Franco Achilli

How can visual communication tell, influence, and shape the way we experience the world and the cultural identity of the communities living in it?

In a fast-moving technological world, where imagery and information are constantly streaming in, visual communication plays a growing role as the need to build reliable and effective narratives is feeling ever more urgent today.

The Master of Arts in Visual Communication. Critical Narratives in Post-Digital Worlds investigates how the culture of visual communication can generate meaningful narratives where technology is seamlessly integrated into communication exchange patterns between communities and the environment. This approach fits into the vision of DesignXCommons, where design is regarded to integrate the commons and regenerate the planet.

This course has a focus on media analysis as a way towards building independent critical thinking and creating visual communication systems that carry meaningful and self-aware cultural and social contents. Using an interdisciplinary approach, technical and cultural skills will be expanded as part of a curriculum where semiotics, cultural anthropology and graphic design are brought together with interaction design, motion graphics, artificial intelligence, augmented reality and video storytelling to create analogue or digital projects with awareness of diverse cultural identities, while promoting social inclusion and environmental sustainability.

Designing effective communication systems and strategies as part of complex scenarios calls for a thorough understanding of both social and cultural contexts where communication patterns will be placed. Likewise, an ethical and responsible use of evolving technological tools will also be implemented. Theory training is complemented by on-site practice through collaborative workshops to encourage teamwork in multidisciplinary teams while also developing projects in real-world and diverse contexts.

Career roles that can be pursued with the course in Visual Communication. Critical Narratives in Post-Digital Worlds will be able to better facilitate complexity storytelling through critical, strategic, and technical skills in advertising, corporate communications, creative direction in fashion and interactive media, art communication, organising events, products and services. Continuing in Ph.D. trajectories at Italian and foreign universities will also be an option.

 

Faculty

Course Leader

Franco Achilli

Architect and designer trained at G&R Associati

Chiara Grandesso

Graphic Designer and Researcher

Carlo Branzaglia

Strategic Design and Design Education

Gian Luca Fracassi

Creative Director

Massimo Pitis

Graphic Designer and Art Director

Erica Petrillo

Curator and Researcher

Laura Lisi

Translator and Interpreter

Alessandro Curti

Journalist

Cinzia Bongino

Graphic, Information, Web designer

Erik Kessels

Curator and communication designer

Jonathan Wajskol

Visual Communication designer

Justus Oehler

Graphic Designer

Maurizio Tafuro

Director, videomaker and Photographer

Dimitris Stefanidis

Creative Director

Projects

Graphic Design and Visual Communication

Milan

Didactic projects
Fregüj

Graphic Design and Visual Communication

Milan

Didactic projects
Workshop Design methodology: research and discovery

What people say

Visual Communication. Critical Narratives in Post-Digital Worlds

Course coordinator describes the goal, the methodology and the professional opportunities of the Master of Arts in Visual Communication.

Franco Achilli

DesignXCommons

The world could be otherwise: making by making strange

"The world has become so flattened by routine that we no longer fully see the objects around us; we merely recognize them."

The workshop took place at Rifugio Amprimo (Val di Susa- Italy) and has been inspired by the statement of Russian theorist Viktor Shklovsky.

News

Art and design exhibition featuring two central rocks sewn with printed fabrics

23 October 2026

“Valor Ancestral: Latam Creative Talent 2026” makes a stop at IED Barcelona

Following its presentation at IED Madrid and ahead of its move to IED Kunsthal Bilbao, the latest edition of the international exhibition, an initiative promoted by IED since 2022, was on display to coincide with the Barcelona campus’s activities as part of Barcelona Design Week.

21 October 2026

IED Torino at Torino Art Week 2026

IED Torino at Torino Art Week with a series of collaborations and projects involving students from different courses, from Photography to Communication Design.

16 October 2026

From Zero to Future 2026

Opening of the Academic Year in Visual Arts and Communication with a Three-Day Workshop for New Students

14 October 2026

TypoLAB by Gonzalo Muñoz wins a LADAWARD 2026 Award

The project adds another international accolade to its list of achievements, winning in the Student–Digital category.

12 October 2026

Saioa Villa, alumni of IED Kunsthal Bilbao, presents Matterness at Basquerville Festival

The Official Undergraduate Degree in Graphic Design graduate was selected to take part in Harroby, the festival’s platform dedicated to the next generation of design professionals.

06 October 2026

Public Program IED.60, October 2026

This month, IED’s Public Program continues to take design beyond the classroom, creating opportunities for dialogue with audiences, cultural institutions, businesses and professional communities.

05 October 2026

IED Kunsthal Bilbao opens the 2026/27 Master and Postgraduate academic year with Toni Segarra

The day combined an institutional welcome for new students with an open, intergenerational conversation on creativity, talent, teamwork and the transformation of the profession.

02 October 2026

AQU Catalunya grants favourable accreditation to IED Barcelona’s Bachelor of Arts in Design

Once again, IED Barcelona has received a favourable report from the Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency (AQU Catalunya), certifying the quality of the Bachelor of Arts in Design (Título de Grado en Enseñanzas Artísticas Superiores de Diseño) delivered by the centre.

Two girls holding a paper program in front of a design festival poster

02 October 2026

Brut! 2026 brings two new creative voices from IED Barcelona to the stage

Visual Arts graduates Irina Kavtaradze and Kyla Henry took part in the event where leading design schools showcase their outstanding final degree projects, held on 1 and 2 October at Disseny Hub Barcelona.

Don't miss it

Exhibitions and Festival

23 October 2026 - 25 October 2026

Madrid

IED Madrid in the 7th Edition of Recreo Book Art Fair

The school is developing GRADA, a collaborative project with Recreo that transforms the fair’s auditorium into a space for meeting, play and participation

Exhibitions and Festival

29 October 2026 - 15 November 2026

Madrid

IED Madrid takes part in BID26 with a project exploring identity and identification systems

The project combines installations, interfaces and immersive experiences to reflect on depersonalisation, exclusion and the role of digital and social codes in shaping identity.

Exhibitions and Festival

06 November 2026 - 07 November 2026

Barcelona

Mira Digital Arts Festival 2026

IED Barcelona returns as an artistic partner and will take part in the digital arts and contemporary music festival with “Ananke: A Liturgy”, an interactive installation by Motion Graphics and Video alumna Malak Yahia.