Industrial Design

Industrial design is the practice of creating products that work well, are made efficiently and connect with the people who use them. It differs from fine art in its commitment to function and manufacture, and from engineering in its attention to aesthetics and user experience. Good industrial design requires creative vision, technical understanding, knowledge of materials and manufacturing processes, and an empathetic engagement with the needs and behaviours of the people who will actually use what is designed.

It is a discipline that must hold all of these concerns in balance simultaneously.

This three-year full-time degree at Brunel University London includes a year abroad and suits creative and practical thinkers who prefer to learn through building and evaluating project-based challenges. The programme develops a technological understanding of design without the heavy emphasis on quantitative analysis that engineering programmes require, making it well suited to students whose strengths lie in the creative and applied dimensions of the discipline. You will develop skills in concept generation, sketching, CAD, prototyping, materials selection and the professional practices of presentation and communication that industrial designers use to develop and defend their ideas.

The year abroad gives you international perspective on design culture and practice.

Graduates work in product design, industrial design, design consultancy, consumer goods development, furniture and interior products, medical device design, transport design and the wide range of roles that require someone who can take an idea from concept to manufacturable product. Many also work in design management, project coordination and client-facing roles where the combination of creative and technical competence is valued. Further study at postgraduate level in product design, design engineering or design management is an option for those who wish to develop specialist expertise or move into more advanced practice.