Product Design with Arts Foundation Year
Product design is the discipline concerned with creating objects and systems that work well, look considered and meet genuine human needs. It is a field that bridges the gap between engineering and the arts, requiring both technical understanding of materials, manufacturing processes and mechanisms, and the aesthetic sensibility and user-centred thinking that make products desirable and intuitive to use. From consumer electronics and medical devices to furniture and packaging, product designers shape the material world.
At the University of Lincoln, the four-year full-time degree includes an Arts Foundation Year, which is an interdisciplinary first year shared with students on a range of other creative programmes. This broader beginning gives you exposure to different creative disciplines and allows you to develop your visual thinking, making skills and creative vocabulary before specialising in product design. The programme then develops your skills in design ideation, CAD modelling, prototyping, materials science, ergonomics, manufacturing processes and design for sustainability.
The degree 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.
Lincoln has a growing creative and design economy, and the university's studios and workshops provide the facilities needed for serious product design work. Industry partnerships and visiting practitioners enrich the programme and support the transition into professional practice.
Graduates work in product design studios, manufacturing companies, consumer goods businesses, medical device companies, engineering consultancies and retail design. User experience design and design research are also accessible with this kind of training. Postgraduate study in product design, industrial design or design management is a natural next step for those who want to develop specialist expertise or move into leadership roles.