A conceptual activity, Industrial Design aims to determine the formal properties of objects destined to be produced industrially. By formal properties we mean the external characteristics and structural relationships which make an object or a system of objects a cohesive unit, from the point of view of the user as well as that of the manufacturer. This discipline crystallizes the interactions between collective aspirations, technical progress, the social and economic context, environmentally responsible positioning and the development of the arts. The Industrial Design student acts at the intersection of these interrogations and these disciplinary fields. They are the manufacturer of forms and of meaning, attentive to ergonomic issues, to 2D and 3D means of communication, keen to inscribe their projects at the heart of contemporary societal issues. Industrial Design studies enable the student to open up their creative personality while progressively discovering the sensitive, technical, economic and methodological facets which underpin this discipline. Their integration in a higher education arts institution enables them to tap into the richness of the artistic reflection developed by the 18 other studios within La Cambre, within the field of fine arts as well as that of applied arts. The students admitted to the first year following the admission tests are considered capable, at different levels of quality and skills, of embarking on two distinct and complementary programmes: a three-year bachelor’s enabling them to acquire the tools of the discipline, a two-year master’s, which aims at the professionalization of acquired knowledge and guiding the student through personal approaches and thematics by means of a personalized programme.
The teaching of Industrial Design is provided in a studio by a team of professors who are all industrial designers active in the discipline. This curriculum is made possible by the complementarity of the discourses and subject matters taught in the art courses in optional tutorials, the general courses and the numerous courses specific to the studio. It also leans on the internal synergies at the school, turned towards the exchange of cultures and technical knowledge: inter-studio training, partnerships with studios and students following different curricula, presentations by professors external to the studio. Finally, this course is enriched by external synergies through industrial partnerships, inter-university exchanges (such as the Triaxes and Erasmus programmes in the master’s), taking part in various competitions, corporate internships and visits to specialized events and fairs.

Pedagogical coordination :
Jean Paternotte, industrial designer Giampiero Pitisci, designer