Master in Editorial Design
How can graphic designers navigate between print, digital and content?
Explore the possibilities of editorial experiences beyond questions of format.

Some people say print is dead, and the future will be strictly digital. The reality of it, however, is much more complex and slippery.
As opposed to furthering the disappearance of traditional formats, emerging practices harmonise with them and empower them, offering the user a more dynamic and transversal experience.

This situation offers great challenges and opportunities for designers who work in editorial design. The role of these professionals goes beyond the traditional; they have become content strategists and storytellers, relying on an in-depth knowledge of technology. Their goal is to forge a connection between content, context and formats.

In this Master’s course you will gain new perspectives from international experts in the field of editorial design. Together, we will explore this new paradigm through projects, workshops and lectures. Not only will you discover responses to today’s challenges; you will learn how to approach the challenges of the future.

Methodology
The practice of design needs decisive professionals with a mind of their own and a broad perspective on contemporary design. We want our Master’s programme to prepare students to meet those requirements through active experimentation and practical learning, with the support of quality professionals.

Students will work on three projects – a book, a magazine, and a digital platform – which they will develop in all aspects. Professors will collaborate in the process and encourage students to dig deeper, to go into detail without losing sight of the big picture, through a balanced combination of thinking, planning and action.

Beyond addressing technical aspects, the Master’s programme accompanies students in the pursuit of personal and professional development.

Teamwork
Design today is practiced collectively, and we want this transformation to be reflected in our Master’s programme. Working smart and effectively to produce quality implies contrasting, collaborating and sharing. Therefore, during the Master, each student will form a team with one other student in the pursuit of a meaningful and fruitful collaboration.

Practice makes perfect
The Master’s programme is based on an eminently practical perspective: experience offers us most of the keys to design.

Close to the reality
This Master’s course is intended to orchestrate a fluid transition between the academic and professional worlds. We want students to develop the best parts of themselves, to fuel their motivation and generate a working environment that closely mirrors the professional world.

Students and professors:
a collaboration
The programme faculty includes prestigious design professionals who play an active role in student development. Their experience and knowledge will serve as the source of constant advice in the search for solutions, to guide students in making their own decisions and developing their own perspectives.

1
Team formation
Before beginning work on the content of the programme, students will have some time to get to know each other through practical exercises. This is the initial phase in choosing a different partner for each project.
The aim is to provide students with techniques and tools for collaboration and joint creation, which they will use throughout the year.

2
Master's projects

Applying the dynamics of problem-solving, a necessary tool in the professional field, students will develop three projects throughout the course which will lead them to delve into the three fundamental areas of editorial design: a book, a magazine and a digital platform. Students will work with a different partner for each project to emphasise the importance of teamwork and complementary talents.

— Book design
In an increasingly digital world, what role does book design play? We will learn to conceptualise, develop and design meaningful publications, created only for the physical world, and executed in keeping with very high standards. We will push the limits of all aspects of editorial design – identity, typography, art direction, visual narrative, materialisation, etc. – and we will learn to take full advantage of books as a medium for reading.

— Design of periodicals
Editorial design from the standpoint of structure and continuity. The goal is for students to understand the process that underlies the development of a periodical. We will analyse each step in the creative process: from the creation of an editorial concept to the development and editing of content, the art direction, the design process and the importance of the physical object.

— Digital publishing platform
We will answer two key questions: What is a digital publishing project like today? What is the role of a designer? Society and the publishing industry have changed drastically and the figure of the designer has been transformed. Now, he must be involved in all aspects of a project, from concept to form. Students will develop an idea as editors, create or commission content as art directors, and give it form and usability as designers.

3
Consulting

Instructors provide students with essential knowledge for the editorial designer while helping them to improve specific aspects of their three projects. Areas of assistance may include editing written content, defining aspects of production, or refining details of typographic execution.

— Typography
Pursuing excellence in the selection and execution of typography is fundamental in editorial design. Typographic criteria and usage need to be adapted to the conceptual, functional, technical and aesthetic characteristics of each editorial project. The aim is to consolidate students’ typographical knowledge, to stimulate their critical ability to select and apply typography, and to help them develop the tools to make them more autonomous in this area.

