Product Design and Technology

Product design and technology sits at the intersection of creative design thinking and applied engineering, asking practitioners to generate ideas that solve real human problems and then realise those ideas as products that can be made, used and maintained in the world. The discipline is concerned with the whole life of a product, from initial research into user needs through concept development, prototyping, testing and manufacturing to the end of the product's life. In an era of growing awareness of the environmental consequences of design decisions, questions of circular economy, sustainability and material responsibility are central to what it means to design well.

At London South Bank University this three-year, full-time programme offers three study pathways, in circular economy, user experience and design engineering, which you explore through taster projects in your first year before choosing your specialism from your second year onwards. This structure allows you to develop breadth early and then depth in the direction that best matches your interests and career ambitions. You will develop skills in design research, concept generation, CAD and physical prototyping, user testing, materials knowledge and manufacturing processes, building a portfolio of work that demonstrates your range.

The programme includes a sandwich placement year and a work placement, both of which place you in professional design environments before graduation.

Graduates of product design programmes work as product designers, UX designers, interaction designers, industrial designers, sustainable design consultants, design engineers, and in roles spanning consumer goods, medical devices, furniture, transport, technology and the circular economy sector. Some graduates go on to start their own design businesses or practices, while others pursue postgraduate study in product design, industrial design, sustainability or engineering. London's exceptional concentration of design studios, consultancies and manufacturing firms makes the city an especially rich environment in which to build a professional career.