You can think of design as applied creativity. Design is everywhere

Combining technical know-how, creativity and an appreciation of style good design can make our use of everyday products, apps and services clear efficient and pleasurable. The great thing about being a designer is that you are never limited because everything we create requires design from a website through to a double decker bus. Think of all the things you use every day, apps, mobile phones, headphones, websites, cars, medical devices and so much more.

Design spans everything from physical products, application interfaces, packaging to signage and visual communication. Design as a disciple sits at the intersection of Psychology, Art and Engineering where understanding people’s needs and understanding what is possible are combined creatively to offer new and exciting solutions.

On the course you learn the skills of being a designer, sketching, model making/prototyping, creative problem solving, visual communication and working as part of a team. You will be using programmes like Solidworks, Photoshop, Illustrator, In Design and more.

This course was the first of its kind nationally and has 50+ years’ experience in design education. We use studio-based education, a dedicated space where students work together on their designs and learn through making and doing.

Course Structure

This is a three-year level 7 degree with the first two years being core, where you learn the skills and processes needed in Design. The course is project focused where you learn through doing. While supported by traditional lectures the majority of your time is working on projects in studio with individual and groups tutorials to guide your designs. It is 100% continuous assessment with no formal written exams.

Year 3 offers the opportunity of work placement with exciting design companies or travelling to a European University to study design. The course also has strong links with industry and runs live projects with companies across all 3 years.

In the final year of the course, you get to design a range of product, services and visual communication assets which you compile into a high-quality portfolio document to showcase your work.

Is this course for you?

If you are interested in creative problem-solving tasks that focus on the development of products and services that address real-world, If you think visually and like to take a hands on approach to problem solving. Then design is the course for you.

The course builds on skills you may have developed in DCG, Art, Technology, Engineering or Construction.

What will I be able to do when I finish the course?

Our graduates are employed across a wide range of sectors, from services and manufacturing to hi-tech and pharmaceuticals. Specialisms include: product and industrial design consultancy; furniture and environmental design; visual communications; packaging and the print sectors; web; digital technologies and user-experience (UX).

The course is set up to provide graduates with the maximum opportunity to gain employment in multiple fields. The skills learned in design have been identified as the skills of the future and required by all industries. These transferable skills is what makes our graduate highly employable.

Critical Thinking
Work in Teams
Creativity
Complex Decision Making
Problem Solving

With these skills our graduates are being sought after to work in fields like UX Design (User Experience), Medical Device design, Web and App development, environmental design, furniture design and more. They are also getting employment in non-traditional design areas because of the broader recognition of the value a design led problem solving approach.