Product and Industrial Design

Product and industrial design is concerned with the creation of objects and systems that people use every day, from household goods and furniture to vehicles, medical devices and public infrastructure. It is a discipline that demands creative vision, technical knowledge and a deep understanding of human behaviour, bringing together aesthetic thinking, ergonomics, materials science, manufacturing processes and the environmental impact of objects in a single design practice. Good product design improves people's lives in concrete ways, and the field has a long tradition of treating both function and form as equally serious concerns.

At UAL, this three-year full-time programme develops your intellectual and technical skills in ways that allow you to define your own design practice. You will work with design methods, prototyping and fabrication techniques, digital modelling tools and critical theory, engaging with the social, environmental and political dimensions of design as well as its aesthetic and functional aspects. The course includes a sandwich year and a work placement, giving you structured professional experience within the design industry.

This is an important part of your development, placing you in real professional contexts and building the network and practical understanding that academic study alone cannot fully provide.

The programme is part of a broader framework at UAL that connects you to one of the world's leading creative university environments, giving you access to facilities, events and a peer community that stretches across art, fashion, communication and design.

Graduates work as product designers, industrial designers, UX designers and design consultants across a wide range of industries. Consumer goods, automotive design, packaging, medical devices, sustainable design and design research are all well-established career directions. Postgraduate study in design or innovation is a common next step for those who want to develop their practice further.