Artificial light is found in homes, commercial and industrial settings, in urban areas and in all the places used for socialising and meeting.

Promoted by Politecnico di Milano – Faculty of Design, Consorzio POLI.Design and SPD Scuola Politecnica di Design, the university master’s degree in Light Product Design investigates the design of lighting equipment and systems, which today is one of the most stimulating and complex areas in industrial design. The first level master’s degree will begin this month and finish in March 2009.

The complete specialisation, which is worth 60 educational credits, looks in depth at the entire lighting product development process. The aim of the degree is to supply designers with sound design skills and across-the-board professional tools in order to interact with lighting companies’ production technicians, quality managers, marketing and sales teams.

Different competences converge in the lighting product. The academic programme deals with photometric, chromatic and perceptive aspects, formal values of the lighting equipment and technological issues up to product management, production processes and legal restrictions. Several projects, entrusted to well-known designers such as Huub Ubbens and Matali Crasset, give students the challenge of designing the “right light” for hospitality and exhibition spaces, transit areas, household interiors, workplaces and urban exteriors.

Lesson attendance is three days a week, from Monday to Wednesday. The other days are for group work, visits and meetings with companies and designers. The programme length is 890 hours, spread between classroom and internship. The overall commitment for each student is around 1,500 hours, including attendance and private study.

The university master’s degree course in Light Product Design is being held at the Design Faculty of Politecnico di Milano and includes the use of the laboratories of lighting design, photometry, colorimetry and perceptology.

Enrolment in this course is open to Italian and international students who have graduated or are graduating in industrial design, architecture, engineering or their equivalents. The official language is Italian but a good knowledge of English, as well as the mastery of the main professional software packages, is required.

The number of places is limited and applications for admission, which is not binding, requires the presentation of a CV and a complete portfolio, and a selection interview.

For further information, contact the Master’s Academic Office at Scuola Politecnica di Design SPD, via Ventura 15, Milano; Tel. +39 02 21597590, [email protected] or [email protected]