Course content
Year 1- Level C
- Design Projects and Prototypes 1
This unit will provide you with the ability to create creative and dynamic product designs in the form of fully functioning prototypes. You will be set a series of design projects throughout the year that require the ability to bring together your expertise from the other units of the programme. As a result, you will design and make products that are both attractive to the targeted market as well as being underpinned by good scientific and design for manufacture fundamentals.
You will gain the basic knowledge and skills necessary for the intelligent selection and specification of suitable materials and production techniques for design. You will learn about the important properties of various metals, plastics, ceramics and composites and why and how they are important in selecting materials and processing methods in product design. You will also learn about the energy and other environmental issues related to materials and their processing.
You will learn to present two and three dimension drawings, renderings and designs using both manual and computer visualisation techniques. Further, you will be shown how to present design media at a professional level in an industrial situation.
You will learn how basic scientific fundamentals can help both in the generation of ideas and the proof of solutions, and gain a working knowledge and understanding of a range of mathematical, algebraic, physical and technological principles appropriate to the generation and development of realisable solutions of design problems.
This unit will teach you the psychology and physiology you need to know so that you can give full consideration to the people who will use your designs. Only by taking account of such factors as user capabilities and limitations, as well as their likes and dislikes, can your designs be made both usable and pleasurable for them.
Year 2- Level I
- Design Projects and Prototypes 2
This unit will build on the project experiences in the first year and will push you to create increasingly more complex and innovative design solutions that again will be realised by you in the form of fully functioning prototypes. You will expand your array of techniques and skills and develop a wider understanding of both good practise and responsibility of the decisions that you make when creating leading product designs. Your projects will cover such needs as functionality, human interaction, branding, and design for manufacture.
You will further enhance your appreciation of manufacturing and production techniques. This unit covers a broad range of topics from processing considerations to the planning and optimisation of production, and is particularly significant in preparing you for your third year in industry.
You will develop further understanding and application of the principles of design visualisation and presentation and use applied 3-D modeling techniques to aid the visualisation, realisation and presentation of your designs. You will also gain the knowledge to support areas of the design process by use of computer and/or physical modelling and presentation skills and be able to apply an integrated workflow using a balanced range of tools and techniques. Finally, you will develop an understanding and application of colour, texture and light through use of computer and/or manual techniques.
- Design Management and Commercialisation
You will be introduced to the aspects of business and management and will conclude in the final year with the Business Development unit. You will gain an understanding of how they can identify and exploit the company's strengths and evaluate the external opportunities for competitive products.
You will learn physical laws that govern the design and manufacture of products. You will further develop a working knowledge, understanding and application of an increased range of physical and technological principles relevant to the design of components, structures, machines and products.
Year 3
Industrial placement (min 40 weeks)
Year 4- Level H
The individual design project is the most important element for both the BA and BSc option and will result in the design of a product. You will learn to solve product design problems creatively and present a well structured and professional project report. You will also use scientific, analytical and technological principles to achieve functional design solutions.
This unit links directly to the Design Projects 3 unit. You will manufacture a functioning prototype that is as accurate a representation of the individual design project production item as possible.
You will gain knowledge of the importance of strategic management and how it interacts with the business development process. Your approach to strategic management and thinking will be developed to heighten your entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen. This will enhance your capacity to recognise and capitalise on competitive and innovative opportunities in a changing business environment.
- Advanced Technology – BSc (Hons) option
This unit in the final year will provide you with an understanding and professional competence required for design of products for structural integrity and reliability, and the ability to predict the performance and reliability of products in service. It will enable you to critically analyse, evaluate and select new and upcoming materials and processing methods for products and, have a full understanding of the implications on global resources and the environment. Further, you learn how to design modern control and intelligent systems for products.
Students choose from a BA (Hons) or BSc (Hons) option during their industrial placement year. In the BSc option there is more emphasis on the technological areas of design, whereas in the BA option the student develops a deeper understanding of the humanistic and contextual issues of product design.
