Product and Furniture Design

As a student on our Product and Furniture Design course you’ll become a creative and versatile designer, able to develop your ideas into high quality products.

You’ll learn to think critically about end-use and construction, and experiment with various materials to come up with innovative designs. As well as working in more traditional 3D design processes in wood, metal, plastic and ceramics, you’ll learn and use digital making and CAD design, and develop a strong foundation of experience and knowledge as a maker.

We’ll provide excellent technical support and equip you with the necessary production knowledge, contextual understanding, research, communication and problem-solving skills for your emerging career.

This hands-on degree addresses the future of design and manufacturing, with a focus on sustainable design, production and materials.

Year one
You’ll develop a foundation of core design skills from sketching and model-making to digital and analogue making processes, material knowledge and experimentation. You’ll acquire skills in design communication, visualisation, research and prototyping, and develop your understanding of small to large-scale production.

You’ll get access to all the technical workshops, enabling you to progress confidently into year two.

In addition, you’ll be introduced to our excellent library staff and the extensive design reference and research resources and learn about critical issues in contemporary design, such as the circular economy, distributed manufacturing and experiential design.

Year two
In the second year, you’ll deepen your understanding of design practice and the opportunities available, and start to identify your personal direction in design. You’ll apply more focused design principles around sustainability and human-centred design.

External briefs and study visits provide direct engagement with the design industry, and ensure you explore design innovation with a global outlook. Entrepreneurial approaches to design will be supported, and you’ll gain valuable experience of collaboration and project management.

Year three
You’ll further develop, challenge and explore design and your understanding of your field of practice in preparation for establishing your career. Your final research and contextual study project will underpin your practice and critical thinking as you expand your industry awareness and produce product solutions and design proposals.

Part-way through the year, you’ll have the opportunity to present your work through a public platform, gaining essential feedback and experience to confidently progress your final project and develop an outstanding portfolio of work to be able to promote yourself to your industry networks.

Your final project challenges you to create a professional level of design work to present to an external audience, showing at the end of year degree show and often in an external show such as New Designers.

Assessment is 100% based on coursework, presented at the end of each module. You’ll receive formal feedback so you’ll know how to improve or develop your work, as well as feedback from tutors and peers throughout the course.

To find out more about how we teach and how you'll learn, please read our Learning and Teaching Delivery Statement.

Overseas exchanges offer further opportunities to develop your global industry awareness. Recently, one of our students won a Gane Trust Travel Award and used the bursary to travel to Milan to deepen her understanding of the furniture industry.

We emphasise engagement with industry throughout the course. International design-led companies such as Herman Miller and Dyson, as well as small enterprises and designer-makers, have a strong presence in the region. We run regular live industry projects, and previous clients have included:

• Dyson
• ASOS
• Morey Smith
• Hakwood
• The Holburne Museum
• Herman Miller
• Creative Bath (Creative Bath Awards)
• Hay
• KWMC - The Factory

You'll also have the option to undertake a one-year Professional Placement Year, and you'll graduate with a strong portfolio of projects and experience.

Many of our graduates have worked for a range of national and global design and manufacturing companies, contemporary designers and design marketing agencies, such as:

• Disney
• Modus
• Matter
• Unto This Last
• Dyson
• KWMC-The Factory
• Benchmark
• Herman Miller

Others have freelanced, put their own designs into production, and exhibited internationally.

The preliminary and intensive Integrated Foundation in Art and Design is designed to develop your ideas, skills and confidence in readiness for progressing to year one of your degree programme.

This year provides you with the opportunity to identify, apply for, and secure professional experience, normally comprising one to three placements over a minimum of nine months. Successful completion of this module will demonstrate your ability to secure and sustain graduate-level employment.

By completing the module, you'll be entitled to the addition of 'with Professional Placement Year' to your degree title.

Before your Professional Placement Year, you'll work to secure your placement, constructing a development plan with your module leader and your placement coordinator from our Careers and Employability team.

On your return to University for your final year, you'll submit your Placement Portfolio, detailing your development on your placement, for assessment.

As a BA Product and Furniture Design student, you’ll benefit from access to comprehensive digital workshops and specialist art and design facilities, including:

• Our student service point at Locksbrook where you can purchase subsidised art and design materials, hire out equipment for free and collect Library resources
• Access to our well-stocked Library at Newton Park
• Specialist technical workshops across all of art and design
• Access to studio space where you can work on projects and refine your practice