FURNITURE AND PRODUCT DESIGN BA (Hons) at Bath Spa University

This cutting edge design course focuses on making and innovation to address the future of production.

• Learn from design and industry experts to become a digitally-literate, creative and critical designer.
• Explore materials through new technologies and traditional processes in our excellent workshops.
• Develop the skills you need to flourish in the global workplace through strong industry experience.

Want a career in design? If you're motivated by making, this innovative product and furniture design course is for you.

Taught by industry professionals, BA (Hons) Furniture and Product Design enables you to build a foundation of technical and manufacture processes in digital making, CAD and traditional materials. You'll develop your individual creative vision through purposeful briefs, materials and scales.

Essential professional skills and entrepreneurship are at the heart of the curriculum, providing you with new opportunities as a designer in a sustainable, digital and global economy. You’ll become a flexible problem-solver and expert collaborator who can respond to issues across disciplines.

Overview

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

You’ll learn to think critically about use and construction and to innovate through material experimentation. Working across digital making and CAD design as well as more traditional 3D design processes in wood, metal, plastic and ceramics, you’ll develop a strong foundation of making knowledge with excellent technical support. We’ll strive to equip you with the necessary production knowledge, contextual understanding, research, communication and problem-solving skills for your emerging career.

This furniture design course addresses the future of design and manufacturing, and embeds an approach that incorporates maker culture, additive manufacture, localised lower volume production, and new platforms for selling products in global markets, such as crowdfunding.

Opportunities

Work placements, industry links and internships

We emphasise external engagement 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.

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.

Careers

Many of our graduates have worked for a range of national and global design and manufacturing companies, contemporary designers and design marketing agencies. Others have freelanced, put their own designs into production, and exhibited internationally.