The Programme: overview

The BA (Hons) Design at NABA London integrates theoretical studies with many project-based learning experiences, rooted in the “learning and teaching by doing” over-arching approach of this Academy. The curriculum of the course will expose you to a variety of different educational experiences and provide you with a wide range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary knowledge, skills and competences. The articulation of the learning path allows you to reach a high level of maturity in terms of design methodology, cultural awareness, critical thinking, and technical skills, as well as self-confidence in the capacity to manage and lead successfully any kind of design process.

Objectives

Over the BA, students will have the opportunity to:

  • Acquire the cultural, scientific and technical competencies to develop a “problem setting” and “problem solving” approach
  • Develop the ability to understand specific contexts of use, translate the analytical elements into typological and formal solutions, and determine aspects of marketing and distribution
  • Learn how to use tools and techniques for the representation of spaces and products

Department: Design and Applied Arts

AreaDesign

Title Awarded: BA (Hons) Design*

Credits: 360 UK credits (180 ECTS)

Starting: October 2026 

Duration: 3 years

Language: English

Campus: London

 

*Subject to validation by Regent's University London

Foundation Course + BA (Hons) Design

The BA (Hons) Design is also available in combination with the Foundation Course, designed to provide students with the cultural and methodological foundations needed to successfully undertake the three-year degree.

Faculty

Design and Applied Arts Department Head

Luca Poncellini

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Design and Applied Arts Department Head

Luca Poncellini

Luca Poncellini is an architect and a designer with a PhD in the History of Architecture and City Planning. As a partner in the architecture office Cliostraat until 2009, he has curated projects and has lectured in Italy and in several countries throughout the world. His works  have been exhibited at the Venice Biennale, at the Van Alen Institute in New York, at ETH in Zürich, at MAGA in Gallarate and at Triennale Milano. In 2008 he co-curated the retrospective exhibition Laszlo Hudec, in collaboration with the Hungarian Consulate in Shanghai. Since 2013 he has been the Course Leader of the MA in Interior Design. Between 2015 and 2019 directed the research lab and the project C-Park. Since 2019 he has been Design and Applied Arts Department Head.

Bachelor of Arts in Design Course Leader

Claudio Larcher

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Bachelor of Arts in Design Course Leader

Claudio Larcher

Born in Milan, he graduated in Architecture at Politecnico di Milano. After a research period in Spain, in Madrid and Barcelona, in 2002 he founded his own studio, Modoloco Design Workshop, a space for experimentation and research, where diverse cultures and experiences are implemented as architectural and design forms. He has taught at the Faculty of Design and Arts of the Free University of Bozen, at Politecnico di Milano, and lectured in Italian and international institutions. He curated and participated in several exhibitions in Italy, Japan, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Sweden. Ambassador of Italian Design for Switzerland, Albany and Uruguay in 2017, 2018, 2019, he is the author of the books Globetrotting designers (Compositori), Design, scuola e solidarietà (Fausto Lupetti), Design from the Alps (Scheidegger Und Spiess), and Disegnare un cucchiaio per cambiare la città (Quodlibet).

NABA Design Advisor

Dante Donegani

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NABA Design Advisor

Dante Donegani

Architect and designer, after the Master in Design at Domus Academy, Donegani collaborated with Marco Zanuso and Andrea Branzi, and with Olivetti Corporate Identity. In 1993 he opened his studio D&L with Giovanni Lauda working in several design areas. He has designed home and office products for Isuzu, Memphis, Stildomus, Luceplan, Edra, Kelebek, Rotaliana, Radice, Viceversa. Among his most celebrated projects: Lisca (Rotaliana, IF Product Design award 2005);  Multipot (Rotaliana, mention at the XXI Compasso d’Oro 2008); the chaise longue Passepartout (Edra), in the permanent collections of San Francisco MoMA and Triennale Milano; Agronica, designed with Andrea Branzi, in the collection of Centre Pompidou in Paris. His work appeared at Barcelona Biennale, Centre Pompidou, Triennale Milano, Venice Biennale. He directed the Master in Design at Domus Academy and he is part of NABA Faculty since 2013.

First Year

  • Methodology of Design Processes
  • Drawing Techniques
  • Crafting Techniques
  • Computer Graphics
  • History of Art
  • Interdisciplinary Workshops – Explorations
  • Product Design – Objects and Forms
  • Interior Design – Spaces and Bodies
  • Understanding Materials and Technologies
  • Digital Modeling and Rendering
  • History of Design
  • Photography and AI

Second Year

  • Product Design – Narrative Objects
  • Interior Design – Narrative Spaces
  • Environmental and Social Design
  • Digital Modeling and Visual Design
  • Marketing
  • Interdisciplinary Workshops – Extensions
  • Exhibit Design
  • Service Design
  • Interaction Design – Fablab
  • Videomaking
  • Design Studies
  • Lighting Design

Third Year

  • Final Project – Research
  • Advanced Materials and Technologies
  • Communication and Digital Design
  • Anthropology
  • Interdisciplinary Workshops – Envisioning
  • Final Project – Design
  • Advanced Prototyping
  • New Digital Technologies
  • Career Perspectives
  • Urban Design

What's Next

After the BA (Hons)

Graduate attributes correspond to a wide set of hard skills and soft skills that will allow students to enter the global market of design and creative industries, either within collective organizations – design studios of any size, agencies, firms, production companies – or attempting their own freelance career. NABA typically engages employers and academic staff to promote and support work placement opportunities and communicate job vacancies for students, through several initiatives dedicated to recruitment and career perspectives.

Career Paths

The BA (Hons) Design with Foundation can lead to multiple career paths, including:

 

Industrial Designer – designer of objects for large scale production
Product Designer – designer of objects
Interior Designer – designer of interior spaces
Exhibition Designer – designer of objects and spaces for display purposes and for the experience of visitors
Retail Designer – designer of object and spaces for commercial purposes and for the experience of customers
Social Designer – designer and leader of projects aimed at generating specific social impacts (participatory projects, co-design, etc.)
3D Modelling and Rendering Specialist – skilled expert profile
3D Print Specialist – skilled expert profile