— Graphic Arts
Graphic production is present in every design process as an inherent part. Learning about colour management, printing techniques, binding and finishing, paper and other materials, helps designers reap the maximum benefits from the creative process. Understanding the techniques and the specific vocabulary of the printing industry prepares designers for making decisions and optimizing economic resources in each project.

— Creative Production
The design process leads to the production, and often to inevitable corrections. Knowledge of the tools and the possibilities of execution can significantly improve the efficiency of this process. The production should be an opportunity for a disruptive speculation that allows us to rethink the creative possibilities. The hybridization between the analog world and interactive one is not only a choice but a necessity. Everything ends up living in the digital environment.

— Writing
Designers also need to be able to assess the quality, intention and tone of a text. Drawing on classic journalistic and narrative tools, we will discover the creative potential of text. We will analyse practical examples by designers who have dealt with texts they do not understand, and we will look at the solutions they have applied. Finally, we will explore basic textual structures and their translation into design, so that form and content go hand in hand.

4
Quarterly projects

These practical exercises delve into different specific areas of editorial design. In this case, students will explore their creative potential in collaboration with active professionals from the field of editorial design: photographers, illustrators, etc. Students must also develop new versions of existing projects using pre-established parameters.

— Art direction
Learn the role of art direction in the world of magazines and books, specifically focusing on the medium of photography, often an underlying force in defining the identity and personality of a publication. This also includes the importance of social media and digital platforms in support of printed matter. Develop research skills and a working knowledge of the different actors involved in the production of editorial content.

— Redesign
In professional practice, some projects are conceived from square one, but most begin with a pre-existing definition. These projects have a history, a past. How do we approach a new phase in these projects? What should we keep, and what should we change in our new proposal? We will discover how a redesign is not just a purely formal transformation, since it also implicates function and/or content.

5
Workshops
Workshops help complement and deepen knowledge of other competences and disciplines of editorial design. They take the form of meetings with specialists and recognised professionals.

They are usually scheduled from Monday to Friday.

The Agenda keeps us up to date on who has visited us and who will be coming next.

— Experience
Research, experimentation and observation are essential to promoting talent. To that end, we offer students the opportunity to spend a week sharing with and learning from a professional from the international design scene who has developed a distinctive and recognisable visual language.

— Content creation
Generally, designers work with materials, like images and text, that have been provided by other professionals. But what would happen if, for a specific project, the editorial designer became a one-man band and personally created all the required content? That is what this workshop is about: exploring and analysing the designer’s role as producer or author.

— Artist's publications
Publications produced within a cultural or artistic context require a particular process. In that vein, we will respond to a series of questions. What is the relevance of printing and publishing today? What relationships emerge between graphic designers and artists, institutions and/or publishers? How are artistic content and concepts translated into graphic and printed language? The graphic designer as an editor?

— Photobook
We delve into the world of the photobook, drawing on its foundations and development. Working with an author, students will discover the particularities of the process of creation, learning how to develop narrative, rhythm and sequence in a photobook.

— Degree Show
The final workshop of the Master’s course involves a public exhibition of the work done during the course, in a variety of formats. In this case, students are tasked with developing an actual, complete exhibition and editorial project: it is an intense process that takes place with a very tight deadline and results in the Degree Show.

6
Capsules

In addition to working on ideas, concepts, forms, colours and sources, editorial design also hinges on the quality of texts and the ability to present projects to clients.
Capsules are theoretical-practical exercises dealing with issues that are complementary but important to the practice of editorial design.

— Editing and proofreading
Editorial designers not only need to know their trade; they must also be able to manage content and know how to generate it. We offer specific sessions on intellectual property, copyright and the workings of the publishing world, as well as proofreading, and the norms and conventions for the correct use of proofreading marks.

— Public presentation techniques
How do we structure information using storytelling when we are presenting a project? How can we capture our listener’s interest using pitching techniques? How important is body language in our relationship with clients? This capsule will aim to answer all those questions.

7
Showcases and Case studies

Regularly, we organise meetings with local designers, which allow us to share experiences and knowledge. They provide exposure to new points of view, reflections and references that enrich our perspectives on the exercise of the profession.

The Agenda keeps us up to date on who has visited us and who will be coming next.

8
International lectures

We invite prestigious international designers to give lectures, helping students to learn first-hand about experiences, projects and case studies in different fields of editorial design.

