Japanese Education Goes to Milan: Borderless Design School Offers Design Education Program at Prestigious Private School

Borderless Design School Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Masako Kubo; hereinafter referred to as "the Company"), following its implementation in 2024, has once again provided a design education program at the educational institution Scuole FAES Milano in Milan, Italy, in 2026. This program was designed to align with the school's textile engineering curriculum.

The Company develops and offers design education programs that can be adapted to the objectives of school classes and educational institutions, by integrating observation, questioning, verbalization, and expression into creative activities that engage children.

https://borderless-d-school.com/

Implementation Overview

Location: Scuole FAES Milano
Country/City: Milan, Italy
Target Audience: Students of the school
Implementation Content: Design education program based on the school's textile engineering curriculum
Program Design: Designed using Borderless Design School's unique approach after pre-confirming the school's existing teaching materials and learning content
Key Learnings: Observation, formulating questions, verbalization, planning, creation, reflection

This program was designed after pre-confirming the school's existing teaching materials and learning content. It aimed to enable students to re-evaluate the value of existing things, using their learning about the characteristics and functions of materials as a starting point, and reconstruct them in their own words and expressions.

The Process of Observing, Thinking, and Shaping: "Observe → Design → Make"

Children began by not just treating everyday objects as materials for creation, but by first observing them and discovering their inherent value and potential.

Subsequently, they verbalized the parts they wanted to preserve, the parts they wanted to improve, and what they wanted to convey to others, visualized these as designs, and finally developed them into tangible forms.

The Company emphasizes fostering children's ability to communicate their own ideas to others through the entire process of observing, thinking, verbalizing, and shaping, rather than focusing solely on the act of creation itself.

A Unique Educational Approach Integrating Questioning and Thinking into Enjoyable Experiences

Borderless Design School's programs are designed to naturally lead children to think about the background of things, their users, and their relationship with society, using engaging activities as an entry point.

Children not only express colors and shapes freely but also organize their thoughts through questions such as, "Why do I want to preserve this?" "How can it be improved?" and "Who is this design for?"

The Company views design not just as a means of self-expression, but as a force that generates communication between people and brings about positive change in society.

Outputting Thoughts Through Words, Diagrams, and Forms

Beyond the finished works, worksheets and design drawings were used to visualize what students valued and how they developed their ideas.

In this program, the thinking processes and words of the children, in addition to their creations, are considered important learning outcomes. By documenting the creation process, the design allows children to reflect on their own thoughts later and deepen their learning.

A Design Education Program That Can Collaborate with Schools and Educational Institutions

A key feature of Borderless Design School's design education is its ability to connect with existing learning activities in schools and educational institutions, rather than being a standalone event.

The Company provides support for curriculum design, educational program development, teaching material development, and implementation, tailored to the educational objectives, target age groups, and subject matter of each institution.

A Message from Masako Kubo, Founder of Borderless Design School

I believe that for children, design is not a specialized field, but rather a language for conveying their thoughts and re-examining their relationship with the things around them.

We live in an era not of information scarcity, but rather of being surrounded by information, choices, and seemingly "correct" answers. That is precisely why I feel children need the experience of observing from their own perspective, posing questions, selecting their own thoughts, and giving them form, rather than just searching for given answers.

In this program, we emphasized enabling students to find value in existing things from their own perspective and reconstruct them through words and forms, using their learning at the school as a starting point.

Going forward, we will continue to provide opportunities for children to connect with themselves, others, and society through design, by naturally integrating observation, questioning, verbalization, and expression into enjoyable creative activities.

What is "Borderless Design School"?

Borderless Design School develops and provides design education programs that foster children's creativity, critical thinking, and questioning abilities. In addition to general classes for students aged 3 to 18, tailored to their developmental stages, the school collaborates with schools, municipalities, public institutions, and corporations to develop and implement curriculum design, educational program development, implementation support, and teaching material development both domestically and internationally.

[Official Website] https://borderless-d-school.com/

[Instagram] https://www.instagram.com/borderless_d_school

Borderless Design School Co., Ltd.

Representative Director: Masako Kubo
Head Office Address: 1-3-1 Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Aoyama A-Cube 3F
Business Activities: Operation of a design school for children, provision of educational programs that foster creativity and expression, joint development of educational programs through corporate partnerships