Master in Strategic Design of Spaces - Study Plan

Basic Research Tools

This subject will teach you the research tools, framework and structure to analyze the 5 areas that impact every design project: behaviour, bricks, bytes, business, branding.

Introduction to Workplace Consultancy

The design of a workplace reflecting of culture and brand, reduced rental costs and operating expenditures, improved sustainability measures, increased flexibility that will allow businesses to respond faster to change, improved employee performance, commitment & recruitment.

Research Engagement and Social Impact

Understand the context of use, specify the user requirements, design solutions, evaluate them against requirements, test them for usability and accessibility, ensure long term monitoring of their use, understanding the social impact of the design solutions.

Design Ethnography Techniques

The purpose of design ethnography is to gain design insights understanding the current culture and unwritten rules, design ethnographers are visitors who observe and immerse themselves in the organization.

Anticipating the Needs & Desires of the Future

This is an interactive course, led by a renowned innovator and forward thinker, who will lead students into the framework of disruptive thinking.

Introduction to Final Thesis

With the Final Thesis exercise being the most relevant exercise in the Master’s program, we have organized these sessions to provide explanations, focus and support ahead of the project.

Briefing, the Strategic Process

Briefing is not just presenting a set of documents to the design team; it is a process of developing a Deep understanding about client needs. Understanding and ensuring compatibility between the client’s vision and the resulting product.

Metrics for Defining & Measuring Strategic Success

“You can’t manage what you can’t measure.” Peter Drucker. And you can’t improve any issue if you don’t know what you are improving it against, success is achieved when it is well defined and tracked.

User-Centric Strategy & Agile Methodologies

The design world has adapted the “Agile Manifesto principles” to improve its own methodologies and ideas: collaborate more with clients, communication, focus on delivering and testing design solutions, be open to changes.

Change Management

Change Management is the application of processes and tools to manage the people side from a current state to a new future state so that the desired results (and expected return on investment) are achieved.

A Sustainable Future; Alignment of Flexibility & Timeless Design

Long lasting leader in this field, Anders Byriel, CEO of KVADRAT, will share the success story of his company and will inspire us to achieve the balance between solid, Deep values and a culture of constant innovation through the practice of “Learning together”.

Strategies for Well Being, Productivity and Sustainability

Workplace Well being strategies focus on workplace health and wellbeing, throwing a spotlight on how businesses can ensure their people are well, engaged and satisfied in their jobs, to drive productivity.

Design Thinking

Design thinking refers to the cognitive, strategic & practical processes by which design concepts are developed by designers and/or design teams. Applying DT to providing solutions to business, increases dramatically the success rate for innovation & the alignment of all stakeholders.

Narrative and Visual Communication

Narrative offers a new way of thinking about holistic design, by envisioning experience themes at the start of project. An Experience Theme is a phrase that encapsulates the value & focus of the experience we intend to deliver to users & identifies what the product/service is about.

Materials & Performance

All designs need, sooner or later, to be materialized, constructed and turned into reality. A deep knowledge of the materials, their manufacturing processes, their possibilities and performance are key traits that differences the great designer from the average lot.

Creating Atmosphere through Lighting and FF&E

Having the ability to design an atmosphere is critical to a designer. How to select the best lighting scenarios and the best elements to achieve the atmosphere that you intended to convey.

Space as Brand

Living the Brand Values and being able to convey the key business differentiators to employees, collaborators, clients and visitors is key for all businesses. In this course you will learn how to create Brand with space and space with Brand.

Working hand in hand with Providers

To guarantee we deliver a successful project, all our design ideas will need to be constructed, manufactured, or customized. Only through a close collaboration among designers & manufacturers/craftsmen innovation will arise.

Design For Sustainability Engaging with Stakeholders

This course will teach the focus of the analysis with the user as the center of gravity of each project, considering all individual aspects and the organizational behavior.

Introduction to User Experience

According to the World Economic Forum, key skills required in the future are; Complex problem solving, Critical thinking, Creativity, People Management, Coordinating with others, Emotional intelligence, Judgment and decision making, which are skills that define a great designer!

Organizational Culture for Innovation

This course deals with how decisions affect efficiency and performance in any professional environment, while pushing the boundaries of the organization and fostering innovation.

Future Proof Design Solutions: Sustainability & Cost Control

You will learn how to respond to a challenge providing a design solution which needs to be future proof, sustainable and with a controlled cost.

Cradle to Cradle Design

Cradle to cradle is a sustainable business strategy that mimics the regenerative cycle of nature in which waste is reused. You will learn how to respond to the global environmental challenge providing a design solution which needs to be future proof, sustainable and timeless.

Staying Ahead of the Game: Creativity and Sustainability

We will challenge students to generate designs that go beyond now and tomorrow and propels them onto the future, with a focus on disruption, innovation but also sustainability.

The Technological Environment

How to assess your client about which new technologies and means are necessary for implementing the system and whether new technologies should be employed for strategic and technical reasons and how they would benefit your project.

Interactive Technology and Design Tools

This subject will complete your skill set that started with the Narrative and Storytelling subject. You will learn which type of representation is best for each phase of the project and how to maximize your design tools to convey your message and ideas.

Digital Transformations in Different Business Models

Digital transformation is the use of new, fast and frequently changing digital technology to solve problems. A designer and consultant needs to ensure that Design, Sociology and Technology are aligned and progress jointly to ensure success.

Ethical, Sustainable Technology in the Face of Change

You will learn how to contribute deeply to your clients’ needs for digital transformation maintaining the focus on sustainability, viability, and ethical solutions.

What is next in Technology?

Learning how to make the most effective use of the existing technology, understanding the obsolescence of the technology you are implementing in your project, and planning for the unknown future will be key for the success. Versatility is the key word here.

Insights Studio and AI Lab

Artificial Intelligence (AI) now forms part of our everyday lives. Data drives every decision, every response about each new product, service, project…You will learn about AI and the use of data to help you boost your design career.