
China Studio
China Studio: L’École de design Nantes Atlantique in Shanghai
The China Studio, opened in 2008 in Qingdao, was the first permanent branch of L'École de design Nantes Atlantique to be created. In 2010, the studio moved to Shanghai to benefit from a larger network of companies and a bigger community of designers.
China Studio: an environment conducive to creation
With over 24 million inhabitants (and an even larger population if temporary residents and the metropolitan area are included), Shanghai is one of the most densely populated cities in China and the world.
The "Venice of the East" is a strategic place, thanks to its dynamism and its ever-changing nature, and is a great place for observation and experimentation, allowing visitors to understand and appropriate the codes and customs of China. The city is known worldwide for its flourishing commercial activity and its cultural life: it is one of the major poles for technology, finance, transport, media, fashion...and of course design!
The site: a dedicated studio within the Academy of Fine Arts at Shanghai University
Shanghai is a cosmopolitan and dynamic city. It is the city with the highest number of foreign nationals in China, with a with a foreign population of 750,000. While many of them are students, a good number of them work in large international companies.
The cultural, technological and creative industries are very well represented. In addition to the installation of the China Studio of L'École de design Nantes Atlantique, the year 2010 also saw Shanghai:
- organize the Universal Exhibition on the theme "A better city, a better life”,
- join the UNESCO Creative Cities of Design network.
The city excels in the field of design, with thousands of agencies and institutions specializing in this activity, not to mention art organizations, cultural centers, museums, etc.
L'École de design Nantes Atlantique's China Studio is located on the Yanchang Road campus of Shanghai University, which is also home to the Shanghai Film School, the Faculty of Journalism and Communication and the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts. Around the Yanchang campus, a center dedicated to “visual arts and design” is currently under development. The site is easily accessible by metro from the city center, and there are numerous shopping centers within a stone's throw of the Studio. Shanghai also boasts excellent public transport links, and a wide range of accommodation options.
The degree: International Design Strategy / China Studio Master’s program
A unique two-year master's program specialized in International Design Strategy
This program leads to a 5-year design degree, approved by the Minister of Higher Education and Research, and confers the grade of Master.
Courses are taught in English; however, an introduction to Chinese language and culture is taught at the beginning of the first year to help students immerse themselves in their new environment.
The design specialties of each student are taken into account to better incorporate the Asian context. Within the framework of practical projects carried out in collaboration with partner companies, students form multidisciplinary teams in charge of working on real orders from local or regional clients.
Students will learn to better understand the Chinese market in order to decipher its uses and thus propose a coherent project, adapted to the target, with an anthropological approach to design.
A program oriented towards the world of business and entrepreneurship
This program is a springboard to an international design career. The first semester is dedicated to an internship as a junior designer in a company for a minimum of thirteen weeks. Then, throughout the program, the emphasis is on managing design projects, culminating in the end-of-studies project that synthesizes all the professional skills acquired. It can be carried out in the framework of collaborations with a company and/or research laboratories of a partner university.
The end-of-studies internship takes place in a local or international organization (in China or elsewhere), and lasts from 16 weeks to 6 months. Depending on the student's professional project, this internship can also take place in a company set up by the student, or in a research laboratory.
5 good reasons to study design at the China Studio
L'École de design Nantes Atlantique offers students who have obtained a Bachelor's degree in design the opportunity to live a real immersion experience in China while completing 2 years of studies in its International Design Strategy Master's program. Here are 5 good reasons to pursue your studies at the China Studio:
China, a life experience
China is not just another country. In many ways, it is another world. The culture, the pace of life, the gastronomy, the human and professional relationships... Everything here is the polar opposite of what you might experience in France. During the two years of immersion in Shanghai, students are confronted on a daily basis with an environment that uproots all their points of reference
A super-sized version of interculturality
These two years spent in Shanghai are largely devoted to classes in the Studio and internship periods. But of course, they represent a unique opportunity to immerse oneself in the country and to understand the Chinese culture and in particular the culture of Shanghai. Being surprised, discovering, learning to put things into perspective... all these things are part of everyday life in the Middle Kingdom. The reference points with which students arrive in Shanghai often go straight out the window on all levels: eating habits, the way of behaving when talking to someone, the codes and customs to adopt in the professional sphere, the relationship with time and people... This stage of deconstructing perceptions is essential to understanding Chinese society, its needs, its constraints and its expectations.
Learning about design in a privileged environment
Studying abroad means confronting the quality of French design with the complexity of the local context while preparing for an international career. In Shanghai, creativity is encouraged and innovative projects are valued. In addition to benefiting from excellent infrastructure, students have the opportunity to work alongside professionals with eclectic and international backgrounds, who are active members of the Shanghai scene and have a thorough knowledge of the Chinese reality.
A French degree, a multicultural experience
The program in Shanghai follows the same outline as the other master's programs at L'École de design Nantes Atlantique, and leads to the same diploma, the Master's Degree in Design, approved by the Ministry of Higher Education. The curriculum also includes specific seminars and workshops focused on the subject of interculturality: design and anthropology, Mandarin, multicultural projects with local partnerships... The end of studies projects thus reflect the questions on interculturality in which the students have immersed themselves for two years. They also teach young designers to function in the context of international teams, bringing together diverse profiles and nationalities.
