BSc (Hons) Product Design

The course centres on studio/workshop based design assignments – and you spend much of your time involved in design project work. Individual project work allows you to develop as a designer, while group work reflects the reality of your future professional life.

We’ll teach you everything that you need to become a well-rounded and thoughtful designer:

1. How to draw
2. Design fundamentals
3. Manufacturing processes
4. Materials and sustainability
5. Workshop practice
6. Ergonomics and inclusive design
7. Alternative and emerging technologies
8. All about fashion, taste and style
9. Market awareness

Finally, we’ll support you to put all of this into practice with a major design project and give you a platform to exhibit your work to the public.

Methods of assessment for course overall: 100% coursework.

Year 1

• Design methods
  This module is an introductory experience for students on the BSc Product Design cluster and covers the majority of practical work to be undertaken at first year level –design methods, process and projects. Using design projects as a vehicle, you'll cover design methodology, physical prototyping, workshop skills, and an introduction to materials and manufacturing technology. Assessment method: 100% coursework.
• Visual communications 
  This module will deal with free hand drawing and sketching, technical drawing, graphic communication and digital visual tools. Assessment method: 100% coursework.
• CAD 1
  This module provides an introduction to the principles and use of Computer Aided Design techniques and software for product and engineering design. Assessment method: 100% coursework.
• Inclusive design and usability
  This module is an introduction to principles of human-centred design, universal design, user profiling, anthropometrics and ergonomics. Many areas in our society require a radical rethink to allow all individuals to live fuller, more socially integrated, independent and inclusive. The module contributes to develop a user-centred design literate graduate by introducing design-thinking methods that encourage wellbeing and people’s empowerment. It leads to systems, products and/or services that are physically, cognitively and emotionally intuitive to use with an aesthetic awareness. Assessment method: 100% coursework.
• Design for a sustainable society
  Knowledge of sustainability is of paramount importance to designers because they make a significant contribution to the majority of designed products. Therefore, this module introduces you to the three fundamental principles of sustainability (environmental, social and economic factors) and highlights the importance of their integration in order to create properly sustainable design output. The module also helps you develop your creativity and problem-solving skills to produce aesthetically pleasing and intuitive design proposals at the same time as developing fundamental understanding of technological principles and applications (general mechanical, electrical, electronic concept, trigonometry etc.). In addition to learning about sustainability, the module will educate you for sustainability by encouraging you to practice sustainability in other aspects of your life and become a sustainability literate graduate. Assessment method: 100% coursework.

Year 2

• Design thinking and applications 
  This module will build on the experience gained in the first year Design Thinking and Practice module and other first year modules and aims to develop design thinking methodology and product development practice for the placement (sandwich) year and the final year projects. The module will aim to allow you to experience a thorough range of design process cycles and develop various resolution prototypes in relation to the weighting of the assignments; you'll need to reflect on the increasing diversity in product, service, interaction design and “design thinking” as a component of business development. Assessment method: 100% coursework.
• Design contexts and communications 
  This module will enhance fundamental employability skills for a graduate in the contemporary design industry. It builds on the concepts that were introduced in Level 4 modules, with a view to creation of a professional portfolio that reflects your design capabilities, in order to leave you in a strong position for gaining a work placement and/or graduate employment. Assessment method: 100% coursework.
• Design futures and emerging technologies
  This module will raise your awareness of new design approaches, emerging technological and scientific research, as well as ethical, economic and sociocultural changes in the society. It will enhance your ability to address and think critically about future challenges. It will also explore new design methods to provide opportunities for interdisciplinary skills to be developed. Projects will encourage you to be informed by different perspectives, people and disciplines, enabling collaborative exchange of knowledge. Assessment method: 100% coursework.
• CAD 2
  This module develops advanced Computer Aided Design skills and introduces you to the principles of Computer Aided Manufacture (CAM), and communication and demonstration of these ideas through photo-realistic rendering, and digital animations. Assessment method: 100% coursework.
• Design interactions
  This module explores new roles, contexts and approaches for design in relation to the social, cultural and ethical impact of existing and emerging technologies. Projects will encourage you to be informed by different perspectives, people and disciplines, enabling collaborative exchange of knowledge. Assessment method: 100% coursework.
• Design and manufacture project
  This module will allow you to apply ‘design thinking’ techniques and methods coupled with their user centred-focus and practical skills, to the design, development and production of a working prototype of a product. Assessment method: 100% coursework.

Year 3

• Optional placement year
  Students benefit enormously from spending a period of time in industry, whatever course they undertake. This module is designed to provide you with first-hand knowledge and experience in an appropriate industrial setting. Some design and creative industries work largely on the basis of long-term salaried positions, others work on the basis of subcontracted and specialist working, usually of a short-term nature. You're required to work in a situation where you're accountable to an outside company or person for the work you carry out. The employment in total needs to be the equivalent of at least a complete academic year in some form of appropriately employed or voluntary capacity within the industry, in its broadest terms. You're required to have access to the local management in order to understand the ways in which management decisions and actions take place, as well as concentrating on achieving the best performance possible in the technicalities of the placement work. Assessment method: 100% coursework.

