Product Design

Product design is a discipline that combines creative vision with the technical knowledge needed to turn ideas into objects that actually work. Contemporary product design spans consumer electronics, furniture, medical devices, automotive, household goods, sports equipment and many other sectors, requiring designers to understand materials, manufacturing processes, ergonomics, sustainability and the commercial context in which products are developed and sold. The best product designers are simultaneously creative, analytical and user-centred, capable of generating ideas and making them real.

At Birmingham City University, the three-year full-time degree develops your design skills through a studio-based curriculum that balances creative development with technical rigour. You will learn to generate and develop ideas through sketching and digital modelling, to understand the materials and processes through which products are manufactured, and to evaluate your designs against the criteria of usability, sustainability and commercial feasibility. The programme includes a sandwich year and a work placement, giving you the opportunity to develop professional experience in a design studio, manufacturing company or related organisation before graduation.

BCU's Birmingham location, at the heart of a major manufacturing region with a strong automotive and engineering heritage, enriches the industrial context of the degree.

The degree's facilities include specialist workshops and CAD suites that support the full range of design and prototyping activities.

Graduates work in product design studios, consumer goods companies, manufacturing businesses, medical device companies, engineering consultancies and retail design. User experience design and design research are also accessible paths. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in product design, design management or industrial design, or develop their own design practices.