The distinguishing feature of the Autonomous University of Barcelona’s Degree in Arts and Design is the integration of three disciplines in a single qualification: applied arts, visual arts, and design.

The degree proposes a line of education and training in which the student assumes creation as an inclusive process related to production but with an extensive grounding in knowledge not restricted to a single discipline. It applies a learning methodology whereby the different areas of knowledge enrich each other and also fosters research skills so that future professionals can anticipate new scenarios for the practice of arts and design in the future.

Introduction

The Autonomous University of Barcelona’s Degree in Arts and Design integrates three disciplines in a single qualification: applied arts, visual arts, and design. The degree is taught at the Escola Massana Municipal Centre for Art and Design, a school with more than 80 years’ experience in the visual arts and design which enjoys great renown and which has trained leading artists and professionals. The link between the fields of artistic creation and design has a solid basis in extensive sectors of the professional world. The development of technologies and the growing importance of innovation in the overall production system have contributed to the consolidation of this combination. Indeed, the Degree in Arts and Design meets the needs of multi-talented and adaptable professionals who can engage in creative processes of very different types. In this degree, students assume creation as a process related to production and at the same time backed by a broad knowledge base: they learn to create, communicate, and understand complex realities in an integrated field. A learning methodology is applied whereby the different areas of knowledge enrich each other. The teaching also stimulates research skills so that future professionals can anticipate new scenarios to practice art and design.

Graduates acquire a critical, communicative, and creative capacity that allows them to prepare innovative and competitive proposals. Students familiarize themselves with the history of art and design and their contemporary trends.

They build their skills as well as their creativity in different visual and audiovisual disciplines. The range of subjects on offer in the degree allows them to become familiar with new technologies and professional routines in fields such as culture management and art criticism and, depending on the type of specialization they wish to do, they can opt for five sub-categories: applied arts, art, the design of objects and spaces, visual communication, and visual narration. Escola Massana prioritizes contact with the industrial and institutional network, as well as the international projection of its activity and students.

Objectives

The approach taken in this degree qualification covers Arts and Design, as they are two professional fields which, by focusing on them in an inclusive project in the course, can produce flexible, multi-skilled professional profiles.

The Degree in Arts and Design aims to produce designers and artists with a broad insight into the profession. It is a qualification that accentuates the humanistic learning of these disciplinary fields, powering future professionals to get the skills they need to work creatively and in a reflective field in the various contextual realities of production in the visual arts, the applied arts, and design.

When they finish their degree, they will be able to:

OBJECTIVE #1

Demonstrate that they have, understand, and can relate knowledge about theories and the historical development of arts and design and production and research methodologies through knowledge and a reflection on the history and theory of art, artistic drawing, technical drawing, visual expressions, design foundations, audiovisual culture, and volume.

OBJECTIVE #2

Apply what they learnt to the professional sphere and have a capacity for communication and understanding of verbal and visual, spatial and object-based languages, teamwork, versatility with regard to defending arguments and problem-solving in the area of the arts, the applied arts, and design, in consolidated and emerging contexts.

OBJECTIVE #3

Collect, interpret, and assess information in the field of the arts, the applied arts, and design to be able to make critical, reflective, and creative judgments on relevant topics of an artistic, cultural, social, scientific, and ethical nature, as well as to recognize and appreciate external assessments in the practice of the arts, the applied arts, and design.

OBJECTIVE #4

Convey information, ideas, problems, and solutions in the field of the arts, the applied arts, and design using the most suitable media for specialized targets and the general public.

OBJECTIVE #5

Develop the learning skills they need to undertake subsequent studies related to art and design with a high degree of autonomy.