Specializing Master in Furniture Design
Milan, Italy
Master degree
DURATION
1 year
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
02 Sep 2026
EARLIEST START DATE
02 Nov 2026
TUITION FEES
EUR 15,500
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Key Summary
The furniture industry is undergoing profound transformation and therefore companies are reconsidering their product ranges, presence in international market, distribution channels, and product and brand communication. All this requires a strong upgrading of the skills of designers and their ability to relate to added value building.
The Master in Furniture Design is based on the capacity of Italian companies, working in the furniture industry, to use design as a fundamental lever of competitive advantage and a structural element of corporate culture.
So, the core of the program is focused on the knowledge generated from the advantageous relationships instilled between the Italian production system and the network of professions involved in design.
The Master sets its cultural roots in the “Italian model” of rapport between enterprise and design, while also aiming to develop new knowledge in innovation that responds to the challenges posed by technological, social and market changes.
The program’s structure takes on a systemic vision of the role of design in the furniture industry – teaming new fields of interest to the traditional focus on product development – along with the growing importance of brands and its tangible and intangible elements of expression.
The Number of Admitted Students is 30
The aim of the Master Course is to provide designers with specialized skills in the field of furniture design, teaching them to respond to the changes and transformations occurring in the industry’s production systems and markets by using the most advanced relationship models of integrating the product development processes with market dynamics and technological advancements. The program furthermore seeks to complete the training of professionals in the industry working in R&D, marketing, and brand management departments and provide them with the ability to understand and manage design as a lever of competitive advantage.
The course is primarily intended for those already with work experience in the furniture industry and in related fields seeking to: complete their training, expand their knowledge base and understand the dynamics of an advanced relationship model between design, culture, and productive systems.
Title Released
Students, after the final examination, will achieve the 1st level Specializing Master in Furniture design. Learning from the Italian experience diploma will be issued, with the related achievement of 60 CFU/ECTS.
Didactic Plan
The program is delivered through company visits, lectures, testimonials, case studies, and project work according to the following teaching modules:
1. Design and Manufacturing Processes
The main production models, technology, and their relationship with design skills are introduced, providing students with a wide panorama of the diverse product typologies and technological matrixes of the furniture industry.
2. Product Design
The module focuses on the many phases of the design process, from need and opportunity exploration to conceptual solution definition and from product development to engineering. The objective of the course is to provide students with vertical and transversal abilities through the development of projects that start with a brief provided directly by companies supporting the educational program of the Master.
3. Design, Brand Direction, and Communication
The module introduces design direction and management principles by linking brand positioning and identity with supply management and brand expression (brand positioning and architecture, product portfolio strategies, brand presence at the point of sales, etc.). The course aims also to introduce strategies and tools for managing media and digital distribution channels.
4. Retail, Service, and Exhibition Design
The module introduces issues in retail (channel typologies, presence formats, etc.), point of sale organization(layout, etc.), user experience (service and experience design), and integration between the tangible and digital dimensions. The course also introduces the principles of display and product styling, as well as exhibition design.
5. Internship
350 hours of professionalizing projects or 350 hours of curriculum internships at companies and professional studios, to experiment and expand the skills acquired during the Masters in the world of work. The final exam consists of the development and presentation of an elaborate in which the candidate will take care of bringing out the experience gained during the curricular internship and all the master activities and developed projects.
Didactic Modules
- Portfolio Empowerment
- Pitch and presentation strategies
- Empowerment
- 3D modeling and rendering
- Free Hand Sketching
- Introduction to Italian Design, Technologies and Materials
- Italian Furniture Design and Manufacturing
- Ideation and Concept Design
- Sketch modeling
- New Product Development
- Product Engineering
- Design for sustainability and Design for circular economy
- Design for manufacturing
- Shapes, Surfaces and Colours
- Design and Brand Direction
- Digital Media and E-Commerce
- Retail, Service and Exhibition Design
- Curricular internship or Project Work
The Master seeks to train international designers for companies and design studios working in the international market, in Italy, and abroad. The program trains students for the following roles in the Furniture Industry:
- R&D Managers
- Designers or Leaders of Product Development Teams
- Product Engineers or technical experts in the design of furnishing elements
- Product Portfolio Managers
- Design Managers or Art/Design Directors
- Communication and Brand Managers
- 1st in Italy
- 3th in Europe
- 6th in the World
Politecnico di Milano - QS Ranking 2025 in Art&Design category