Master in Retail Design

Discover the keys to anticipate tendencies and design commercial experiences in a market in constant transformation. You will conceive innovative spaces integrating technology, sustainability and visual merchandising in projects from concept stores to global brands.

How to apply

Presentation

How can design influence brand perception and purchase decisions? Retail design is more than the planning of commercial spaces: it is a strategic discipline where architecture, interior design, branding and communication create brand value, optimize the user experience and redefine consumer dynamics.

This master offers a theoretical and practical approach to understanding the market, analyzing emerging trends and developing innovative retail projects. Through the study of aesthetic languages —sublime, kitsch, camp or irony—students will explore how visual identity and spatial narrative can connect with audiences and generate impact.

From conceptualizing flagship stores, pop-up stores and shop-in-shops to planning omnichannel experiences, the program integrates strategy, user experience and visual merchandising to design retail spaces that respond to the new consumer paradigms.

Through projects with leading companies and the use of sustainable design methodologies, this master trains professionals capable of conceiving functional and innovative commercial environments that are aligned with the demands of contemporary retail.

Access and Admission Requirements: An official university degree or equivalent in Architecture or Interior Design. Basic knowledge of 2D and 3D spatial representation.

Do you want to know the rest of Elisava’s master and postgraduate programmes? Find the design master you are looking for.

Study the MA in Retail Design in Barcelona

There is no better place to dive into the world of retail design than the city of Barcelona. Not only because it is one of the most modern, cosmopolitan cities in Europe adapted to the new synergies emerging in the design world, but also because many great, historic commercial spaces coexist in the city. Studying retail design in Barcelona will open doors to a future of success.

Our Master in Retail Design trains future professionals, providing them with the necessary tools to meet the real needs emerging in the labour market. What sets apart our master’s degree in retail design is this transition between the academic and professional worlds. The students’ working environment approximates what they will experience in the workplace.
Master Retail Design
Master Retail Design
Master Retail Design
Master Retail Design
Master Retail Design
Master Retail Design
Master Retail Design
Master Retail Design

Objectives

  • Explore retail as a brand and user experience ecosystem, combining commercial strategy, space design and new technologies.
  • Master the analysis of trends and aesthetic languages, designing visual identities aligned with brand values and perception.
  • Design strategic and experiential commercial spaces, integrating interior design, architecture, sustainability and technology.
  • Analyze and apply retail business strategies, understanding the growth and transformation models of the sector.
  • Develop visual narratives at the point of sale, enhancing brand communication through window displaying and visual merchandising.
  • Incorporate principles of sustainability and circularity in commercial design, exploring new ways of creating responsible spaces.
  • Merge physical and digital retail, exploring technological tools that redefine the shopping experience.
  • Develop real projects in collaboration with global brands, applying a hands-on approach at every stage of the process, from concept to final execution.
  • Negotiate contracts and services, as well as manage project phases in end-to-end processes within the retail context.
Highlights

MA in Retail Design programme

1 Large formats and strategies: Expansion models

Analyse the internal business structure, the market, forms and strategies for expansion, and also the tools for directing retail projects. 

1.1 Large-scale spaces
1.2 Case studies
1.3 Market strategies and plans
1.4 Bases and concepts that define the market
1.5 Cases: Analysis of examples
1.6 Market “scales”
1.7 Discussion-practice: Future markets 

 2 Executive project. Commercial design, details and formats

Design large-scale commercial spaces, addressing their processes through the documents that make up the Brand Book and the executive project plans.

2.1 Introduction and presentation of the module. From the brand book to the construction documents
2.2 General guidelines, index of blueprints, content and information necessary for the development of the construction documents for a store
2.3 Layout design: Brand and segment
2.4 Human scale: The user’s relationship to the space and with the furnishings
2.5 The product as the foundation for furniture design. Display systems and furniture families
2.6 Product range sheets. Size and quantity of products on display and in stock
2.7 Materials in architecture and furniture. Manufacturing processes
2.8 Furniture design, functionality, execution, detail and prototyping 

 3 Research methods. Global trends in sustainability

Create innovative and sustainable commercial design projects, incorporating knowledge of retail, urban planning and climate action.

3.1 Introduction and presentation of the module
3.2 2030 global scenario focused on the retail context
3.3 Frameworks, conceptual foundations and collaborative work
3.4 Trends and case studies in the context of the retail scenario
3.5 Field trips

 4 Merging physical & digital: technology and retail

Analyse how technology has become one of the main drivers of change and, in the short term, has changed the way we communicate and interact.

