პროგრამის შესახებ
Design Foundation / Spring wave
(February 26, 2026 - July 10, 2026)
The program is designed as an intensive preparatory program for high school students and students who do not yet have design knowledge.
The program is led by more than 30 specialists from the fields of design, creativity, education and business. Courses are held in the form of 3-4 meetings per week, in a physical space, with a balance of theoretical and practical experience and knowledge.
The program is designed to study the full spectrum of design, for people who are looking for a future profession, need professional orientation, new creative skills and do not yet have practical experience.
The program helps pupils and students to master the basics and disciplines of the future profession and to plan their future career, to discover their own creative potential.
Students of the program will be able to thoroughly study the basics of design history, professions and disciplines in design, work in a practical and theoretical format with the best specialists in the field on real projects, share knowledge and receive advice from business and public sector representatives. To learn graphic programs, craft, animation, photo, video, deepen creative and imagination, visualization, communication skills, which will be useful in all professions in the future.
Course structure:
- The spring program begins in February and ends in July
- Meetings will be held 3-4 times during the week, from 15:00 to 19:00 (taking into account the break)
- In total, up to 80 meetings during the full program
- 90% of meetings will be held in physical space
- Part of the meetings, depending on the study topics, will be held outside the institute building
- The main study time of students will be divided into practical and theoretical hours.
- Each academic month represents a separate module of the program, 6 modules in total
- 50% of the module is devoted to learning new material and disciplines, 25% to practical work and projects, and 25% to teamwork
- The student will have to spend about 100 additional hours to think about and complete the homework.
- The student does not need any prior preparation or any materials and equipment/equipment
- Homework does not require additional materials or supplies/equipment
- Final schedule and details will be sent to students weekly after acceptance into the program
- Before the start of the program, students will be able to attend an open day and talk to the program leader and lecturers
- The dates of the open house meetings will be published on the Design Institute website calendar and in the newsletter
- When registering for the program, it is recommended that the students send detailed information about themselves.

Giga Khatiashvili
Product & Industrial Designer, Graphic Designer, Founder of the advertising laboratory "919", Handwriting fonts creator, Creative Director, Lecturer at the University of Georgia and GIPA, Full Professor at the international school of design based on the basis of the Technical University of Georgia.

Tako Sulakvelidze
Design strategist, brand and creative communications strategist, and technology startup founder, She holds a master’s degree in Strategic Design and Management from Parsons School of Design an, Former Strategic Director at the digital agency Redberry, Her tech projects have been showcased in New York at the inaugural AD+AI (Art, Design, and AI) exhibition, organized in partnership with The New School and LG, as well as in Zhejiang, China, at the Design Intelligence Awards (DIA) festival, where she received recognition in the Digital Economy category, During her time studying and living in the U.S., she researched artificial intelligence and interned as a design researcher at a metaverse startup. In 2024, she received funding from "GITA" (Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency) and founded Research Ninja.

Shota Dograshvili
Graphic designer with 10 years of experience, brand designer at TBC, assistant professor at the Faculty of Media Studies of the Academy of Arts, was involved in the Nesta Creative Enterprise program and the workshop "Life Beyond Tourism".

Nino Egadze
Strategic and visual communications, branding, and marketing specialist. Leadership positions in companies such as TBC Bank/Group, Red Bull, and Philip Morris International. Organizer of over 1,000 social projects and events in several countries.
Expertise: Communications, business strategy, design strategy, creative skills, leadership, social responsibility (CSR), reputational risks, content, customer experience, and UX/UI design. Founder of the Design Institute.

Luka Mikeladze
Artist, Graphic Designer, Lecturer, 14 years of experience in academic field, Associate Professor at the School of Fine Arts, Lecturer at the Rustaveli National Theatre, Gogi Meskhi Shavishvili Theatre School, and a Master of Arts in Painting.

Shorena Otkhozoria
Graphic designer, brand designer. 19 years of experience in
advertising. Former lecturer of Tbilisi Art Academy. Graphic
designer in the companies: Windfor's, Sakideamsheni, TBC Bank. She has won the Giorgio Napolitano medal in design.
Currently, she is a brand and concept designer at the Georgian
-Italian art platform - ensō.

