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RyanM |
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on 5/9/2008 |
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Hi Karen,
I am also looking to study in Florence in a Masters program for Graphic Design starting in January 2009. I am also having a hard time getting an opinion on either of the two schools you have mentioned. I have looked and looked and FDA and the FID seem to be the only real choices for a Masters program. I wish I could give you some information, but until someone else posts to this topic, it looks like we are all stuck... Thanks, Ryan
RyanM |
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leta |
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on 5/1/2008 |
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Hi, I study interior design in FDA. Nice school, though small (I haven't been to the institute). Only for foreigners. I think that the most important pluses of the school are that you are not to study nothing useless there, as maths or economics. The teachers are cute, all professionals, always ready to help. The school is located in the very center of the city, close to Duomo.
Minuses: costs a lot (though, you go for a year), no canteen (you've gotta pay 3 Euros for a sandwich). Italian courses suck)
leta |
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on 5/7/2008 |
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Hi Karen
I am looking at the same options
On first impression, the interior of the Institute looks SO great - I would love to spend a year there. It seems to be a new institution, so there is not that much information on it out there. Location is spot on too, and the course breakdown sounds sensible. Although I prefer their website and presentation over the FDA's, some of the presented folio work is not attractive at all, don't you think?
The FDA looks more like a commercial type academy (they both do in a way) but even from the look of the website it feels like it is. Their folio selection is quite average too, maybe this is a non-intimidating strategy to attract more students. I don't know how old this academy is but it seems that they have established themselfs to be the first choice for non-bologna system design diplomas.
Based on the initial direction I think that with time the Florence Institute of Design will gain more credibility, where the Academy will only become more popular.
Any other thoughts? I would love to hear from people that have done a course at either or are doing one at the moment - i am sure there are a lot of students willing to know a lot more about these two institutions before applying or accepting offers.
Thank you
antistar |
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RyanM |
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on 6/3/2008 |
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Ah, that explains why we can't find anyone who's gone to the Florence Institute.... it doesn't open for classes until January 2009
KarenR |
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FIDI |
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on 8/5/2008 |
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In clarification of the above article, the starting date for The Florence Institute of Design International is September 15th. January 19th 2009 is when the Institute opens to ‘Semester Abroad’ students.
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on 8/5/2008 |
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In clarification of the above article, the starting date for The Florence Institute of Design International is September 15th. January 19th 2009 is when the Institute opens to ‘Semester Abroad’ students.
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on 9/8/2008 |
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So is there anyone out there who is planning to start at the Florence Institute soon?
KarenR |
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sav |
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on 9/8/2008 |
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I am debating which of the 2 to attend....I think i will flip a coin...tell you what karen I will follow your lead..
sav |
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on 9/27/2008 |
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hello frds iam raghuvamshi i had applied for FID and waiting for that they did'nt asked any scores of ielts of toefl they simply asked portfolio and essay about institute.
plz any one suggest me if i got the admission in FID
Raghu
raghucae19 |
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on 7/30/2010 |
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I am currently looking at both schools for a masters in graphic design and have the same questions as those posted above.
Did anyone ever get any more info? Please let me know!
terp2011 |
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staff |
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on 9/15/2012 |
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Tim, is everything ok?
Yes, you can live in Fiesole and studying in Florence!
You can reach Florence in 10 minutes by bus, but it depends by the location of your school....
A presto..and dont think too much about sex, you are here for studying too!!! 
staff |
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on 9/16/2012 |
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I have been facing exactly the same dilemma. My fiancé wanted to do Master's program in Graphic Design in one of European universities. We did a lot of research and, in Italy, three schools kept popping up: SPD Milano, FDA and FIDI. However, SPD was twice more expensive than the other two (14 K Euros vs. 7K per year), so, naturally, it narrowed the choice down to FDA or FIDI. Thankfully, from where we live Ryanair flies to Pisa for under 100 Euros roundtrip. So, one day we simply flu to Florence to check both schools out.
