Brands Istituto Marangoni Milano Design

Istituto Marangoni celebrates 90 years of history, a global presence across 11 schools — soon to be joined by an innovative online campus — and a community of over 45,000 alumni. With a 91% employment rate within one year of graduation, the institution stands as an international benchmark in higher education.

Founded in 2014, Istituto Marangoni Milano Design is now led by Barbara Toscano as School Director, Sergio Nava as Director of Education and Global Scientific Director of Design, and Giulio Cappellini as Art Director and Brand Ambassador. Located on Via Cerva, in the heart of Milan’s renowned Durini Design District, the school attracts students from all over the world.

Students, across both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, explore future design scenarios and experiment with emerging technologies applied to design, supported by numerous collaborations with leading companies in the design, fashion and automotive sectors. This innovation-driven and industry-integrated approach has contributed to positioning Istituto Marangoni among the top 50 universities worldwide in its disciplines, according to the QS World University Rankings 2026.

“Building on the legacy of Istituto Marangoni, Milano Design stands out for its innovation-driven methodology. Each year, research themes are defined to shape academic programmes, collaborations with external partners, events, extracurricular activities and even students’ final theses. This enables us to offer not only a solid and constantly updated education, but also the opportunity to engage in research and experimentation across unexplored areas of design and emerging technologies,” explains Barbara Toscano, School Director of Istituto Marangoni Milano Design.

Partnerships with leading brands allow students to engage directly with real business dynamics, while collaborations with institutions such as the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa and its Robotics Centre provide hands-on research experiences, including courses featuring on-site visits and lectures.

“The school has established strong connections with the luxury and high-end sectors, with the aim of experimenting and conducting research to define future directions within these industries. Through our programmes, we train new hybrid professionals who are increasingly sought after — capable of driving innovation across creativity, marketing, management and technological experimentation, extending even into robotics,” says Sergio Nava, Director of Education at Istituto Marangoni Milano Design.

The academic experience is further enriched by initiatives such as the Sentient Horizons talk series, which explores emerging cultural and technological frontiers in design. Through open dialogue between international experts in design, science and technology, these sessions investigate the impact of emerging technologies and evolving social dynamics on the design ecosystem and its professions.

Interior Design, Product Design, Visual Communication Design and Design Innovation are the four core areas of Istituto Marangoni Milano Design. The programmes, validated by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, are recognised in Italy and internationally as equivalent to university-level qualifications. Among the courses that best reflect the Institute’s innovative approach is Digital Design for Immersive Experiences, which trains cross-disciplinary professionals operating at the intersection of interior design, scenography and marketing, capable of using technology to create immersive retail experiences.

Within Interior Design, particular focus is placed on programmes addressing large-scale real estate and contract design, sectors that now represent a significant share of the furniture and interiors market. In Product Design, the Master’s programme in Product Design for Human-Robot Interaction, developed in collaboration with the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa, fosters the design of products — including furniture — that integrate robotics and artificial intelligence, with a strong emphasis on aesthetics and the emotional relationship between humans and technology.

Experimentation lies at the core of Istituto Marangoni Milano Design, which has been exploring the potential of artificial intelligence and its application to creative processes since 2016. The school goes beyond academic instruction, offering hands-on experiences and real-world challenges from which innovative concepts, start-ups and professional connections emerge.

Within a highly specialised learning journey, each Master’s class is guided by internationally renowned mentors such as Piero Lissoni, Elena Salmistraro and Odoardo Fioravanti, who involve students in real projects during the second semester, fostering direct engagement with the profession and industry visibility. Projects developed in the first semester form the basis of exhibitions focused on future scenarios, presented by Istituto Marangoni Milano Design during Milano Design Week.

“The talent of our students is a valuable asset that we have a responsibility to nurture and elevate. For this reason, we have introduced dedicated tutoring initiatives that support students in participating in international design competitions, enabling them to win prestigious awards such as the Red Dot Design Award, the D&AD Award, the A’ Design Award and the Fendi Design Prize 2026,” adds Sergio Nava.

Through a dedicated Career Service, Istituto Marangoni Milano Design invests in the employability of its graduates, offering scholarships, internships, industry collaborations, events and talks with leading professionals. A special mention goes to the Prisma Project, a career accelerator that each year selects top talents, providing them with concrete job opportunities and professional projects within the Institute’s network.

Se vuoi, posso anche:
👉 accorciarlo in versione press release
👉 oppure adattarlo in versione sito (più sintetica e scansionabile) 👀