What people are saying about L'École de design Nantes Atlantique
Students’ and alumni’s opinions of L'École de design Nantes Atlantique
Find out what the students and alumni of L'École de design Nantes Atlantique think about the school and its training programs!
"The school gives us the opportunity to work on long and short projects and workshops, where we start with the idea and work our way through to concrete implementation. Most of the projects are carried out in groups, just like in a company."
"One of the school's greatest strengths is its teaching staff: real professionals who take the time to convey their knowledge and passion for design."
Learning by doing
L'École de design Nantes Atlantique prepares its students for the world of work. Thanks to project-based teaching, students collaborate with companies throughout their training, through creative and participative workshops or prospective studies.
L'École de design Nantes Atlantique works with a wide network of French and international partner companies and institutions. It forges educational and professional partnerships with over 80 companies each year.
The school also encourages its students to take part in design competitions to present to the general public projects that they have developed in a given timeframe, working within specific constraints.
Most courses are taught by working professionals. The school also regularly organises meetings and conferences with design experts and graduates of the school, who have gone on to careers all over the world.
"We were able to work with real clients with real expectations. We have compulsory internships and we also have the opportunity to take part in competitions every year."
"One of the school's assets is its professional dimension: we work a lot with external partners on projects, workshops and longer projects."
"The school's philosophy is one of learning by doing. We work on projects in partnership with companies that bring their own constraints, which makes the project really concrete."
Experience the realities of working life
Right from the start of their studies, students build up professional experience alongside their courses, with internships and apprenticeships.
On the theme of entrepreneurship, several startups have sprung up in recent years, demonstrating a desire to move away from the classic career paths of in-house or agency designers. The school's students and alumni are keen to get involved in developing new products and services based on concerns that are close to their hearts.
A school's success is measured by the professional success of its alumni: 80% of alumni are in work 12 months after graduation (Bachelor's and Master's degrees)* and 1 out of 2 alumni is in employment on graduation day (Master's degree)**. Today, the school has more than 4,300 graduates, in all design disciplines. Whether in France or abroad, working for a company or an agency, or setting up their own business, their career paths are many and varied.
*source: job placement survey conducted among graduates of the class of 2022
**source: survey conducted among graduates of the class of 2024
"The school has a large network of alumni who work for major companies. I've also learned a lot through projects carried out with companies. These partnerships are a great asset on a CV."
"The school provided me with a network and its reputation is pretty well established, especially in Paris."
A unique teaching approach
The designer's profession can take a thousand and one forms, because it's a know-how built on a methodological foundation and on a unique way of thinking and innovating.
More than a discipline, design is a vision, a mindset and a method that can be applied to any project in companies and organizations.
This approach makes it possible to innovate and find solutions to complex problems from the user's point of view.
User experience (UX) has become an essential skill, as designers must now think about the entire user journey, from the interface to the overall experience of the product or space.
The school also offers its students the opportunity to work in multi-disciplinary teams. The school's Master's degree in design is structured around a 3-year undergraduate cycle that trains students in a major (space design, product design, graphic design, UX design) and an associated specialty, which they will continue to pursue throughout their Master's cycle, as they advance towards the strategic dimension of design. The teaching of majors and specialties is continued and reinforced through practical experience in each subject of the master's program, through projects, seminars, workshops and masterclasses. This also means that in the master's cycle, students find themselves in hybrid classes mixing students trained in product design, graphic design, space design and UX design.
"We're lucky at school to learn a methodology that allows us to move from one project to the next with equal measures of conviction and success."
"The school opened me up to all fields of design, which is very valuable for our career since we don't limit ourselves to just one field of action."
"What I learned at school was first and foremost a design methodology. The school teaches us this way of thinking, this truly 'user-centered' way of thinking."
"L'École de design Nantes Atlantique teaches us to become very multidisciplinary, very autonomous and very versatile people."
"The new building gives us plenty of space to work, including group work areas. I also really appreciate the workshops."
"What's really important to me is the infrastructure and the workshops. The great thing about being here is that we have so many different workshops: screen printing, 3D printing, textiles, wood, metal."
A job that makes sense in light of today's challenges
Design is a profession that shakes things up and has become essential for innovation.
The world of design is booming, driven by two transitions: thedigital transition and the environmental transition. These profound upheavals are redefining the role of designers in organizations, and opening the way to new strategic perspectives.
The school integrates this environmental dimension, which is a key concern for companies, into its teaching, as well as this technological dimension in view of the mass arrival of generative AI.
L'École de design Nantes Atlantique trains designers capable of shaping the world of tomorrow. Thanks to the revolutions taking place today, designers are taking on a more strategic position within companies, playing an essential role in the decisions that will be made.
"The school guided me towards ethical, sustainable and human-centered design, values that define the designer I am today."
"School gave me this ability to reinvent myself, to ensure that my practice evolves in a field that is constantly changing."
"Technology is evolving all the time, so there are always new possibilities and therefore new tools and new methodologies. What the school has given me is the ability to keep an open mind and absorb all these changes."
A school with a global outlook
For 25 years, L'École de design Nantes Atlantique has been enabling future French designers to train abroad, and future international designers to train in Nantes.
It offers its students an international experience from the 3rd year of the 5-year Master's level degree in design, and the master's program can be completed in one of its international studios in Benin, Brazil, China or Canada. The 3-year DN MADE diploma also offers a multi-cultural experience, with an international class taught in English.
With campuses at the heart of global innovation hubs such as Shanghai, Hangzhou and São Paulo, Montreal and Cotonou, the school embodies a global vision of design.
Each year, the school hosts around a hundred international Erasmus + exchange students of some forty nationalities to open its students up to other cultures and other ways of thinking and working. L'École de design Nantes Atlantique has developed partnerships with more than a hundred universities around the world to encourage students to immerse themselves in a multi-cultural context.
"Thanks to the school, I was able to go to Seoul in South Korea. I finally felt like I belonged, and ever since that experience I continue to feel like I belong."
"L'École de design Nantes Atlantique really encourages its students to travel internationally and discover other cultures."
"The school enabled me to complete a 6-month internship in China and opened me up to the outside world and the international scene."