Otar Karalashvili
Book artist, illustrator, designer, curator, Invited Professor at the International School of Design, Georgian Technical University. Founder and director of the Book Art Center Tbilisi, Co-founder Diogene Publishers, one of the first independent publishing houses in Georgia, One of the organizers of the first Georgian children’s book and children’s book illustration contest, Initiator of founding the Georgian Publisher’s Association, Curator of the Georgian collective stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair, Professor of Graphic Design, Typography, Book Design, Children’s Book Illustration at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts, the Tbilisi Free University, and the International Design School of the Georgian Technical University, Founder of Virgam Virtual Publishers – an informal creative student program which supported and supervised the creation of more than 100 picture books, photo books, and artist books by young book artists, illustrators and photographers, Founder of the Book Art Center Tbilisi – a non-governmental institution committed to the development of book art, book design, and book illustration in Georgia and internationally, For its contribution to Georgian children’s illustration, the Book Art Center Tbilisi was twice nominated from Georgia for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, Chief curator of the Tbilisi Book Days international festival for book art and design, Curator of numerous international exhibitions of children’s book Illustration, Founder of 1/16 – a monthly series of photo- and artbooks by prominent Georgian artists and photographers.

Tazo Arunashvili
Industrial designer, entrepreneur. TAZO DESIGN founder - direction of industrial design. Co-founder of startup VISU - VR, AR, Edutech direction. Also, Buckswood School Innovation Program Manager and Assistant Professor at Tbilisi State Art Academy.

Guram Tsibakhashvili
Photographer working in the fields of street, reportage, documentary, and conceptual photography, Co-founder of the Visual Bank project and Container photo gallery, as well as co-editor of the magazine Photography, He is a member of the Independent Journalists’ Association, the Artists’ Union of Georgia, and the Photographers’ Association, He has participated in around 200 group exhibitions, held over 40 solo exhibitions, and published articles on photography and contemporary art, In addition, He has produced photographic series such as Ulysses (1988), Seedlings (1994), Explanations (2002), Chewing Girls (2002), among others, His works are held in museum collections and private collections in countries including Germany, the USA, the Netherlands, and Georgia.

Luka Mikeladze
Artist, Graphic Designer, Lecturer, 14 years of experience in academic field, Associate Professor at the School of Fine Arts, Lecturer at the Rustaveli National Theatre, Gogi Meskhi Shavishvili Theatre School, and a Master of Arts in Painting.

Manana Mikashavidze
Architect, designer, interior architect. Methodist of teaching applied art, guest trainer of crafts and art therapy in various educational institutions. "Applied Art Workshop" - founder and head of the studio. Author of applied art training books.

Eka Egadze
Architect and restaurateur, with 22 years of experience, trained in graphic design and composition at the National School of Arts of Tbilisi. Specializes in individual architectural and interior design projects. Notable projects include: Tbilisi Radisson Blu, Tbilisi Sheraton Metechi Palace - "Women's Association Georgia," Paris - Art Fair "Carrousel du Louvre," Baku Handicraft - "Let it Snow," Paris Digital Exhibition "EN LIGNE Action des femmes La beauté du printemps," "Digital Exhibition Week of Women in Art," Paris "ART shopping Paris 2022 – Carrousel du Louvre" participation under the title "Georgian Artists in Paris 2022."
რას ისწავლით
Students will study the following topics:
- History of art
- History of design
- Design disciplines
- Professions in the field of design and creativity
- Basic drawing skills
- Sketching
- Mind mapping
- Modeling
- Color, color psychology and composition
- Several graphic program basics (min. 3)
- Craft and material work
- Basics of photography
- Basics of animation
- Basics of video and motion graphics
- Idea visualization
- Creative thinking
- Design thinking
- Basics of communication
- Communication with business
- Processing and implementation of own ideas
- Work with a team
- Creative cooperation
- Creating a portfolio
Students will go through practical exercises, create small scale models, work on real projects, engage with a team
In the organization of thematic events, they will work on social projects, meet creative and business specialists, advertising and creative agencies and designers, present projects, work on their own portfolio.
For more details: contact@di.ge

