Postgraduate Degree in Packaging Design

Packaging designers are now a key part of companies. Their abilities, knowledge and techniques have allowed them to consolidate their positions in strategic roles within multidisciplinary teams. 

Our Postgraduate Degree in Packaging Design presents a training programme that combines strategy, creative thinking, design, sustainability and volume to lay solid foundations that will allow tomorrow’s packaging designers to communicate, both formally and graphically, the attributes of a product and design the packaging of the future. This is complemented by theoretical and practical training and workshops in which all the acquired knowledge is applied. 

Students will learn to transform a strategy into a unique and distinctive concept and design for packaging, and to apply the acquired knowledge to packaging for a specific sector/field. They will also be taught to apply creative tools and techniques for the creation of packaging that will enable them to compete in the market at a professional level while acquiring a broad vision of packaging design that will facilitate optimal integration into multidisciplinary work teams. 

In the concluding part of the postgraduate degree, students will prepare a Final Project which will require them to create a piece of ethical and sustainable packaging.

This course is oriented towards graduates and those with advanced vocational training in plastic arts, graphic design, industrial design, marketing and advertising, as well as sector professionals who do not possess specific qualifications but can demonstrate professional experience and would like to acquire the necessary knowledge to participate in the process of strategising, creating and developing packaging designs. 

Module 1 - Packaging strategy and management

Module 2 - Research and packaging trends

Module 3 - Creative tools and art direction for packaging design

Module 4 - Technical tools and software for packaging design

Module 5 - Ecodesign and sustainable packaging

Module 6 - Packaging volume

Module 7 - Practical workshops

Postgraduate Degree Final Project

Module 1 - Packaging strategy and management

During this introductory module, students will acquire a holistic view of the true significance of packaging design and its construction process as a key element of brands. They will learn to master the general framework of a packaging project and develop the ability to scale and subsequently develop the creative projects that will be offered to them.

• The creative process of packaging design. 
• Brand strategy and experience applied to packaging.  
• Benchmark: analysis of the competition.
• Contact points beyond packaging.

Module 2 - Research and packaging trends

Students will gain an appreciation of the period of change that this discipline is currently experiencing and an understanding of its future direction, taking into account the trends we are surrounded by and the new demands of consumers. Packaging designers are and will be key agents of this change.

• Consumer trends.
• Packaging trends. 
• Research techniques and methodologies.
• The role of packaging in the digital environment. 

Module 3 - Creative tools and art direction for packaging design

Through theoretical and practical sessions on the various key creative tools used in the construction of packaging, students will learn how to create a big idea, master the visualisation of the mood board and develop the art direction for packaging design, with particular emphasis on typography, photography and illustration. 

• Big idea: conceptualisation and creativity. 
• Mood board: research and creative approach to the project. 
• Art direction: from the concept to the visualisation, graphic visual system, illustration and photography.
• Typography: the possibilities for typography in packaging, basic typographic elements, micro- and macro-typography.
• Illustration: the possibilities for illustration in packaging, illustration styles, illustration and concept.

Module 4 - Technical tools and software for packaging design

Through theoretical and practical sessions covering the creative tools used to construct packaging, students will acquire specific knowledge of computer software, as well as an understanding of the possibilities available to them when it comes to final art, materials and finishes. 

• Photoshop applied to packaging. 
• Illustrator specifically for packaging.
• Final art: how to create and present final packaging art.
• Materials and finishes: constraints of printing systems, substrates and finishes.

Module 5 - Ecodesign and sustainable packaging

In this module, students will receive an introduction to the world of ecodesign as it applies to packaging and an understanding of the significance of developing the vision, tools and processes required to apply sustainability to packaging design in a holistic manner.

• Sustainability fundamentals, product life cycle and improvement strategies.
• Qualitative environmental analysis of packaging. 
• The search for design that incorporates the environmental vector.
• Creativity and conceptualisation: the limitations to finding innovative sustainability-related ideas.

Module 6 - Packaging volume

Students will gain an understanding of the creative process behind a volume design – concept, uses, shapes, materials, textures, colour scheme, etc. – from the initial briefing onwards, while appreciating the context of the market and considering the user experience of the packaging.

• Volume: benchmark from the perspective of volume.
• Usability: research focused on the user and usability of packaging.
• Creativity and conceptualisation: from the idea to the reality of the volume of the packaging. 

Module 7 - Practical workshops

Notable professionals will deliver five specific workshops covering everything from the briefing to the creative solution in five different areas. Each workshop will take a different sector as a starting point from which the project can be developed. During the workshops, students will acquire an understanding of the various competitive environments, enabling them to apply the methodologies, tools and knowledge acquired during the postgraduate degree to establish themselves in a practical and experimental manner.  

• Niche perfume packaging.
• Mass consumption and sustainability packaging.
• Experimental Packaging.
• Illustrative packaging.
• Packaging for innovation – TFP.

Postgraduate Degree Final Project

To conclude the course, each student will develop a final postgraduate degree project that represents an in-depth exploration of the strategy, conceptualisation and design of innovative packaging that aims to have a positive impact on society. The methodology and creative process that have been imparted throughout the Postgraduate Degree in Packaging Design will provide a framework and students will be required to present the results of their efforts before a panel. With assistance from their tutors, students will choose the starting point for their projects for the work that will subsequently be produced. 

• Final Project structure. 
• Individual and group follow-up tutorials.