EXHIBITIONS

Hum Hum Magazine,
12–30.04.2025,
Treize, Paris

HUM HUM MAGAZINE, created by ECAL students, is a nomadic exhibition-publication whose first issue unfolds at Treize.

ONLINE

ECAL MASTER DXD PORTFOLIO REVIEWS,
08–09.04.2025,
Online

This event is open to future candidates for the new Master in Digital Experience Design who wish to obtain a preliminary opinion on their application.

EXHIBITIONS

Folklore Fusion,
08–13.04.2025,
Spazio Orso 16, Milan

ECAL presents Folklore Fusion at Milano Design Week 2025

EXHIBITIONS

Designed in CH, Made in JP,
08–13.04.2025,
House of Switzerland, Milan

ECAL in collaboration with Karimoku New Standard and Presence Switzerland presents Designed in CH, Made in Japan at Milan Design Week 2025

EXHIBITIONS

ECAL MILANO 2025 – EXHIBITIONS BY ALUMNI,
08–13.04.2025,
Salon du meuble de Milan

Selection of exhibitions with ECAL graduates at Milan Design Week 2025.

LECTURES

ECAL Lecture & Workshop – Cecilia Bengolea & Trajal Harrell,
07–09.04.2025,
Auditoire IKEA, ECAL

ECAL welcomes Cecilia Bengolea and Trajal Harrell for a talk and workshop exploring body, dance, and self-representation.

LECTURES

VISIONS DU RÉEL: MASTERCLASS & ECAL FILMS,
04–13.04.2025,
Nyon

As guest of honour at the 56th edition of the Visions du Réel festival in Nyon, filmmaker Raoul Peck will be giving a masterclass on Tuesday 8 April, organised in partnership with the Cinémathèque suisse. The programme also includes five films by the ECAL's Cinema Department and alumni.

EXHIBITIONS

Watches and Wonders GENEVA,
01–07.04.2025,
Palexpo, Genève

On the occasion of Watches and Wonders Geneva 2025, ECAL teams up with Ceramaret to present an exclusive collection of jewelry in technical ceramics

DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Watches and Wonders Geneva 2025 ECAL x Ceramaret

At the invitation of Watches and Wonders Geneva, ECAL will present a brand-new project in partnership with Ceramaret, a leading Swiss company in the manufacture and high-precision machining of technical ceramics. To mark the occasion, a selection of five jewellery and bracelet designs will be on display at the LAB, a venue dedicated to innovation and design. Thanks to this first collaboration with the Neuchâtel-based manufacturer, students in MAS Design for Luxury and Craftsmanship got to discover a state-of-the-art machine park. Renowned for developing and producing components for the luxury watchmaking industry, Ceramaret’s teams contributed their expertise to this ambitious research. Combining innovation with creativity, the project brings together the know-how of specialised engineers in materials science and the boundless inventiveness of an up-and-coming generation of designers. Following the presentation of the students’ 15 concepts, five designs were selected and prototyped in technical ceramics, using additive technologies – a 3D printing process that provides the possibility to create intricate, previously unimaginable shapes. This collection, including bracelets inspired by fine watchmaking and innovative jewellery designs, draws its inspiration as much from the beauty of organic forms as from the complexity of systems derived from engineering.

PHOTOGRAPHY

ECAL × SDOL, Horizon Ouest, Regards sur la métamorphose urbaine

with Matthieu Gafsou

New transport infrastructure is emerging, while former industrial wastelands are giving way to modern buildings and redesigned outdoor spaces. Gradually, residents are moving into these new neighborhoods and adopting new habits.  To capture the first moments of life in these spaces, the association "Ouest lausannois: Prix Wakker 2011" has invited second-year students from the ECAL Bachelor of Photography program to observe them throughout 2024. This project highlights 18 ongoing construction sites or recently completed neighborhoods. Through their perspectives, the students offer original approaches to discovering, understanding, and appropriating these new spaces.  Photography maintains a unique relationship with the world around us, as it often depends on it. Far from merely documenting reality in a strict sense, it has the power to transfigure and reveal the invisible or the unspeakable. This is the approach adopted by the ECAL photography students at the request of the "Ouest lausannois: Prix Wakker 2011" association, as they explored various territories in western Lausanne. As part of this commission, each student was randomly assigned a specific location—be it a new neighborhood, a construction site, or a distinctive building—on which they worked over an academic year. Faced with spaces that were sometimes unphotogenic or even resistant to imagery, the challenge was to look beyond appearances, to resonate with these places in order to grasp their unique dynamics. The photographs question our perception of these recent landscapes and bear witness to the human activity unfolding within them. What do they reveal about our ways of living and moving? Who are the people inhabiting these spaces? What new landscapes emerge from these rapid transformations?  Through approaches that are sometimes sensitive and intimate, sometimes detached and analytical, or even driven by a formal fascination with the objects captured, the works presented reveal the density and diversity of everyday life. They bring forth a poetic vision of the city, inviting us to consider these territories not merely as functional backdrops but as fully-fledged spaces, rich with history, form, and identity—fluid and multifaceted, just like those who inhabit them.

