Department of Product Design

The Estonian Academy of Arts Department of Product Design is engaged with human-centred design. We have been training professional designers here for more than 50 years. Historically, product design study has focused on industrial design. The rapid development in the ICT sector has now broadened the term product design, and a new field – digital product design – now complements the previous field of industrial design (furniture, electronics etc.). Our department allows study on the basis of curricula:
  • the bachelor’s degree curriculum in Industrial and Digital Product Design
The updated bachelor’s degree programme has two areas of specialization: industrial design (previously called product design) and digital product design. During the first semester, our students study together; then they can choose one area of specialization. Due to labour market demand for digital product designers, in autumn 2018 we opened our digital product design area of specialization. This gave designers interested in the IT field the technical knowledge and digital design skills they needed. The Bachelor programme is practical in their nature: we solve real-life product development challenges in cooperation with businesses. In the 2017/2018 academic year, we designed a package drone for Cleveron, helped Europe’s best student company Festera with product development and created a vision of an e-donor environment for the North Estonia Medical Centre donor centre. “Design is a practical, interdisciplinary, human-centred, creative process that seeks for the best solutions for existing problems.” Martin Pärn, industrial designer, partner with the Iseasi design bureau. See what we have been up to on our Instagram and Facebook.

News and events

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Product Design Form: Kenneth Pert

Name: Kenneth Pert Connection with EKA: Bachelor`s 2nd year student I don’t feel comfortable talking about myself, so I asked a friend for help and according to him I am someone who focuses on everything that I do. I appreciate meaningful contemplation and therefore may seem as a man of few words. Substance must be accompanied by packaging and in everything I create and touch I am on a ...
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Summer School “Narva – Cultural Transitions”at NART

From 18 -24 August, 2024 EKA was running a summer school at NART in Narva entitled "EKA Summer School Narva – Cultural Transitions: From Matter to Meta" This (service) design workshop explored transition spaces of urban Narva and used photography and mapping techniques as research tools and field work. Focusing on problem seeking and system thinking, theworkshop combined ...
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Product Design Form: Rasmus Jurkatam

Name: Rasmus Jurkatam Position: Bachelor’s 3rd year student 1. What projects do you currently have? I am currently working on my undergraduate graduate thesis, which is a folding field Publication of table tennis table on open design principles. This means that everyone has a chance to have a product Download drawings and let yourself be used for personal use in a local CNC workshop to ...
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Product design students participated in the Refresh Conference in Tartu

Feeling Refreshed! We are 2nd year digital product design students of Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA), who are passionate about inclusive, sustainable and empathic design. We had a chance to take part in a program which is designed to kick off with a series of talks, discussions, and networking opportunities, with a mix of learning and inspiration. What is Refresh? Refresh Conference is a ...
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Academic Staff Competition: Public Venia Legend Lectures

In April, the public lectures of the Venia legend of the candidates for the 2024 academic staff competition will begin. NB! The password for the videos is Faw1!.ec April 15 in room A-501 Associate professor of Glass Design, head of BA specialty, head of department (1.0 positions) at 11:30 Andra Jõgi lecture "Half empty & fully full" Associate professor of theory and history of Product ...
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Student chairs in Võru Suhvli

The Southeast Estonia Innovation Center opened the Suhvli discovery center dedicated to the former Võru furniture factory and the wood industry there. Next to the history of the region, furniture and material samples, a selection of chairs from the students of the EKA Faculties of Design and Architecture reflects the modern design concept. Most of them have been completed in the joint ...
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6-10. In February, EKA’s product design department will be represented at the Stockholm Furniture Fair.

Slow Design Studio The keyword for the studio is Slow Design, highlighting the contemporary need to reduce mass production and consumption, as well as the importance of local thinking. The philosophical center of the studio is on Post-Anthropocene as a concept and the chosen material is peat. Collecting ideas, histories and stories, this material presents a possibility to experiment with ...
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Product design form: Kristin Silm

Kristin Silm is an active multitasker who does it all, all the time. Name: Kristin Silm Position: Student Relationship to EKA: 2nd year digital product design student, student council member, protolab assistant 1. What projects are you working on at the moment? In the autumn semester we are working on a collaboration project with Swedbank, where we aim to create more valuable experiences for ...

Student Work

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