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FHEQ level

This course is set at Level 6 in the national Framework for Higher Education Qualifications.

Course Aims

This course aims to provide the interdisciplinary knowledge and skills base that is essential to designers. It covers design theories and philosophy, techniques and visualisation. Product design addresses both form and function, and the course aims to enhance creative skills while considering all the phases of product development, realisation and sustainability. A key characteristic is the adaptation of technology into new products that meet user requirements, with an emphasis on physical, cognitive and social factors. The course recognises that designers must be equipped to exploit the remarkable advances made in new materials and manufacturing techniques and the use of electronics embedded in products. By considering these features in the context of human factors and ergonomics, the course aims to ensure that innovation leads to products that meet the needs of society. Professional product designers also need financial skills, the use of management techniques, and the ability to work with others in a multidisciplinary and fast-changing environment, and all of these are developed through taught modules and projects. The element of choice is introduced by means of design projects throughout the course, which allow creative skills to flourish and a portfolio of individual work to be developed. A feature of the course is the use of regular presentation and discussion of ideas, both in groups and individually, combined with group critique and tutor feedback. Web-based learning resources and exercises are also utilised in the acquisition of core skills. A professional placement in year 3 of the course provides valuable real world experience of the role of the designer in a commercial or industrial environment. It often leads to the final year project being based on a product of interest to the placement company.This major project builds on all of the prior learning and gives the complete experience of creating, managing and delivering a product, which is presented at the final degree show.

Course learning outcomes

A1. a core of scientific and engineering principles appropriate for product design, and the ability to apply them to analyse key engineering processes;

A2. the characteristics of particular materials, components, equipment and manufacturing methods appropriate for product design;

A3. the critical, contextual, historical, conceptual and ethical dimensions of design;

A4. customer and user functional needs and the importance of form considerations such as aesthetics and ergonomics;

A5. state of the art design methods and tools including user-centred and experience based approaches;

A6. management and business practices that may be used to achieve design objectives;

A7. IPR, including patent application and nature of associated legal and contractual issues;

A8. the framework of relevant legal requirements governing engineering-related activities, including health, safety, and risk assessment issues.

A9. the role of the designer in a commercial or industrial environment, through personal experience.

B1. apply and integrate knowledge and understanding of other engineering and non-engineering disciplines to support design activities;

B2. identify, classify and describe the performance of products, systems and components through the use of analytical methods and modelling techniques;

B3. apply quantitative methods, relevant computer software and a systems approach to design problem solving;

B4. use creativity to generate ideas, concepts, proposals and solutions independently and collaboratively, in response to set briefs and as self-initiated activity;

B5. work with technical uncertainty, limited or contradictory information, being able to make value judgments in the solution of unfamiliar design problems;

B6. identify and manage cost drivers within the context of product design;

B7. ensure fitness for purpose for all aspects of the product life cycle, i.e. manufacture, operation, maintenance, disposal and/or recycling;

B8. make social and environmental evaluations and take appropriate action.

B9. apply standard management techniques to product design projects; planning and allocating resources and evaluating outcomes, undertaking team roles.

C1. demonstrate engineering workshop and laboratory skills allied to product design;

C2. plan, execute and undertake critical analysis of the results of practical and/or simulation tests of design solutions;

C3. provide visualisations such as physical prototypes or models, or computer models or renderings of a product, system, component or process;

C4. develop ideas through to outcomes in the form of specifications and products, prototypes, models technical drawings or computer generated images, as appropriate.

D1. analyse information and experiences, formulate independent judgments, and articulate reasoned arguments through reflection, review and evaluation;

D2. be able to study independently, set goals, manage their own workload and meet deadlines

D3. anticipate and accommodate change, and work within contexts of ambiguity, uncertainty and unfamiliarity

D4. identify personal strengths and needs, and reflect on personal development.

D5. articulate ideas and information comprehensibly to audiences in a range of situations; employing appropriate communication and information technologies, visual, oral and written formats;

D6. be able to research, source, select, evaluate, use and reference information from a variety of sources including technical literature.

D7. be able to play a useful role as an individual designer, or as part of a design team, placed in a commercial or industrial environment.

Full-time course composition