4.1 Introduction: Blurring boundaries
4.2 Generational change and technology
4.3 Evolution of technology towards digital media
4.4 Digital communication and the physical environment
4.5 Retail and technology. Experience and point of sale
4.6 New models
4.7 Artificial Intelligence in retail

4.8 Generation of images and concepts with AI
4.9 Discussion and design
4.10 Proposal review and follow-up 

 5 Display window production: first impressions

Investigate creative processes and develop productions for assembly in order to execute real proposals.

5.1 Visual language and its tools
5.2 Spatial and visual concepts applied to retail
5.3 Analysis and research of the sector based on its visual and material strategies
5.4 Communication and storytelling through commercial space
5.5 The cash register. The window. The envelope: A contemporary overview of display windows
5.6 Brand, identity and space
5.7 Lighting techniques in display windows
5.8 Organizing the assembly and budget
5.9 Case studies 

 6 Global commerce. Business in traffic. Large scale

Analyze and design commercial spaces in high traffic environments such as airports and museums.


6.1 Introduction and presentation of the case studies
6.2 Unconventional traffic stores: Typologies and formats
6.3 Development of distribution plans
6.4 Lighting and concept package for a comprehensive project
6.5 Dual retail: Cross-selling businesses
6.6 The “experience” at the point of sale
6.7 Product/service categories 

 7 Commercial marketing strategies

Learn the foundations of contemporary retail marketing and analyse corporate strategy, the portfolio of products or solutions, and the tools of online, off-line and in-store communication.

7.1 Introduction to marketing and presentation of the module
7.2 Market analysis, life cycle, positioning, portfolio and segmentation
7.3 Distribution, structure and zoning in commercial spaces
7.4 Visual merchandising as a strategic operation
7.5 Omnichannel
7.6 Implementation of commercial strategies 

 8 New forms in commercial spaces

Develop a design for a pop-up store. Discover new retail formats where experience takes precedence over sales.

8.1 Introduction and presentation of the course
8.2 Pop-up stores, shop-in-shops, fair stands and new sales formats
8.3 Case studies
8.4 Temporary art and installations for new forms of retail
8.5 Materials and building solutions
8.6 Storytelling at the point of sale: from concept to reality 

 9 Visual communication, identity and expression of brands at the point of sale

Learn the importance of graphic messaging in retail spaces and its application in different languages, supports and formats.

9.1 Design as strategy
9.2 MIN segmentation model
9.3 Experience of the customer-brand relationship and strategic management
9.4 Introduction to the analysis of the research and positioning process
9.5 Definition of brand values and codes
9.6 Languages, supports and formats
9.7 Practical case developing a proposal in the context of the city of Barcelona 

 10 Displays and visual merchandising (VM)

In the first part, you’ll learn about the concept of merchandising and its usefulness in a retail chain; in the second, you’ll learn how to minimize the waste generated by displays.

10.1 What is merchandising?
10.2 Brand study: Target customer, product
10.3 Visual merchandising strategy
10.4 Seasonal merchandising strategy
10.5 Merchandising in a fashion retail chain
10.6 The store of the future in VM
10.7 Strategies in displays 

 11 Trends and aesthetic languages in retail

Explore the aesthetic trends and their influence on commercial design, applying innovation and sustainability criteria.

11.1 Market trends
11.2 Strategies and scales in commercial/retail actions
11.3 Towards committed leadership: Roles and tools for discussion
11.4 Creative collaborative structures
11.5 Project strategies and retail proposals for investors and consumers 

 12 Retail Project

Develop a strategic proposal based on a real briefing, integrating all areas of commercial design.
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Each academic year, students with very diverse professional and cultural profiles of more than 80 nationalities from all over the world attend their master’s or postgraduate training at Elisava. We want to promote connections and networks among students beyond the context of each master’s degree to promote the exchange of knowledge through very diverse projects: we organize interdisciplinary workshops and conferences; transdisciplinary projects with students from several master’s degrees; collaborations with companies, institutions and NGOs…

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Masters’ Scholarships

Do you want to study the MA in Retail Design at Elisava? In this section you will be able to check all the information on the annual call for scholarships, which recognize, reward and disseminate the talent and excellence of future master’s students.

Elisava Masters’ Scholarships