Contemporary Crafts and Design

Why study Contemporary Crafts and Design at Eina

Eina’s Advanced Diploma program builds on the concept of traditional craftsmanship, enriches it with digital technologies, and applies it to professional and market contexts.

Throughout the course, students experience all stages of craft creation: from the ideation of an item to its placement on the market. They have the opportunity to develop their own ideas through practical work and learning opportunities, applying their skills and sensibilities in contexts that interest them most.

In the Advanced Diploma in Contemporary Crafts and Design, students lay the foundations for exploring what contemporary craft practices and critical perspectives can be. The program aims to position craft cultures at the center of the critical challenges faced by today’s consumer society, showing how crafts can drive us beyond mass consumption toward an inclusive and regenerative economy that supports general well-being. There is not just one type of craft — there are many!

Final Project of the Bachelor in Design by Rocio Rodriguez Hidalga - OXT. Ganxet Digital.

Who is it for?

This Advanced Diploma in Contemporary Crafts and Design is aimed at students from various Artistic Studies, Fine Arts, Design in general, specifically Industrial Design, Engineering in general, specifically Product Engineering, Product Development, Architecture in general, Technical Architecture, as well as professionals in the fields of arts and crafts. It is open to anyone interested in expanding or updating their knowledge related to design and crafts.

Final Project of the Bachelor in Design by Anaïs Llop - Resilience

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the program are well equipped to pursue a variety of careers in the creative industries and are highly valued for their in-depth knowledge of responsible consumption and production through craft practice.

Career opportunities in the fields of craft, art, and design span a wide spectrum. They range from popular markets to high-end and luxury sectors, as well as independent and freelance career paths. Many graduates work in studios, agencies, and manufacturing companies, or as independent craftspeople, designers, and artists.

This Advanced Diploma program also provides a solid foundation for those considering academic or research-oriented careers in art, craft, or design in the future.

Objectives

• Design crafts using research processes, both scientific and prospective, marked by material, technological, and conceptual experimentation.
• Apply project methodology to the development of craft products.
• Understand the procedures for applying digital representation techniques.
• Develop artistic and creative vocations.
• Support research and innovation of new materials and new technologies applied to crafts.
• Support the transfer of knowledge between artisans, artists, and designers with business sectors directly and indirectly related to crafts.
• Promote the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through education.
• Promote the potential of craftsmanship as a sector of innovation and entrepreneurship by training qualified professionals.
• Train new professionals with specialization and excellence so that they can develop their own businesses as entrepreneurs or become part of qualified teams within companies linked to related sectors.

Final Project of the Bachelor in Design by Maria Serrallonga - Jugaroi; joc d'autoproducció de joguines

Study Plan of Contemporary Crafts and Design

The Advanced Diploma in Contemporary Crafts and Design is made up of two specialization courses that can also be taken independently:

- Advanced Course in New Territories of Craft Practices (15 ECTS)
From February 3, 2025, to April 16, 2026

- Advanced Course in Craft Publishing and Production (15 ECTS)
From April 28 to July 2, 2026

In the Advanced Diploma in Contemporary Crafts and Design, craft resources such as clay, metal, glass, fibers, textiles, paper, and wood are hybridized with digital technologies like 3D printing, laser cutting, and computational modeling. Students will learn how to apply parametric thinking and artificial intelligence to manual design processes while preserving the artistic character of unique handmade pieces and the know-how passed down through generations.

Students will awaken their personality and identity by seeking to produce their own work as a unique piece, short series, or collection. They will also develop entrepreneurial and employability skills to connect their personal research with professional opportunities.

Specialization Course in New Territories of Craft Practices

Crafts and Design Processes (3 ECTS)
Apply design thinking as an iterative process for creation in crafts. Explore the construction of structures and surfaces that can become typological. Build forms and create parametric families of craft product models. Learn to generate samples of a model in different sizes, combinations, and outcomes.

Crafts and Materials (3 ECTS)
Explore traditional craft know-how through materials such as plaster, clay, wood, metals, fibers, and newer ones like biomaterials. Guide the student to discover their own sensitivity toward materials, opening them to a contemporary professional practice oriented toward the future.

Forms of Crafts (6 ECTS)
Explore and experiment with archetypal products of traditional crafts (jug, porron, poncho, basket, tile, roof tile, and many more). Typological forms perfected over generations by the repetition of tradition transmission. Students are encouraged to expand their knowledge of traditional materials and craft methods toward new practice territories open to alternative materials, conceptual frameworks, and intersectoral understanding of how material-driven innovation is shaping the world. Generate a personal archetype and enable it as a marketable product.

Living Crafts 01 (1 ECTS)
Through collaborations with renowned artisans and craft brands, and workshops taught by local and international craftspeople, students will experience all stages of creation: from the ideation of an object to its completion. Conceptual analyses of craft and lectures by experts in the field, as well as visits to artisans and manufacturing workshops. These events vary each academic year.

Crafts and Discourses 01 (1 ECTS, online content)
Concentrated content with ideas and models of contemporary practice to broaden the understanding of craft and its relationship with current debates. Introduction to a range of references, themes, and general concepts (historical, cultural, social, artistic, political, environmental, and economic) to expand knowledge and comprehension of crafts as an integral part of the contemporary world. This first part focuses on references.

Crafts and Design Management 01 (1 ECTS, online content)
Empower new professionals through specialization and excellence to develop their own businesses as entrepreneurs. Design strategies to create product value (concept, image, communication). This first part focuses on communication and dissemination of created products.

Specialization Course in Craft Editing and Production

Post-Digital Crafts (3 ECTS)
When cultural heritage and digital manufacturing meet, it becomes possible to preserve the living traditions of craft while also enabling new approaches to its design and production. This course lays the groundwork to support traditional craft cultures in future contexts through the use of emerging practices, materials, and technologies.

Crafts and Worldviews (3 ECTS)
This subject aims to place craft cultures at the center of the critical issues facing today's consumer society, exploring how crafts can drive us beyond mass consumption toward an inclusive and regenerative economy that supports collective well-being. The course investigates key elements such as food and energy by combining ancestral knowledge that connects us to nature. The goal is to contribute to the transformation of possible futures with a personal perspective.

Self-Publishing (6 ECTS)
Self-publishing is approached as an ideological and aesthetic modus operandi, in which the creator becomes the producer, publisher, and manager of their own work. Excellence in craft requires research that deepens the understanding of materials, promotes the development of innovative tools and techniques, and fuels creative efforts aimed at caring for and healing our environment. The final objective of the research is the production of a personal work — a unique piece, a small series, or a collection.

Living Crafts 02 (1 ECTS)
Through collaborations with renowned artisans and craft brands, and through workshops led by both local and international craftspeople, students will experience all stages of creation: from the ideation of an object to its completion. The course includes conceptual analyses of craft, lectures by experts in the field, and visits to artisans and production facilities. These events vary each academic year.

Crafts and Discourses 02 (1 ECTS, online content)
Focused content presenting ideas and contemporary practice models that will expand the understanding of craft in relation to current debates. The course introduces a range of references, themes, and general concepts (historical, cultural, social, artistic, political, environmental, and economic) to broaden knowledge and understanding of crafts as an integral part of today’s world. This second part emphasizes current philosophical trends.

Crafts and Design Management 02 (1 ECTS, online content)
Train new professionals through specialization and excellence to develop their own businesses as entrepreneurs. Advanced design strategies for creating product value (concept, image, communication). This second part focuses on the meaning and values behind the created products.

Header image: Final Project of the Bachelor in Design by Rocío Rodríguez Hidalga - OXT. Ganxet Digital.