Design

Design as a discipline is concerned with solving problems and shaping experiences through the deliberate creation of things, systems, and communications. At its best it is both empathic and rigorous, requiring designers to understand the people they are designing for, the constraints of materials and production, the ethical dimensions of what they make, and the commercial and cultural contexts in which their work will be received. Contemporary design thinking is increasingly recognised as a way of approaching complex challenges that goes well beyond making things look good.

This three-year, full-time programme at Loughborough, a university with an internationally recognised reputation in design, aims to develop the next generation of multi-disciplinary designers: creative, empathic, and capable of acting as facilitators of change across a wide range of contexts. You will develop your ability to generate ideas, prototype and test solutions, communicate proposals persuasively, and work collaboratively with people from other disciplines. The programme takes a broad view of what design is and can be, preparing you for a practice that may involve physical products, digital interfaces, services, environments, or systemic interventions.

Graduates work across an exceptionally wide range of roles and sectors. Industrial and product design, user experience design, service design, design management, brand and communication design, and design research are all common destinations. Many work in design consultancies, in-house design teams, technology companies, and public sector organisations that use design thinking to improve services.

The problem-solving and creative communication skills the degree develops are also valued in innovation, strategy, and entrepreneurship. Further study in design, design research, or human-computer interaction is a natural path for those drawn to specialisation or academic work.