Jewelry Design

Language

English

Start date

October 2024

Frequency

Full time

Fruition

On campus

Duration

3 Years

Credits

180

Course Coordination

Giulia Savino

Bring your jewellery idea to life and tell a story that travels through time with our Jewellery Design degree programme

Get ready to step into a world of discovery: with our Jewellery Design Undergraduate Programme, you will become a Jewellery Designer with the ability to create, prototype and make a complete jewellery collection, adding some style and flair of your own.

You will be covering everything from work with metals and alternative materials, to digital design, 3D modelling and rendering.

With a project-based approach to jewellery, where continuous experimentation is carried out while working hands-on in the goldsmith's workshop, you will build a solid foundation as a basis for your personal idea of Jewellery Design.

You will learn about the challenging context of contemporary jewellery as you start interacting between two apparently unconnected worlds: personal and experimental approach on the one hand and company-oriented design on the other, both of which being essential for your future career as a Jewellery Designer.

You will come into contact with many different interpretations of jewellery design. First, Contemporary Art Jewellery where each piece of jewellery is a unique piece, made from precious or alternative materials that make it a work of art. You will also experiment with Fashion Jewellery, where jewellery is regarded as a fashion element enriching and embellishing every outwear. A different kind of perspective will be experienced through Fine Jewellery, where project design and the use of precious materials are all intertwined.

 

After the course, a First Level Academic Diploma is issued. It is recognised by MUR - Italian Ministry of University and Research - and has the same legal value of a Bachelor’s Degree.

Information to decide

Taking you from concept development to project execution, across all applications of Jewellery Design

Over the three years, we will explore a variety of methods of jewellery design and creation, covering everything from hands-on craftsmanship, manual graphic techniques and digital design software tools, all the way to 3D rendering and 3D printing technologies. 

You will be able to design and practice your skills within the goldsmithing workshop available at the school. Here you will experiment with different materials and manufacturing techniques, as you gradually gain the skills you need to analyse project feasibility of a piece of jewellery.

This degree programme seeks to provide you with an overall background of Jewellery Design, covering both theory and situational knowledge. You will also have the opportunity to strengthen your cultural, technical and project design skills, feeling more confident as you approach making an entire jewellery collection from scratch. You will explore how to combine tradition and innovation. As you do so, you will realize that your interpretation of the world provides invaluable narrative resources that will contribute to building your future career as a Jewellery Designer.

Over the three years of your Jewellery Design degree programme, you will have the opportunity to develop many different jewellery collections, presenting your work in international settings and attending workshops held by well-known designers. This experience will enable you to create a personal work portfolio that will provide the basis for your professional career.

Finally, with your dissertation you will have the opportunity to develop a complete jewellery collection project, where your style and identity as a designer will surely stand out.

This training is designed for students who want to explore all the possible options of jewellery design across its different areas of application. It is also for those who wish to acquire the know-how required to successfully work with their creative skills and style.

We will take you through all the steps of the creative process -whether you have an artistic background and have already experienced making jewellery on your own, or whether you are just starting out in the field. You will become familiar with the use of manual and technological tools, feeling more confident as you prepare to move into your future career as a Jewellery Designer.

Together with your IED classmates and lecturers, you will understand how important it is to challenge yourself, working as part of a learning community. You will also practice the skills acquired over the years as you join international competitions with your fellows, and meet designers from leading companies who will introduce you to the secrets of the trade. You will shape your own creative style mixing hands-on skills and the digital knowledge of 3D design.

The Jewellery Design Undergraduate Programme at IED Milano will give you the opportunity to build your own creative style as a well-rounded Jewellery Designer. Starting from the basics, you will learn how to work independently across all the steps of a jewellery collection project, covering all aspects of the design process, from concept development to prototyping and implementation. 

With a curious and open-minded approach to all areas of creativeness involved in Jewellery Design, you will acquire an overall perspective where jewellery can be understood as a work of art, with concept being the core value, and also as a fashion product that can interact with clothes, with high jewellery as its most sublime expression. 

Working in small classes to encourage discussion and exchange of views, you will come into contact with students from international backgrounds who share with you the opportunity of an English-language learning experience, opening up to an international perspective on design as a starting point for shaping new ideas.

You will have the opportunity to challenge yourself as you design and produce different collections, working with agencies, businesses and institutions, where you will gain first-hand insights into the production system. You will take part in workshops held by well-known designers and attend international contests where you will have the opportunity to present your work. As this training provides full coverage of specialist skills and activities, step by step you will learn how to carry out projects of growing complexity that will eventually contribute to your overall work portfolio. This will be your go-to tool for accessing a market niche that has great appeal and can provide exciting career opportunities as you move ahead. 

Syllabus

first year

On your first year, you will acquire basic technical, cultural, analytical and project-based tools. All this knowledge will provide the foundation for you to build your own vision of jewellery, translating your creativity into real-life projects.

HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY ART
DESIGN METHODS
MATERIALS TYPOLOGY 1
DRAFTING
HISTORY OF DESIGN
MODEL BUILDING 1
GRAPHIC DESIGN 1
JEWELRY DESIGN 1
ARTS SEMIOTICS
PERCEPTION THEORY AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF FORM



second year

Over the second year, you will have the opportunity to strengthen your methods and gain more confidence with your practical skills.
As you work through different design briefs, you will be able to engage with experimental research and a variety of manufacturing techniques. You will have the opportunity to experience both large-scale production and manufacturing of customised items. You will become familiar with Jewellery Design in its intersections with art, design, fashion and socio-cultural contexts.

MATERIALS TYPOLOGY 2
DRAWING TECHNIQUES AND TECHNOLOGIES
HISTORY OF APPLIED ARTS
MODEL BUILDING 2
JEWELRY DESIGN 2
DESIGN
3D COMPUTER MODEL-MAKING TECHNIQUES
DESIGN MANAGEMENT
SOCIOLOGY OF CULTURE
HISTORY OF FASHION



third year

The last year will focus on advanced project-related skills, with an in-depth exploration of technical and situational knowledge of Jewellery Design. With your final dissertation, you will have the opportunity to test the skills you have acquired as you work on a practical Jewellery Design project of your own, where you can fully express your personal style and identity.

JEWELRY DESIGN 3
3D RENDERING TECHNOLOGIES
FASHION STUDIES: ENVIRONMENT
PHENOMENOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS
HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE
JEWELRY DESIGN 4

Faculty

Giulia Savino

Jewelry Designer

Course Coordinator

Lavinia Rossetti

Goldsmith

Marzia Simari Benigno

Freelance Consultant

Francesca Torri

Jewelry Designer and Goldsmith

Jacopo Miliani

Visual Artist

Irene Belfi

Lecturer in History of Contemporary Jewellery

Bianca Cappello

Jewellery historian, author of books, curator of exhibitions and conferences, and scientific consultant

Nathalie Jean

Jewelry Designer

Dario Mambretti

Goldsmith and jewellery designer

Matteo Moscatelli

Architect and PhD

Matteo Pellegrino

Product Designer    

Marta Petri

Head of Design at HFactor

Alessandra Quattordio

Lecturer in History of Jewellery Design, art historian and journalist

Chiaralice Rizzi

Lecturer of History of contemporary art, exhibition workshop and thesis research

Maria Grazia Rodi

Sell out specialist e Senior designer

Ubaldo Peveri

Head of goldsmith lab - IED Milan

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