The Agenda keeps us up to date on who has visited us and who will be coming next.

Expand your perspective
The Master in Editorial Design is intended to be the beginning of something new, not an inevitable step in your career. We want this course to prepare you to find your own professional path. As such, we will encourage you to foster your independence and nurture your talent as you explore the different disciplines of editorial design.

Discover your potential

Learn to connect different ideas and perspectives to expand the possibilities in your future. We offer you the tools and the experience you need to design, develop strategies, generate content, or manage the creative process.

Build an excellent portfolio

The projects that you will complete during the course will give you the knowledge and skills necessary to create an excellent portfolio – the key to making the transition into the professional world.

Have a unique experience

The combination of projects, workshops, showcases, conferences and tutorials make this Master a great opportunity to build your knowledge and broaden your experience.

Live in a city awash with design
Barcelona is awash with design, culture, gastronomy and events of all kinds; it’s the ideal setting for learning and fun. Barcelona is inspiring, and your stay is sure to be an unforgettable experience.

Be part of a multicultural and enriching environment
Our students come from all over the world and create a vibrant cultural atmosphere where the exchange of ideas, points of view and cultures takes place in a natural way.

Master's projects tutors
Javier Pereda, Esiete
Pol Pérez, Affaire 
Albert Romagosa 
Josep Román, Affaire

Critics 
Albert Folch, Folch 
Marc Panero

Guest Senior Critic
Irene Pereyra, Anton & Irene

Teachers 
Joancarles Casasín
Ane Guerra, Domestic Data Streamers
Salvador Huertas
Alejandro Masferrer
Laura Meseguer
Marc Panero
Salvador Rubio
Dolors Soriano
Anna Tetas
Robbie Whitehead, Apartamento

Workshop Instructors
Diego Bustamante, Oficina de disseny
Santi Fuster, Bendita Gloria
Hatharina Hetzeneder, Oficina de disseny
Ariadna Serrahima, Oficina de disseny
Jon Uriarte

Visiting professors
Serge Rompza, NodeBerlin
Patrick Thomas

graphic.elisava lectures 19.20 
Grilli Type
Noël Leu 
MuirMcNeil
Hamish Muir & Paul McNeil 
Our Polite Society 
Matthias Kreutze & Jens Schildt 
Novo Typo 
Mark van Wageningen 
Radim Pesko 
Typotheque 
Peter Bil’ak 
Office for Typography 
Chi-Long Trieu 
Dinamo 
Johannes Breyer & Fabian Harb

Masters' Talks 19.20 
Renny Ramakers
Susan Meiselas
Anna Ginsburg
Eva Franch
Gail Bichler
Luna Maurer
Ilse Crawford

Editions
Two editions of the Master’s course are held each academic year, one in Spanish and one in English. 

MED, Master in Editorial Design 
is the English edition.

MDE, Master en Diseño Editorial 
is the Spanish edition.

Click here for the course information in Spanish.

Number of Students

A maximum of 20 students will be selected for each edition of the programme.

Once the registration period is open, there is a rolling candidate selection process as preregistrations become effective.

Who can apply

Preferably students with a degree in graphic design and professional practitioners with experience.

Exceptionally, depending on their portfolios and accomplishments, graduates in fine arts, communication and advertising will be accepted.

Applicants must be proactive and proficient in the use of design software.

Organizers

Thais Caballero, Coordinator
Marc Panero, Director

Start date 
October 2020 
ETCS credits 
60 
Course length 
400 hours 
Schedule* 
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. 
From 5pm to 9.15 pm.
Workshops from Monday to Friday.

*For academic reasons, sessions may be scheduled exceptionally outside these hours.

Languages

One edition in Spanish (MDE) 
and one edition in English (MED). 

In both editions, most workshops use English as the language of communication, with support in Spanish when necessary.

Almost all lectures, and some showcases or case studies, are in English.

Price 
Academic Year 2020-2021 
English edition — 11,000 € 
(plus 450 € in registrations fees)

Degree

Master’s Degree in Editorial Design, degree awarded by Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) and ELISAVA Barcelona School of Design and Engineering

In the interest of continuous improvement to the programme and the professional qualifications of our teachers, we reserve the right to make changes to the content and faculty of the Master’s programme.