EXHIBITIONS

Horizon Ouest,
26.03–10.04.2025,
Bussigny

Observing Urban Transformation: ECAL Students Capture the New Spaces of Western Lausanne

LECTURES

SYMPOSIUM MASTER ARTS VISUELS,
26.03.2025,
Auditoire IKEA, ECAL

On March 26, 2025, the Master of Visual Arts proposes the symposium Worldbuilding in an era of extreme fragmentation

PRODUCT DESIGN

Designed in CH Made in JP

with Augustin Scott de Martinville

Designed in CH, Made in JP is a collaborative project between ECAL Master Product Design, Karimoku New Standard, and Presence Switzerland. From 13 April to 13 October 2025, representatives from countries across the globe will gather to showcase innovation, culture, and sustainability at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan. For Switzerland’s pavilion, MA Product Design students at ECAL were tasked with designing a stackable wooden chair to be produced in Japan by Karimoku New Standard, intended to furnish the lightweight, bubble-inspired architecture by Manuel Herz. Under the guidance of Augustin Scott de Martinville, the class developed ten chair designs, each offering a distinct perspective. Some draw inspiration from the pavilion’s scenography, while others explore cultural iconography or celebrate the symbiosis between two nations—each unique in heritage yet united by shared values of craftsmanship and innovation. Of the ten designs, one was selected to be produced for the pavilion: HUG, designed by Jacob Kouthoofd Martensson and Min Xiyao, is a circular chair that stacks inversely—a feature that not only informs its name but also visually embodies the essence of collaboration. This versatile design accommodates a range of uses, from conferences to general pavilion seating. The final chair will be unveiled both in Osaka in the Swiss Pavilion at the World Expo 2025, and during Milan Design Week 2025, with the full project exhibited at the House of Switzerland.

AWARDS & DISTINCTIONS

Swiss Film Award : two ECAL film graduates honoured

Klaudia Reynicke and Mégane Brügger win the ‘Best Feature Film’ and ‘Best Graduation Film’ awards respectively.

GRAPHIC DESIGN

MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN

PHOTOGRAPHY

ECAL Night Live

with Vincent Veillon, Paul Walther, Florian Pittet (Sigmasix), Vincent Jacquier, Julien Gurtner

During an intensive week, first-year students from the Visual Communication department at ECAL had the opportunity to create and produce the first edition of ECAL Night Live. The goal was to design a show inspired by satirical television formats. Divided into multidisciplinary teams—including students from the Bachelor programs in Graphic Design, Media & Interaction Design, and Photography—they collaborated to create all the content, set design, and visual identity of the show, delivering a fully homemade project in record time. The main theme revolved around self-mockery, targeting the visual communication professions, students, and the institution itself, with a subtle touch of current events. This project was supervised by Vincent Veillon and Paul Walther, directors of the RTS show 52 Minutes, as well as Florian Pittet, a digital scenography expert who guided the creation of the show's set design.

ANNOUNCEMENT

ECAL AT MILAN DESIGN WEEK 2025

ECAL presents two exhibitions at Milano Design Week 2025

PHOTOGRAPHY

Applied Photography

with Calypso Mahieu

ZOOM IN ZOOM OUT This course, both practical and technical, required students to develop a true photographer’s eye. Its goal was to introduce them to or help them refine their skills in various photographic genres, such as still life, portraiture, architecture, as well as documentary and staged photography. These disciplines demanded particular attention and great rigor in selecting models, locations, and objects. Mastery of composition, framing, and light management—whether natural or artificial—was essential for achieving successful shots. Throughout the course, students were encouraged to sharpen their sense of observation and their ability to create images that were both precise and expressive.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Fine Art Photography

with Natacha Lesueur

Vulgar First, it is photography that would be considered vulgar: due to its technical mediation (the infamous photographic click-clack), its commercial uses (press, advertising, and fashion), its dissemination, and its reproduction, photographic activity is tainted with vulgarity. A minor art, an art that does nothing more than imitate art?

PARTNERSHIP

HEAT PUMPS FOR VIESSMANN

For Viessmann, ECAL Master Product Design students are rethinking the aesthetics of heat pumps, combining innovation with harmonious integration into the urban landscape.

AWARDS & DISTINCTIONS

La Mobilière 2025 Prize awarded to Alfatih

Congratulations to ECAL graduate artist Alfatih, who was awarded the Prix La Mobilière 2025 at the recent Salon Art Genève.

ANNOUNCEMENT

New Master en Digital Experience Design

ECAL is launching a MA in Digital Experience Design (DXD), which will start in autumn 2025. This ambitious programme meets a growing demand for professionals in the field of new technologies.

ANNOUNCEMENT

SADAO E-learning platform

SADAO: a brand new open access self-assessment platform. Challenge your art and design knowledge now!

ANNOUNCEMENT

CERTIFICATE OF ADVANCED STUDIES – CREATIVE LEADERSHIP 2025

After the success of Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) Creative Leadership in 2024, the registrations are now open for 2025 until the 26.11.2024.

AWARDS & DISTINCTIONS

Sara De Brito Faustino winner of the Prix Françoise Champoud 2024

Congratulations to photographer Sara De Brito Faustino, ECAL graduate, who wins the Prix Françoise Champoud 2024, an award that will support the development of her promising artistic career.

AWARDS & DISTINCTIONS

Thibault Walter, ECAL teacher, awarded a Special Music Prize 2024

Congratulations to Thibault Walter, ECAL teacher and co-programmer of the Lausanne Underground Film & Music Festival (LUFF), on his award at the Swiss Music Awards 2024. This special award recognizes his unwavering commitment to the underground music scene and his central role within LUFF.

AWARDS & DISTINCTIONS

Anna-Marija Adomaityte receives the June Johnson Newcomer Prize

Congratulations to Anna-Marija Adomaityte, ECAL Master of Visual Arts Graduate, who has won the June Johnson Newcomer prize awarded by the Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation.