Product Design
Product design is the discipline concerned with conceiving, developing and refining the objects, systems and experiences that people use in their daily lives. It is simultaneously a creative and an engineering practice, requiring its practitioners to understand both the aesthetic and functional dimensions of objects and the materials, manufacturing processes and ergonomic principles needed to make those objects work well, sustainably and accessibly. Product designers shape the human world around us, from everyday household objects and consumer electronics to medical devices, transport systems and urban infrastructure.
At Manchester Metropolitan University you will study for three years full-time, exploring people's needs, solving problems and discovering new opportunities for innovative solutions that reimagine the consumer experience of products and services. The programme includes a sandwich year in professional practice and a placement component, giving you direct experience of working in a design studio or product development environment before you graduate. You will work with creative exploration and iterative experimentation, playing with ideas and pushing them through design processes that connect imagination to feasibility.
Product design graduates work as product designers, industrial designers, user experience designers, innovation consultants, design engineers, materials specialists and creative directors across manufacturing, consumer goods, technology, healthcare, transport and the wider creative industries. Many graduates also move into design research, sustainable design consultancy or design strategy, contributing to the processes through which organisations understand user needs and develop products that address them. Others go into packaging design, retail environment design, branded product development or start-up product ventures.
Postgraduate study in product design, innovation, design engineering or sustainable design is a natural route for those who want to develop more specialist or research-oriented expertise.