IED Graduates & Their Final Creative Projects

 

The European Institute of Design in Florence (IED) embodies innovation in the city of the Renaissance, reinterpreting the present with an eye to the future.  As IED’s academic term draws to a close, 142 Italian and foreign students will receive diplomas for the completion of three-year courses in communication, design and fashion.

In line with the theme CONNECT, the ceremony is set to take place on July 15 in a newly inaugurated and renovated garden that interweaves the internal and external spaces of the institute, with the Duomo in the background. 

IED’s interdisciplinary vision is to rewrite the rules of coexistence between man, technology and nature, ultimately to propel the school’s approach into the creative industry of the modernized world, said IED Director Danilo Venturi.

The graduates took part in various theses at the end of their coursework, in which they could apply their studies to the real world in client-based projects. 

One design project tackled the concept of pop-up shops through a contemporary approach, with the goal of creating a retail space in the metaverse. 

There is also a thesis regarding a client’s request to renovate a property in the town of Refrontolo and transform the space into a residence for musical artists. The plan provides coherent solutions for the coexistence of several artists in a reception space and the design of functional environments for producing and composing music.

Another project has to do with the refurbishment of the 1950s Olimpia Movie Theater in Pistoia, which has the goal of returning the space to a place of sociality and culture for the community. For the renovation of the venue and the integration of a theatrical stage space, the content includes the design of the entrance, foyer, multifunctional room, dressing room and exterior. 

Founded in 1966, every year IED launches such innovation projects in design, fashion, visual arts and communication which aim to develop new forms of learning and models to progress toward the future. 

Today, IED is the only school of higher education in the creative field that has maintained its tradition of being completely owned and run by Italians.

With 12 campuses across Italy, Spain and Brazil, IED has a total of 5,600 students, 30% of whom are foreigners. In Florence, the percentage of foreigners is 40%.

Because the pandemic caused a setback in the internationalization process, Venturi hopes to revitalize the mission of attracting human capital to Florence. Studying fashion, art, design and communication in a city that is truly an open-air museum makes you see things differently, makes you grow, and might just make you choose to stay, Venturi said. (natasha sokoloff)