Year 4

• Research methods for design project
  In this module you'll identify a suitable subject for your Design Project; you'll then develop a project brief and work plan, which will be presented visually and verbally in addition to your preliminary contextual research and justification for the proposed project. You'll also develop brand identity for the Design Degree Show, which may be pitched to experts and/or design professionals. Assessment method: 100% coursework.
• Portfolio design projects
  This module aims to augment your design portfolio with subsidiary projects in addition to your major design project. These projects and their communication (both physical and digital) will be useful to students preparing for graduation and life after University. The module will give you a chance to give breadth to your professional portfolio and perhaps develop ideas and concepts that demonstrate different thought processes to those demonstrated in your major project. Assessment method: 100% coursework.
• Design and culture
  In this module you'll engage in primary and secondary source research to investigate and critically analyse a subject related to the profession and practice of Product Design in order to produce a well written and illustrated dissertation that broadens your understanding of the various factors that influence the design process and profession. Assessment method: 100% coursework.
• Product design project
  The Product Design Project requires you to develop a solution from concept through to artefact based on the subject that is identified via the Research Methods for Design Projects module. The artefact may be physical and/or digital, and the design output could include system or service design. The project deliverables will include a detailed record of the design development, a fully developed artefact, and an analytical and reflective review. The project provides an opportunity to explore a chosen specialist field in order to develop expertise and demonstrate depth of understanding. In order to execute your individual project you'll draw on selected tools and resources learned in previous modules and produce a coherent and professional methodology for the intended solution. Assessment method: 100% coursework.

Combining flair and vision with practical skill, Product Design is an exciting course that will set you on course for a creative, fulfilling career.

Our recent graduates are pursuing successful careers with companies like LEGO, VosLED, Cogent Healthcare Systems, BDP and Complete Fabrication. Others have set up businesses or work as freelance product designers. From design consultancies to manufacturing companies, there’s a wealth of choice for you.

The course has a focus on studio-based design assignments and design project work. You'll learn how to propose workable and functional solutions within financial constraints whilst still delivering compelling, aesthetic products. These are the very skills that will set you in high demand from industry employers!

Take a look at some potential careers, including product designer, in our Prospects section.

Graduate success stories

As well as recent graduates going into jobs with design consultancies and manufacturing companies, they have also excelled in design competitions:

• Jack Ogborn (winner, IED Student Design Award)
• Matilde Rodriguez and Izzatullah Ahmadi (winners, Design Factory @ Design Museum)
• Andrew Hodgson (winner, DFI furniture design)

After graduation I went to work for LEGO in Denmark where I spent four years working as a design/model maker before coming back to London to work for WOW Toys as a Design Manager.

Peter Grinsell, Alumnus, BSc Product Design

Employability Service

We are University of the Year for Graduate Employment for the second year in a row - The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018, 2019.

At LSBU, we want to set you up for a successful career. During your studies – and for two years after you graduate – you’ll have access to our Employability Service, which includes:

• An online board where you can see a wide range of placements: part-time, full-time or voluntary. You can also drop in to see our Job Shop advisers, who are always available to help you take the next step in your search.
• Our Careers Gym offering group workshops on CVs, interview techniques and finding work experience, as well as regular presentations from employers across a range of sectors.

Our Student Enterprise team can also help you start your own business and develop valuable entrepreneurial skills.

Our teaching staff are experts, with a great deal to share. Whether they're teaching, carrying out research or involved in consultancy for industry they have the skills to make a difference to you. You'll learn both intellectual and practical skills in a modern, well-equipped environment that blends traditional manufacturing equipment and sophisticated technology.

Applied approach to learning

You'll learn through lectures, seminars, tutorials and practical work. Taking on both group and individual projects, we assess your work through a mixture of coursework and exams, with project and laboratory work counting towards your final award. We also teach you the life skills of effective communication, problem solving, project planning and team working that will set you apart and give you the best chance of getting the job you want after you graduate.

• A Level BBB or;
• BTEC National Diploma DDM or;
• Access to HE qualifications with 24 Distinctions 21 Merit  including a minimum of 3 Merits in Design Technology, Maths and Physics or;
• Equivalent level 3 qualifications worth 122 UCAS points
• Level 3 qualifications must include art/ design or show evidence of engagement with creativity
• Applicants must hold 5 GCSEs A-C including Maths and English or equivalent (reformed GCSEs grade 4 or above).

We welcome qualifications from around the world. English language qualifications for international students: IELTS score of 6.0 or Cambridge Proficiency or Advanced Grade C

We normally require a portfolio of work and in many instances will also interview potential applicants to assess suitability for the course.

For more information, including how and when to pay, see our fees and funding section for undergraduate students.

Please check your fee status and whether you are considered a Home, EU or International student for fee-paying purposes and for our regulatory returns, by reading the UKCISA regulations.

See our Tuition Fees Regulations (PDF File 160 KB) and Refund Policy (PDF File 102 KB).

Possible fee changes

The University reserves the right to increase its fees in line with changes to legislation, regulation and any government guidance or decisions.

The fees for international students are reviewed annually and the University reserves the right to increase the tuition fees in line with the RPIX measure of inflation up to 4 per cent.

Scholarships

We offer several types of fee reduction through our scholarships and bursaries. Find the full list and other useful information on our scholarships page.