An international Product Design project brings together students from IED Torino and IED Kunsthal Bilbao to tackle a real-world design challenge, from concept development to prototyping
Bilbao and Turin Design the Future of Glass Packaging Together
Date
16 June 2026
Second-year Product Design students from IED Torino and IED Kunsthal Bilbao collaborated on a project focused on designing packaging for glass bottles, developed within the Erasmus+ programme through the Blended Mobility format. The initiative offered participants the opportunity to work on a real design brief while exchanging methods, skills, and perspectives across different cultural and educational contexts.
The project began in March in Bilbao, where IED Torino students, accompanied by lecturer Motoki Yoshio, worked alongside their Spanish peers on the development of design concepts. Guided by lecturers Laxmi Nazabal and Lucas Abajo, Coordinator of the Product Design programme at IED Kunsthal Bilbao, the groups carried out research and concept development, exploring the potential of glass and the challenges associated with packaging design.
The collaboration continued in the following weeks through a series of online review sessions, allowing students to refine their proposals and further develop their projects ahead of the final phase.
In May, the project moved to Turin, where the students from Bilbao joined their Italian counterparts for a week dedicated to prototyping. Supported by the lecturers involved in the initiative and by Marco Cassino, Coordinator of the Product Design programme at IED Torino, participants transformed their concepts into physical prototypes, testing and validating the solutions developed during the previous stages.
The programme also included an opportunity to engage directly with the glass industry through Vidrala, a leading manufacturer of glass containers. Students gained insight into production processes and learned how factors such as weight, resistance, temperature, and logistics directly influence design decisions and product development.
The entire project culminates in participation in the Vidrala Master Glass 2026 competition, an international challenge inviting young designers to explore new functional and creative possibilities for glass through innovative and sustainable proposals.
From the development of initial ideas to the creation of final prototypes, the collaboration between Turin and Bilbao fostered a shared design process that allowed students to experience an international dimension of design practice while engaging with different contexts, approaches, and ways of working.
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