The image constitutes simultaneously experience, relationship and narrative. The area promotes a design culture oriented towards developing critical perspectives and authorial visions, capable of interpreting reality and transforming it into meaningful visual content.

Visual design at IED is founded on contaminations, dialogues and visions that cross disciplinary boundaries.
In this context, Design Culture, Responsibility and Transdisciplinarity represent daily practices that guide research, nurture dialogue and open new expressive possibilities.

In the contemporary context, where the image is no longer configured exclusively as representation but as experience, interaction and story, the Photography and Visual Narratives area trains visual designers capable of translating complex ideas into effective and memorable visual languages.
The objective is to develop a design culture that integrates creativity, technique and critical thinking, generating impact in publishing, communication, digital and art fields.

The area's identity develops through an interdisciplinary approach, in which graphics, illustration, photography and web design converge to build visual narratives aimed at contemporary audiences.
Visual content assumes a strategic function in constructing identity, communicating values and designing experiences.

IED offers a learning environment that stimulates experimentation, promotes conscious use of digital technologies and integrates sustainability as a design principle.
In this context, interest in the visual arts translates into concrete competencies, capable of engaging with the creative industry and responding to emerging challenges.

Photography

Photography is understood as a design language that integrates technique, visual culture and personal research. Practice develops between analogue and digital methodologies, exploring different genres such as reportage, fashion, art and documentation. The authorial approach constitutes the core of the learning path, supported by professional laboratories, advanced software and interdisciplinary collaborations. Critical reflection on the image interweaves with experimentation, opening perspectives towards contemporary and future scenarios of visual communication.

Visual Communication

The area focuses on building visual narratives capable of connecting content, identity and audience. Work develops around integrated communication systems, where visual coherence and strategic thinking intersect with graphic design, publishing and branding. The approach is multidisciplinary and oriented towards experimentation, with particular attention to contemporary visual culture.

Graphic Design

Graphic design is conceived as a cultural and communicative practice. Visual languages applied to publishing, typography, packaging and digital communication are explored, with particular attention to building layouts and coherent visual systems. The pathway values formal and conceptual research, integrating professional tools and design vision.

Illustration

Illustration represents an expressive space dedicated to developing visual languages for telling ideas, emotions and concepts. Practice develops between traditional and digital media, exploring storytelling, conceptual communication and data visualisation. The approach is authorial and experimental, with particular attention to narrative and the construction of visual identities.

Digital Graphics & Software

A technical-creative field dedicated to digital tools for visual design. Professional software such as Adobe Suite, 3D tools and motion graphics are explored in depth, integrating operational competencies with conscious design vision. The objective is to translate complex ideas into effective visual content adaptable to different application contexts.

Web Design

Web design is understood as the construction of digital experiences. Work focuses on interfaces, layouts and content oriented towards usability and visual narrative, with particular attention to user experience principles and responsive design. The approach is multidisciplinary and integrates graphics, interaction and digital storytelling.

IED Offering in Photography and Visual Narratives

Competencies and Professional Prospects

The learning path enables development of competencies that respond to the needs of the creative industry and contemporary visual communication. During studies, students build solid technical and cultural preparation, refine sensitivity towards visual language and develop a portfolio that reflects a personal and coherent design vision.

IED Students Currently Work As: 

Graphic Designer, Designer and Art Director, Web Designer, Motion Graphics Designer, Data Visualiser, Editorial Designer, Illustrator, Digital Creative, Interactive Art Director, Packaging Designer, Typographer, Photographer, Visual Designer. 

Projects

Fashion Design and Styling

Rome

Final projects / thesis projects
MISK

Visual and Interactive Arts

Rome

Final projects / thesis projects
Mourning Tide

Fashion Design and Styling

Rome

Didactic projects
IED Roma x Cosmopolitan

Visual and Interactive Arts

Turin

Final projects / thesis projects
Abitare l’acqua

Visual and Interactive Arts

Turin

Final projects / thesis projects
Sempre, sempre, sempre.

Visual and Interactive Arts

Turin

Final projects / thesis projects
Radici, flussi d’identità

Visual and Interactive Arts

Rome

Didactic projects
Latent autobiography

Visual and Interactive Arts

Rome

Final projects / thesis projects
Geographies of the Prototype and of a Self Found Elsewhere

Visual and Interactive Arts

Rome

Didactic projects
River

News

30 October 2026

IED joins the Chile Diseño 2026 Awards as institutional partner, speaker and jury contributor

IED supports the awards through jury participation and a talk by Spanish illustrator Puño.

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

16 October 2026

The three IED projects selected for the ADI Design Index 2026

Textile Refugee (IED Milano), EVOluzione and Sei Complice (IED Roma) are in the running for the 2028 Compasso d’Oro in the Targa Giovani category.

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.

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.