What courses do you offer?

The school runs two degree courses:
 the 5-year degree course leading to the qualification of Interior and Product Designer, recognised at the upper level (Master’s level) by France’s professional certification body, the Répertoire National des Certifications Professionnelles (RNCP).
 the Introduction to Space course, catering to a dual clientele:

• a one-year foundation course preparing students for admission to public and private schools of art, applied arts and architecture.
• a refresher course, available as in-house professional training. In this case, the course can be attended either over the whole year or, depending on places available, during a 10-week period corresponding to a study theme.

What are your specific teaching aims?

 The degree course provides a dual training organised around space (interior design) and the object (product design). This transversal approach is unusual since most schools only offer specialisations after a one or two-year foundation course. Alongside spatial and product design, a variety of other cultural, aesthetic and technical disciplines are taught within a broad-based approach to art in general.
 The Initiation to Space course is a multidisciplinary workshop preparing for specialisation in fields of art and the applied arts.

Why choose the Ecole Camondo?

 Our dual degree course in interior and product design develops a full capacity to adapt to constantly evolving professions and a variety of commercial sectors, and facilitates finding employment.
 The Ecole Camondo is recognised by the French Ministry of Education (decree of 27 January 1989) and regularly inspected and examined by it (the school’s documentation service and pedagogy, the granting of teaching authorisations and the annual school’s activity). 5-year degree course students are eligible for state grants and scholarships.
 The title of Interior and Product Designer obtained by 5-year degree course graduates is recognised by France’s professional certification body, the Répertoire National des Certifications Professionnelles (RNCP) at level I (Master’ level).
 The school is part of Les Arts Décoratifs, a state-approved non-profit-making institution comprising four museums (Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Musée de la Mode et du Textile, Musée de la Publicité and Musée Camondo) and an excellent decorative arts library. Ecole Camondo students benefit from free and privileged admission to the museum’s permanent collections, exhibitions and documentation centres. Since the Musée des Arts Décoratifs’ reopening in September 2006, the school’s history of design classes are held in the museum itself.

What are the school’s links with Les Arts Décoratifs?

The Ecole Camondo is a teaching department of Les Arts Décoratifs.

What are the school’s links with the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs(ENSAD)?

None. We are two completely separate schools. ENSAD is part of the French Ministry of Culture. It provides ten specialisations in the applied arts.

Are you an interior decoration school?

There is an important difference between interior decoration and interior design. The interior decorator deals solely with decorative effects and finishing. The interior designer can modify spaces under specific conditions (see question 7), and therefore exercises a higher level of responsibility than the interior decorator. The decorator also does not have the designer’s level of technical knowledge.

What is the difference between architecture and interior design?

There is a difference of scale: the architect builds; the interior designer intervenes in a space already built or works in collaboration with an architectural team. He is not authorised to sign construction permits and must be advised by an engineer if he modifies a space’s structural components (demolishing a load-bearing wall, for example). The scale of his work entails reflection on man as space’s constant reference. It prioritises ergonomic problems, detail and finishing and a space’s practical uses (the creation of a doorway, for example).
In architecture, technical concerns predominate, whereas in interior design formal considerations come foremost.

What is the difference between industrial and product design?

The product design taught at the Ecole Camondo is design related to the components of the domestic interior: furniture, everyday household objects, textiles, etc. This does not include high-tech objects such as telephones and large household appliances.
The Ecole Camondo also teaches urban design: urban furniture, lighting, services studies, etc.

Who are your teachers?

They are all professionals recognised in their main fields of activity: architects, interior designers, designers, artists, graphic designers, art historians, communication professionals, philosophers, etc. This diversity reflects the diverse disciplines taught at the Ecole Camondo.

Do you run in-house training courses or evening classes?

The Ecole Camondo is an accredited provider of in-house professional training for students who attend its Introduction to Space course. However, the school does not run specific in-house training courses or evening classes.