Teaching & Learning
The tabs below detail what and how you will study in each year of your course. The balance of assessments and overall workload is indicative and may be subject to change.
What you'll learn
Gain an overview of product design as a subject area, as a practice and as a global industry. Discover how different designers work and reflect on this to develop your own individual style of working.
Develop an understanding of the different forms and purposes of representational models associated with design processes. You will acquire a range of basic modelling skills and demonstrate the ability to select and employ appropriate modelling methods within a design project.
Gain an appreciation of the cultural, political, ethical, social and historic settings in which designers practise. Develop skills in research, analysis, critical and independent thinking and establish a foundation in structuring and referencing academic writing.
Discover the design process and the methods and methodologies involved in working through a design project. Develop skills in creative concept development, design thinking, systems thinking and iterative design to help you understand the processes involved in product design development.
This project-based module will introduce you to human-centred design research as an integral element of the design process, including understanding the context and framing the brief, generating concepts, investigating scenarios, design iteration and prototyping.
Develop your critical and system thinking skills to further your understanding of and ability to respond to the environmental and social justice challenges associated with the design of products.
What you'll learn
Responding to an external design brief, you will make personal interpretations, generate appropriate design concepts, present your ideas to an external client or stakeholder and deliver a coherent final design proposal.
Raise your awareness of commonly used materials and manufacturing processes, from one-off craft production through to mass production and circular manufacturing, and develop design proposals in sufficient detail to assess feasibility and specify appropriate methods for mass production.
Discover how cultural, historical, socio-political, technological and economic factors promote innovation, challenge design thinking and shape the nature of design. You will be encouraged to research and debate these approaches to support a personal design philosophy.
Combine the skills you have learned to respond to a live design project and strengthen your ability to meet the demands of different stakeholders. By following a more stringent design process and complex brief, you will build your individual design methodology and increase your confidence.
Reflect upon your progress so far, highlighting what you have learned, how you have developed as a designer and the areas of interest you might like to pursue in your final major project. Develop knowledge of the professional aspects of design and evidence your portfolio development and career aspirations.
What you'll learn
Respond to a real world design brief, which will allow you to demonstrate and develop your personal design interests, locate your practice in a specific context and exhibit your professionalism and employability.
Generate a self-initiated and negotiated final design project that allows you to pursue design contexts, issues and outcomes of relevance according to your personal practice and professional aspirations.
Produce professional photography and suitable communications outlining your product outcomes, and present your work in an exhibition format to prepare your product for launch. Create promotional material and engage in promotional activities appropriate to your product outcomes and individual aspirations as a designer.
This course offers the opportunity to take a ‘sandwich’ year – a year of paid employment in industry which will build your skills and experience. This is usually taken between the second and third year of your degree, typically making your course four years in total.
Students who choose the sandwich route find it helps with both their studies and getting a job after graduation. It can build your confidence, contacts, and of course your CV. Leeds Beckett advertise lots of placement opportunities and provide support in helping you find the right placement for you.