At first glance both places seemed to be remarkably similar: websites, programs, costs and many other things looked almost the same. However, in reality there is a huge difference between the two. First we visited the FDA. The school is located on a few floors of a building, just steps away from the Duomo. The secretary quickly arranged for us a meeting with one of the instructors and he was able to answer most of our questions. The main thing we liked about FDA were course flexibility, helpfulness of its staff and the level of informality. Their motto should have been: "If something is possible, then, why not?" For instance, we asked if some courses in the program could be replaced with others or taken on a different level. Obviously, for someone, who has extensively worked with some software for a few years, an entry level course wouldn't be very useful. Or for someone, who is planning to work as web designer, packaging course might not be necessary. And s/he would have rather taken a 3D MAX course instead, which is mostly offered to Interior Design students. Such changes are not a problem at FDA (provided there is no schedule conflict and the space in the class of your choice is available). The "mix and match" approach seems to be welcomed there. That was one of the most important factors for us.
The way different programs (1 year, 2/3 years, and Master's) are set up at the FDA is quite simple: many of the same courses are offered on different levels. In other words, Web Design could be taught to first year students as well as to Masters' (although it would be called "Web design I", "Web design II" and etc.). However, first year folks will be studying the basics, while masters will be learning advanced techniques, which require some previous knowledge on the subject. So, if you are more competent in certain areas and less competent in others you most likely will be able to find a course, which difficulty level matches your skill. Again, as long as there is no schedule conflict and space in the class of your choice is available staff at the FDA seem to be willing to let you switch between the courses/subjects.
Another thing we liked about FDA was their openness and desire to help students. For example, they have a meeting room with computer monitors set up to be facing the visitor. Once you are there, you can request to show you a number of students' projects from some specific course or area and the instructor will not only do that but also will be happy to discuss them with you. FDA also cooperates with a few local real estate agencies in order to find rooms for their students for as little cost as possible. So they actually do a large part of housing search for you. They also try to provide most students with powerful computers to work on their projects. So, while you are more than welcome to bring your own laptop along, you would not necessarily have to do that (could be important for folks on a budget). With graphic files often being hundreds of Megabytes in size the power of the computer you use could be an issue. In short, at the FDA we felt that student' interests were their main priority.
Then we visited FIDI and had a meeting with its program director Marc(o) di Domenico. Despite having Italian last name he seemed to be an American and ... quite a character. His approach (which, I assume, represents that of FIDI) was drastically different from FDA's. For instance, at FIDI you are almost unable to change anything in the program. If you happen to be an architect and have a few years' experience of working with AutoCad then you MIGHT be allowed to skip that class and/or replace it with something else. But if you want to do more changes to your program (like, say, skipping Typography and adding 3D MAX instead), it's simply not allowed. The same applies to taking course of a different level. The motto of the FIDI should have been: "We created the program. It's perfect. If you don't like it in its entirety then go somewhere else"...
The Graphic Design program (we were interested solely in it, so I can't speak about other programs) at the FIDI is heavily focused on printing (posters, magazines ads and etc.). Hence, it includes the subjects, like "Typography", "Photography" and, even, "Videography". If this is something you want to do, then the program MIGHT work for you. But if you want to focus on other things (like web design, packaging and etc.) then, probably, FIDI wouldn't be a place for you. So think hard as to what you REALLY want to study before signing up for any of their programs, because it seems that once you're in there would be no chance to change anything.
What we disliked the most about the FIDI was the feel of some sort of pathetic elitism they were actively trying to create and promote. From the interaction with their program director I got a feeling that the study process of that school was not a typical student-teacher model but rather a guru-follower one. For instance, when we asked how the degrees they award fit into the Bologna system, instead of answering the question Marco Di Domenico started arguing regarding the validity of that system. But this was not what we asked. The same happened on a few other occasions. Every time we asked the question he didn't like he acted as if his beliefs were challenged by some amateurs (us  . After 15 minutes of conversation he abruptly ended the meeting and left, claiming that some "hot-shot-nobody-heard-of" designer was visiting the school and that he had to hear his presentation. When leaving, he suggested that we wonder around the school on our own and that if we have any more questions we should try to find the secretary.
