TOUS and the Barcelona School of Design and Engineering – Elisava launch TOUS Creative Design Crafts, a unique chair in Spain, created with the aim of promoting academic excellence, knowledge transfer, and research in the fields of design and creativity.

This milestone consolidates the alliance between both institutions, which began last June with a pilot program and has already generated significant interest within the academic community during its first months of activity.

In its initial phase, TOUS Creative Design Crafts (Cátedra TOUS-Elisava) takes shape through three 24-hour training programs, accompanied by talks from top-tier international experts and practical workshops.

The first of these programs, Brand Creativity, will culminate in a talk by American journalist and author Dana Thomas, one of the world’s leading experts in the fashion business. This course, which filled up within just a few weeks, aims to develop creativity in a cross-disciplinary way, introducing the concept into the business mindset of future professionals across the entire value chain.

The second program, Brand Spaces, will take place during the first quarter of 2025 and will focus on designing spaces that capture the essence and identity of brands. The third and final program in this series, Brand Culture, will explore brand culture as a key resource for establishing connections with audiences through effective storytelling. The educational offering will progressively expand to include knowledge transfer and research initiatives.

TOUS Creative Design Crafts proposes an innovative approach due to the uniqueness and diversity of its method, combining TOUS’s professional experience with Elisava’s academic expertise to blend theory and practice with the goal of acquiring knowledge and applying it in a practical and functional way.

Moreover, the chair seeks to break the divide between creativity and design, advocating for a balanced proposal that explores the connections between both disciplines.

This agreement elevates TOUS’s long-standing commitment to knowledge transfer, socio-educational contribution, and community engagement. In this regard, the company has long supported projects such as TOUS School, a pioneering initiative for excellence in vocational training aimed at future jewelry artisans, and TOUS Future Talent, which creates spaces for dialogue and exchange with schools of creativity and jewelry.

With TOUS Creative Design Crafts, the goal is to drive applied research projects, foster creativity in design, and promote knowledge transfer—one of the core pillars of ELISAVA’s educational mission.

“It is a source of pride for TOUS to launch this pioneering chair in a field like creativity, which has been key throughout our more than one hundred years of history, and which marks a milestone in our commitment to promoting knowledge transfer and nurturing emerging talent,” says Anaïs Durand, Brand Development Director at TOUS.

“The Cátedra TOUS represents a significant step forward in our mission to strengthen ties with the local environment and industry, while consolidating our leadership in innovation within the fields of design and creativity,” states Javier Peña, General Director of Elisava.