BA Product Design

About this course

Product design is the discipline concerned with the conception, development and refinement of objects and systems that people use in everyday life. It brings together aesthetic sensibility, ergonomic understanding, materials knowledge, manufacturing awareness and user research to develop products that work well, are made well and are experienced well by the people who interact with them. Good product design is often invisible, precisely because the products it produces feel obvious and right in ways that less thoughtful design does not. The University of Northampton offers this product design programme in a part-time format, making it accessible to students who need to combine university study with other commitments. Part-time study in a design discipline requires particular organisation, since design learning is iterative and cumulative, but it also allows you to bring the practical and professional experiences of your everyday life directly into your design thinking, which can enrich the conceptual and problem-solving dimensions of the work. The curriculum covers the design process from research and ideation through prototyping and testing to final development, alongside materials science, manufacturing methods, ergonomics, sustainability in design and the professional context of product design practice. You will develop skills in sketching, model-making, computer-aided design and the communication of design ideas through different media. Product design trains creative problem-solving, the ability to hold aesthetic and functional considerations simultaneously, technical knowledge of materials and processes, and the empathy needed to understand and design for users different from yourself. Graduates pursue careers as product designers, industrial designers, design engineers, UX designers, design consultants, model makers and creative directors in manufacturing, consumer electronics, household goods, medical devices, transport and the broad creative industries. Postgraduate study in product design, design engineering or related fields is available for those wishing to develop further.

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