Again, most of our impressions about the FIDI came from the interaction with its Program Director Marco Di Domenico. However, I think that his attitude represents that of the FIDI well. For instance, just look at the name of the school. If they were to follow the rules of English grammar it would have been FIID ("Florence International Institute of Design" / "Florence Institute of International Design") or IIDF (International Institute of Design, Florence). Yet, the name is FIDI ("Florence Institute of Design International"), which doesn't make much sense in English but, for some people, creates that feeling of being "special".
Overall, the choice for us was clear. My wife (yes, we got married last summer) is now a student at the FDA and she likes it there. While FIDI might work for some people (especially if you are the "snobbish elite" type I urge you to do as much research as possible before applying. If you could, try to come to Italy beforehand and check the schools out for yourself. Trust me, the money you invest into the plane ticket and the hostel bed on this "check out" trip will be spent extremely well. If you can't come, at least try to call to each school and have a prolonged phone conversation with someone from the staff to get a feel of what's going on down there. Remember, once you're in it will take a year (at least) of your life. You don't want to be miserable all that time. So, do your homework.
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on 2/21/2013 |
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My experience in Florence was more than awesome.. The city is beautiful, inspiring, cozy and inveterate. people are also great and very friendly.
I went to FIDI "Florence Institute of Design International" for an Interior Design Masters last year.I honestly it is one of the best schools in Florence. Professors are very well picked, innovative and super helpful. They push you to create new ideas, get involved with design aspects and technicalities through exploration of actual real life inspirations.
Courses were very useful and as expected to be. Not only that but Marc Di Domenico "The Institute's director" always cared to be updated with the real market, so he would arrange field trips such as visiting the Salone Di Mobile, The bologna fair for ceramics and we even visited furniture factories to get in touch with the industrial aspect!
Surprisingly, special workshops were also added for free to the courses, like sketch up - photoshop, illustrator and In Design - Drawing classes as well as getting to meet up and work together with 4 designers from the radicals of the 60's from UFO, 9999, Archizoom and superstudio, that is a life time opportunity that was offered on a golden plate!
Besides, the school itself is really nice and organized, people are very contributing and helpful. Staff is amazing. I couldn't have asked for more. I learnt too much in a year and I would have regretted if I had decided to go to any another school.. I am GLAD I made the perfect choice!
It was the year of my life and of course thanks to FIDI and to its great director Marc..
Yomna
21/2/2013
Yomna Hany |
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on 2/21/2013 |
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I took my masters degree from FIDI in 2012/2013 and It learned so much in this year ... Marc is really helpful and he works hard to improve the school. He do everything to provide the best teachers in all the subjects. I learned much more than I learned in the 5 years of collage. The teachers are the best in Florence. We learned how to design and present new and unique stuff. Also we know well how to use more than 4 new computer programs. In my opinion FIDI is the best in Florence. I never regret that i decided study at FIDI and if i have the chance to study there again i will do it without hesitating. We all worked very hard in the school the teachers encourage us to do our best and helps us to go crazy with our designs. I had the chance to visit all the furniture and material exhibitions which helps me to think in a different way. i also had the chance to go with the school to all the historical places in Florence and Rome. I think Marc is going is best to improve the school every year cause he really loves the school and the students. please to judge before u know the school well. Again this was the best year in my life. This is a good chance to thank Marc for all his effort.
nesma hany |
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1993_joy |
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on 2/25/2013 |
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I hope to study at FIDI next year, doing Graphic Design Masters... if there's anyone who has done this course at FIDI and can give advise or helpful tips about it, I would greatly appreciate it
1993_joy |
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on 6/12/2015 |
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which one is better for diploma in interior designing? FDA OR FIDI? PLEASE HELP
Ruchit10 |
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