Bachelor of Culture and Arts | Sustainable Design Business

Sustainable Design Business educates contemporary designers for a sustainable future

Sustainability is changing the way businesses and organisations create value. This increases the need for designers who understand both the human and environmental impact of design. Sustainable Design Business (SDB) is a design degree for those who want to take part in this change. 

During the studies, you will learn how design can contribute to more sustainable products, services and systems in changing business and organisational contexts. This broadens the traditional role of the designer from form-giving to working with people, organisations and the wider contexts in which design decisions are made. 

LAB Institute of Design and Fine Arts – known as LAB Muotoiluinstituutti in Finland – is one of the oldest design schools in the Nordic countries. You will study in a design community where a long tradition of design education meets new perspectives on sustainability and the changing role of designers. Our Nordic and international networks also provide opportunities to broaden your perspective through international exchange. 

What do the studies include?

In the Sustainable Design Business programme, sustainability helps you understand the drivers and conditions of change, design provides methods for creating value, and business provides the context for implementation and impact.

Design thinking forms the methodological foundation for your studies, connecting design methods and tools with sustainability and impact. You will develop skills in visualisation, prototyping, human-driven design and futures thinking, alongside circular economy and lifecycle thinking. You will also learn to use Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) from a designer’s perspective to evaluate environmental impacts and support design decisions. During your studies, you will apply these skills in sustainable product and material design, sustainable service and systems design, and business design in sustainability. 

Your studies progress from building the foundations of Sustainable Design Business to integrating and applying your expertise through project-based learning and studio studies. During the first two years, you develop the core knowledge and skills of Sustainable Design Business through foundational and applied studies. In the third and fourth years, you put your skills into practice and develop your professional profile through project-based studio learning, a 30 ECTS internship and a 15 ECTS bachelor's thesis.

State-of-the-art facilities at the Lahti campus ensure that students can utilise a multitude of methods and modern equipment in their design work.