Design

Overview

Thus, students are given the freedom to define themselves as designers, each finding their own ways of working and direction when exploring problems, developing solutions and forming opportunities. After completing their diverse bachelor studies, students are admitted the right to continue their studies in one of the five Master’s Programmes available.

The Design programme from Aalto University builds on the ethos of Finnish and Scandinavian design: developing solutions that are human-centred, societally relevant and environmentally conscious. Drawing from this Nordic approach to design education, students are encouraged to find their own identities, ways of working and professional niche as designers. Design graduates have:

• A designer’s view of the world. Graduates are highly context-sensitive, asking what, how, and particularly why, as they propose new directions for how to shape the world around them.
• Unique and personal designer identities. Graduates carve out their own professional identities and creative ways of working as designers.
• Comprehensive design toolboxes. Graduates are trained to use contemporary tools, methods and processes for design as well as conduct research in design.
• Ideation and prototyping skills. Graduates generate strong ideas, are able to bring them into life and materialise their solutions regardless if they are embracing business, cultural or societal problems and opportunities.
• Expertise and knowledge of design in different areas. Graduates are trained to design creative products, services, systems and the synthesis of all three.
• Teamwork, co-creation and facilitation skills. Graduates thrive in working with different people, cultures and world views, enabling them to pursue a variety of design careers .
• Impact consciousness. Graduates are informed about their responsibility to respect sustainability, the environment and social values in their design.

Future opportunities

The School of Arts, Design and Architecture has a long tradition of successfully collaborating with external partners in projects and courses and nurture close relationships with a number of companies and public sector organisations. Companies, nonprofits and public organisations frequently reach out to Aalto University as the leading design school in the Nordic region to work with students on real-world societal problems and business opportunities. A degree from the Bachelor’s programme in Design gives graduates a foundation for pursuing a professional career in the private, public, cultural and academic sectors and to explore problems and opportunities with other design professionals in the fields such as:

• Communication design
• Digital design
• Industrial design
• Interaction design
• Product design
• Service design
• Strategic design
• Sustainable design