BA (Hons) Product Design Bachelor's degree at Coventry University

Design isn't decoration, it's a series of choices, and every applied creative decision brings with it meaning. How do historical, contemporary and emerging design approaches inform what we do? Through disruptive idea generation and by considering informed creative options, explore how history and currency can be mobilised to enable your personal design approach. The module explores the history of the discipline, encourages appreciation of contemporary contexts, fosters the ability to relate pract

Designing for people means understanding people, the receivers of our work. Who are they? How will they engage with the things we make? How do we tailor work to give audiences the best user experience? Working within real-world contexts, you will learn that creativity thrives on constraints and that innovation is about nuance. Simple but not easy, ready for a challenge?

What drives great design? Curiosity, conviction and a deep understanding of its impact. Build on these foundations by discussing and exchanging feedback on your work and that of other students, which should also help you enhance your communication skills and design abilities. This is where your creative identity begins to take shape, where you start to uncover what truly motivates you.

Your discipline is one of making, whether through traditional analogue methods or modern digital techniques. In this module, you will explore and apply specialist tools that bring design to life in the pursuit of deeper and more immersive audience experiences. Combine your ideas and practical skills to create a design that capitalises on the best of both.

Learn how to enhance a product design specification by using research to inform design decisions. Develop enticing user-focused concepts enriched by exploration of external influences and insights. This should help you evolve your design portfolio, making it ready for the professional world and future industries. This module covers research ethics, trends and insights, alongside understanding stakeholders, personas and scenarios.

Innovation comes in many forms, big or small! Explore the potential for creativity and innovation within an existing product typology, challenging and exploring boundaries. Develop creative concepts through a process of ideation and speculative prototyping, building on your ability to develop and test inventive products that respond to realistic parameters.

In real life, some aspects of a design brief are fixed and non-negotiable. How do we best integrate these demands and constraints in the development of creative, relevant and progressive concepts? Respond to product design briefs and work with others to develop and refine design ideas in line with clear design parameters.

What are the contemporary drivers that shape design production, and how do we make decisions that are optimal for future design effectiveness? Being a good designer requires the balancing of conflicting requirements to reimagine existing products. Through investigation, you will consider materiality, sustainability and production in the design and manufacture of your outcomes.

This module provides you with an opportunity to reflect upon and gain experience for an approved placement undertaken during your programme. A placement should usually be at least 26 weeks or equivalent; however, each placement will be considered on its own merits, having regard to the ability to achieve the learning outcomes.

This module provides you with an opportunity to reflect upon and gain experience for an approved international study/work placement undertaken during your programme. A work/study placement should usually be at least 26 weeks or equivalent; however, each placement will be considered on its own merits, having regard to the ability to achieve the learning outcomes.

What sort of product design would you like to engage with in your graduate career, and what steps might you take to get there? In what way do you need to communicate and work with others to further your creative activities? Explore and frame design briefs for projects that align with your professional aspirations and respond to them through personally developed and collectively refined creative narratives and project outcomes.

Research is key to making product design that works for the right audience. Draw together and apply all your research skills to help you ideate and evaluate a range of design concepts in service of your interests. Good research and evaluation means being able to justify and defend your ideas with authority.

Build on your accumulated knowledge and skills by conceptualising and prototyping desirable, feasible and viable products related to your interests. Make your voice heard by developing your identity as a designer. Explore your position as an innovative designer and create prototypes to test out your conceptual thinking capabilities.

What are the product design industry standards you need to recognise in your area of interest? How do you know that what you're doing is commercially viable, future-focused and responsible? What specific elements of your specialism do you need to develop and demonstrate in your project and portfolio? Present your articulation of these factors in your practice.