Program of Master Degree in Design

M.Des. Program Director: Kobi Franco
Study Term: Two Years (45 Credit Points)
Graduates of this Program receive a M.Des. Degree in Design

Master’s in Design (M.Des.) degree is a post-professional graduate program for students with an undergraduate degree in design, engineering and adjacent disciplines. The two-year program offers an advanced level of theoretical and technological framework with a strong emphasis on inter and trans-disciplinary projects involving science, technology and society.

Design is a pivotal strategic tool in the 21st century. It is a complex domain. It is practice, it is agency and it is an academic discipline. It fosters innovation and change on institutional, social, technological and economic levels. That requires the design practitioners to be verse not only in the design methodologies but also to understand the business reality, new technologies such as artificial intelligence, in-depth research tools, ethical implications of their work, and the impact of design practice on society and the environment. The M.Des. program responds to this requirement and provides for the learning set-up that encourages creativity and innovation.

Each studio course is built around a central theme that students respond to. The evolving syllabus deals with a wide range of topical challenges, from pressing issues of the present to daring scenarios for the future: alternative sources of energy, accelerated urbanization, forecasts of nutrition, substitute protein sources, trends in education and more.

Elective courses allow the students to join existing projects or initiate projects of their own across research centers at Shenkar and affiliated global programs, such as Sugar, in a range of fields, including innovation in textiles, environmental thinking, interaction design and development of future learning environments. In these courses, the students tackle practical challenges and acquire experience working with organizations and companies. The framework includes practical studio courses, theoretical lessons in design research, workshops, and courses on design management and entrepreneurship. 

Within the Master's Degree program, graduates from engineering and other non-design disciplines are provided with dedicated design classes under a unique track. This track is intended to equip non-designers with understanding of design methodologies, practice and theory before joining the general program class, to be able to co-create interdisciplinary projects and share a common understanding of challenges facing multi-disciplinary teams. Through this process, individual students and project teams, guided by the faculty, learn how to develop coping strategies.

The program graduates hone a broad perspective on the contemporary world of design through conferences, seminars, collaboration with Shenkar faculty and academic institutes around the world, as well as guest workshops with leading designers from Israel and abroad. Through these, students get the opportunity to further grow and nurture a network of connections for advancing their professional careers and making their mark.

Graduate of 2019, Nimrod Jack Eliezer presented his final project PU022 in the State of Extremes Exhibition at Design Museum Holon (December 2019 – May 2020). In response to the increasing numbers of school shootings in the US that reinforce a toxic teen culture of gun ownership, Eliezer designed a prototype pistol targeted towards the youth, with safety features including fingerprint activation, laser sight, video function and a parental lock. This speculative project can be viewed as a critique of the social order from which it arises, highlighting the lax attitude of the design world, which often ignores the potential harm of such products.

Graduate of 2019, Nimrod Jack Eliezer

Graduate of 2020, Ofer Asaf, in a three-part design investigation, raises a series of questions concerning the relationship between humans and non-human agencies, examining the boundaries between man, technology and the plant kingdom. Sensitively dealing with concepts of aesthetics, communication and history, these “three etudes” invite viewers to embark upon a joint cognitive process with the threes rather than about the trees.

Graduate of 2020, Ofer Asaf

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