A springboard to an international career
Working with cosmopolitan profiles on a daily basis for two years prepares China Studio students for an international career. The use of English during the courses gives another dimension to the learning process and opens up new perspectives, in particular the possibility of starting a career as a designer abroad, as is the case for the majority of the students who have followed the Studio's program. Shanghai's excessiveness allows for large-scale projects, aimed at a potentially gigantic market, led by young designers who quickly gain the confidence of their international employers or Chinese partners.
Learn more about China Studio
Contact:
Maxence LUCAS - China Studio Educational Manager
ma.lucas@lecolededesign.com
Nathalie CIPRIAN - Director of the Master's Cycle
n.ciprian@lecolededesign.com
Ms Jia QUAN - Administrative Coordinator
j.quan@lecolededesign.com
Address:
Shanghai University Academy of Fine Arts
Yan'Chang Campus, 149 Yan'chang road
Yan'chang road, Jing'an District 200072
Shanghai P.R.C
The China Studio environment and facilities
L'École de design Nantes Atlantique's China Studio is located on Shanghai University's Yanchang Road campus, where several other faculties are also located, including the Film Faculty and the Academy of Fine Arts. A center dedicated to “visual arts and design” is currently under construction around the campus.
The complex is easily accessible from the center of Shanghai thanks to the city's reliable and efficient public transport service.
The 200 m² studio includes:
- an open space with a classroom
- a rest area
- an office
It also shares meeting rooms and a lounge area with the Academy of Fine Arts.
Today, the China Studio is a real laboratory for exploring the theme ofinterculturality in design.
The teaching staff
China Studio's teaching team is composed of international profiles, teachers from local partner schools and professional designers.
Studio Partners
The China Studio's International Design Strategy master's program is based on close collaboration with the world of industry. This collaboration takes the form of collaborative projects, internships and the involvement of professional designers and lecturers from the most prestigious Chinese and international design companies and studios.
Our industrial partners in China, both local and international, collaborate with the Studio in the form of applied projects and the provision of lecturers and jury members. Thanks to their involvement, students benefit from numerous contacts for their internships and can carry out field projects, which give them the opportunity to work in teams on concrete subjects.
The companies bring together all disciplines, from product design to interactive design, including space design and graphic design. The involvement of lecturers and consultants from the world of industry in this program is an asset compared to traditional courses.
In the second semester of each year of studies, companies play a mentoring role by sending professionals to supervise students' work and discuss their end-of-studies project with them; they also delegate guest speakers to go into various design-related issues in greater depth. In addition, throughout the year, qualified professional jurors help evaluate the students' work.
Below are the partner companies with which China Studio has carried out projects since 2008:
- Hisense (interior equipment – consumer market - in-house design service)
- Groupe Shanghai Shentong Metro (Shanghai Subway Company)
- GE Healthcare (medical equipment - in-house design service)
- Kenwood (Japan) (electronics / communication)
- Yangfeng Jonhson Controls (B2B retailer, automotive industry)
- Malherbe Shanghai (retail design)
- XL+/ Design affairs (product design agency - consumer electronics)
- Naço Shanghai (international agency, architecture / interior design / graphic design / product design)
- Groupe ADEO (retailer, DIY)
- Goodbaby (childcare)
- Kohler (sanitary equipment)
- Decathlon (sports equipment)
- ShanHua (equipment for the hotel industry)
- Meters/Bonwe CH’IN (ready-to-wear and multi-products)
Since its creation, the China Studio has trained more than 250 graduates, who have been able to complete internships with numerous local, regional and international companies and agencies. Some of these host companies include:
- Kohler (bathroom and kitchen fittings)
- Naço (architecture / interior design / graphic design / product design)
- PEGA (Groupe Asus) (computing / electronics / consumer products)
- Atelier Forever (interior design / retail design / graphic design / product design)
- Dedo Design (architecture / interior design)
- Mooma Design (interior design / product design)
- Orange Lab (telecommunications)
- Point Tech (B2B retailer and manufacturer of city bikes)
- CBI (marketing and design research)
- Blackandgold (graphic design - mainly packaging, consumer market)
- Sina Retail (retail design, specialist in the Chinese market)
- KRT ((architecture / interior design / retail design)
- Coordination ASIA (product design / interior design)
- Progen Lab (interactive design)
- Reign Design (games)
- Groupe Ming (marketing / interactive design)
- Trigger Studio (interior design)
- EXH (interior design / architecture)
- Cent Degrés Shanghai (interior design / retail design / graphic design / product design)
- Creativoo (graphic design / interior design / product design)
- Must Production (film production for cinema / events, etc.)
- Nendo (Japanese designer, product design)
- Home Lights (retail design factory, consumer products)
- LOE Design (product design / interior design)
- Mickael Young (limited edition product design / product design for the general public)
- Virtuach (interactive design)
- Lime 388 (retail design / product design)
Here is a selection of companies that support the Studio by sending guest lecturers and/or jury members and that participate in the evaluation of the students' work during the program:
- Autodesk
- Point Tech
- XL+/ Design affairs
- Yanfeng Jonhson Controls
- Naço Shanghai
- CBI
- HP
- Continuum (design research / consulting)
- Teams Design (design research / product design)
- Frog Design (design research / consulting)

Throughout this master's level degree, students will learn to decipher the local behaviors and understand the Chinese market to offer a coherent project, adapted to users, with an anthropological...
