To navigate the world of visual arts with professionalism and expertise, it’s essential to have an eclectic and cross-disciplinary cultural foundation.

Concepts like the Metaverse, Artificial Intelligence, and Phygital are no longer emerging trends, but realities that are redefining how we create and communicate. Technological evolution has expanded expressive possibilities, opening new horizons for design, animation, visual arts, visual communication, and the world of entertainment.

Those working in the visual arts sector no longer simply create images or content, but design experiences: immersive, interactive, multisensory. This requires a multidisciplinary approach, combining creativity, technology, and strategy, and involving figures such as Designers, Animators, Developers, and Communication Specialists.
Working with graphics, illustration, animation, photography, film, video, sound, and new media means adapting to ever-evolving languages and constantly experimenting with new solutions.

The IED School of Visual Arts is the creative laboratory where you can turn your passion into practical skills. Here, you can:

·       Go beyond technique, learning a method and an analytical approach to understand the relationship between form and identity, and the transformation of a mark into a symbol.

·       Experiment with cutting-edge technologies through a constantly updated research lab, where creativity and innovation meet.

·       Receive a comprehensive education, preparing you to enter today’s job market—and that of the future.

With the skills you’ll gain from the IED School of Visual Arts, you’ll be able to pursue a wide range of creative careers.

Here are some of the main professions you might explore:

  • Graphic Designer: A visual communicator who translates ideas into graphic elements essential to building and strengthening a company or brand’s visual identity.
     
  • Visual Artist: A creative who draws on various artistic disciplines—including painting, drawing, photography, and video—to communicate ideas and evoke emotion in contexts such as contemporary art, illustration, design, and advertising.
     
  • Photographer:  A master of the image who conveys stories and emotions through the lens, capturing the essence of the moment in each shot.
     
  • Video Designer: A visual content creator responsible for the conception, production, and editing of videos. This professional combines technical skills and creativity to produce works that entertain, inform, and engage audiences.
     
  • Illustrator:  A talented artist known for their ability to transform ideas, narratives, and concepts into captivating, engaging images.
     
  • Media Designer:  An innovative creative who specialises in visual storytelling, designing and producing digital content including graphics, audio, video, and animations to communicate messages effectively.
     
  • Sound Designer: A sound expert who plays a key role in audiovisual production, blending technical and artistic skills to enrich each story with immersive soundscapes.
     
  • CG Animator: An artist specialised in creating high-quality animations and visual effects across media including film, video games, and advertising, bringing worlds and characters to life through computer graphics.

Explore additional professional roles such as: Art Director, Game Designer, Visual Artist, Packaging Designer, UX Designer.

Where you find Visual Arts

The Visual Arts area is available at several campuses across Italy and Spain.

Welcome to our visual arts fest! 

Our students explore new communication languages throughout visual arts every year; from ground breaking performing arts to analogue photography, we gather visual delights in one place to blow your mind with complex narratives and outstanding aesthetics.

Academic Offer

Alumni Experiences

Who better to share what it’s like to study at the IED School of Visual Arts than those who have already taken this journey?

Here are some testimonials from alumni who have transformed their passion into a career:

Erika VigilanteAlumna, DAPL CG Animation, IED Milano
"I had an extraordinary professor in rigging. The passion he showed in explaining his work still stays with me today. [...] For anyone wanting to follow a path like mine, I would say: focus on a skill that feels natural to you and practise it over and over again."

Domenico RomeoAlumnus, DAPL Graphic Design, IED Roma
"When I was studying, what pushed me to do well was curiosity. So my advice to younger students is to stay curious, look around you, look at those who came before—something I did often—and never think you’ve already made it."

Simon MitjansAlumnus, DAPL Media Design, IED Roma
"I first met PWC during a workshop organised by IED’s Career Service, but at the time I was already working for a software development company. Later on, I came across a job posting from PWC on LinkedIn. At the interview, they remembered our first meeting at IED, and soon after, I started working for them full-time."

Elisa MilanesioAlumna, Master in Visual Arts, IED Milano
"I graduated alongside two classmates with a digitally hand-drawn 2D animated short, which in 2019 won the Giuseppe Laganà award. Just a month after that positive feedback—and with a push from a former IED lecturer, with whom I’m still in contact—I joined Movimenti Production as a junior compositor."

Vincenzo PizziAlumnus, DAPL Sound Design, IED Roma
"IED was a fundamental foundation for developing technical skills and abilities, and for establishing my first professional relationships. It’s a course of study that requires a great deal of work, research, and hands-on practice."

Luca CrescenziAlumnus, DAPL Graphic Design, IED Milano
"The education I received at IED led me to one conviction: never settle for what seems immediately impressive, always push one step further."

Projects

Visual and Interactive Arts

Milan

Young Researchers, Cariplo Foundation

Video, Cinema and Sound Design

Rome

Didactic projects
IED X YoUrbana

Interaction Design and User Experience

Cagliari

Final projects / thesis projects
Baldo - An Experiential Game to Discover Sardinia’s Villages

Video, Cinema and Sound Design

Rome

Didactic projects
Heliopolis

Graphic Design and Visual Communication

Turin

Made in Trace

Graphic Design and Visual Communication

Milan

WILD ME

Animation, 3D and Game Design

Milan

Deadly Nightshade

Animation, 3D and Game Design

Milan

POP Tale

Graphic Design and Visual Communication

Milan

Cercatore d'acqua

News

11 November 2025

Adriano Giannini at IED Milan for a Special Lecture

Adriano Giannini was the protagonist of the new Special Lecture organized by OffiCine-IED and IED Cinema, the Film School of the Istituto Europeo di Design.

10 November 2025

IED presents The Searchlights: Photography as a Political Gesture

The second chapter of the three-year project Ti Vorrei Dire (I Would Like to Tell You), developed in collaboration with Gallerie d’Italia – Intesa Sanpaolo, invites reflection on the power of the image as a political and conscious act — one capable of giving voice and presence to what often remains unseen

29 October 2025

Inclusive graphic design to transform society

For the third consecutive year, IED Barcelona has collaborated with Fundació Setba within the framework of the “Magistrals/Premi Setba” program.

27 October 2025

IED Torino presents APART 2025: new visions for antiques

Photography students will take center stage at the fair enlivening the Promotrice delle Belle Arti from October 29 to November 2.

27 October 2025

Gazes that tell the story of cinema: IED students are the official photographers of the 43rd Torino Film Festival

Amid screenings, talks, and red carpets, the students of IED Turin turn their learning experience into a visual narrative of the festival and its unique atmosphere.

23 October 2025

IED MUSES Talks launches its second season nationwide

The series of inspirational talks promoted by Istituto Europeo di Design features five new creatives who will reveal the stories behind their careers and creative processes, with sessions at the IED Barcelona, IED Madrid, and IED Kunsthal Bilbao campuses. 

16 October 2025

7 IED nominations at the ADCE Student Awards 2025

2 works by alumni from IED Barcelona, 3 from IED Milano, and 2 from IED Roma are competing for the Youngstar Award. The winner will be revealed on 19 November at the ADCE Student Awards Gala, which will open the ADCE Creative Week in Barcelona.

16 October 2025

The Visual Arts of IED, finalists at the Arts Thread Awards

Two projects by Graphic Design alumni are competing in the 6th Global Creative Graduate Showcase, this year in collaboration with Monaco Foundry and Google Arts & Culture, and still open for public voting

14 October 2025

New January intake for Undergraduate Programmes in Italy

Fashion, Design, Communication, Visual Arts and Cinema: your creative journey starts here