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

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

Visual and Interactive Arts

Turin

Didactic projects
00

Visual and Interactive Arts

Turin

Didactic projects
The ice archive

News

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.

Runners starting a mountain race

01 October 2026

A graphic design by IED Barcelona features on the 2026 Travessa Matagalls-Montserrat T-shirt

The design by Visual Arts student Hannah Bokelman was chosen for the T-shirt worn by the 3,000 participants in the event, a non-competitive endurance walk held on 19 and 20 September.

29 September 2026

Six emerging IED designers reach the final stage of the Arts Thread Global Creative Graduate Showcase 2026

Alumni Mariona Panés, Sara Vainer, Miranda Sanz, Malak Yahia and Victoria Escobar (IED Barcelona), together with Zuriñe Berrueta (IED Kunsthal Bilbao), are finalists in the competition, which last year attracted more than 5,000 creatives from 117 countries. Discover their projects and vote!

Crowded stalls of an auditorium

15 September 2026

More than 200 students from 52 nationalities open the 2026-2027 academic year of the IED Barcelona

On 14 September, the Welcome Event welcomed a new generation of creatives and designers joining the undergraduate programmes.

14 September 2026

IED Brazil Coordinator Joins CDSA International Jury and Represents the Institution at Event in China

Eliane Weizmann took part in the official program of City Digital Skin Art (CDSA) 2026, a global initiative that connects art, technology, and urban space, bringing together experts from different countries.

11 September 2026

IED Kunsthal Bilbao temporarily transforms Doña Casilda Park with ‘Sareak’

A cross-disciplinary project bringing together nearly 200 members of the community to reflect on contemporary communication through design.

17 July 2026

Priscilla Fois brings her art to Urban Break Korea

IED Roma alumna Priscilla Fois has been selected to participate in Urban Break Korea, one of the leading international festivals dedicated to urban art.