Product Design
Product design is concerned with the creation of objects, systems, and experiences that people use in everyday life, combining aesthetic sensibility with functional reasoning, material knowledge, and an understanding of manufacturing processes. At its best it addresses real human needs in ways that are both elegant and effective, and good product designers think simultaneously about how something looks, how it works, how it is made, and who it is for. The discipline draws on art, engineering, ergonomics, materials science, and sustainability to develop a genuinely integrative way of approaching the designed world.
At the University of Chester, this three-year full-time Product Design degree develops your creativity, curiosity, and design thinking alongside the technical and digital skills needed to bring ideas into physical form. You will work on projects that tackle real-world challenges, using hands-on craftsmanship and digital tools in combination, and developing the design process from initial concept through to prototyping and resolution. A year abroad is included in the programme, giving you the opportunity to engage with design practice and education in a different cultural and industrial context, which enriches your creative references and broadens your professional perspective.
Product design graduates work across a wide range of industries. Consumer goods, furniture, automotive design, medical device design, packaging, industrial equipment, electronics, and the growing field of sustainable and circular design are all common destinations. Roles in design consultancies, in-house design teams, manufacturing companies, and start-ups are well-established pathways.
The combination of creative and technical skills that product design develops is also valued in adjacent fields such as user experience design, design strategy, and innovation management. Postgraduate study in product design, design innovation, or sustainable design is an option for those who wish to develop specialist expertise.