Product Design (Top-Up) BA (Hons)

Course Content

• Course Details

  Major Project Research – The Search for Knowledge

  Embark on a journey to tackle a major design project (MDP) of your choice. This module guides you through the process of investigation, analysis, and justification of your chosen topic, helping you define the problem, set objectives, and structure your programme of study.

  You’ll engage in creative thinking, idea generation, and the development of visual concepts to explore potential product scenarios, user interactions, or innovative solutions:

  • Looking – observing people, products, technologies, and consumer trends
  • Learning – reviewing literature, analysing reports, and evaluating existing products
  • Asking – conducting user interviews, designing questionnaires, and studying competitors.

  You’ll engage in creative thinking, idea generation, and the development of visual concepts to explore potential product scenarios, user interactions, or innovative solutions:

  • Clearly identified and defined a design problem or topic
  • Produced a detailed research report supporting your findings and ideas
  • Proposed a range of solutions, presented as visual concepts.

  Major Project Development – exploration and experimentation

  This module continues your major design project (MDP), documenting the journey and decisions that lead to your final design solution. It highlights your design thinking and demonstrates how it’s been applied, tested, and evaluated to justify your final product.

  You’ll focus on building prototypes, creating test rigs, wireframing interactions, and simulating software to ensure the success of your design proposal:

  • Making – Experimenting with prototyping, simulating, and wireframing
  • Testing – Observing users, analysing user interactions (UI), and refining user experiences (UX)
  • Evaluating – Collecting, organising, and interpreting data.

  By the end of this module, you’ll have:

  • Demonstrated a “proof of concept” to address your design problem
  • Compiled measurable data to validate your design solution
  • Produced a detailed development report documenting your design decisions.

  Upon completion, you’ll have explored, tested, and refined a range of design solutions, and effectively documented the entire development process in a comprehensive report.

  Major Project Realisation – visualisation and simulation

  The culmination of your major design project (MDP) will be the realisation of your product through a visual appearance model, digital visualisation, or simulation, supported by technical drawings or system diagrams.

  You’ll share the story behind your product development through a short video and present your work in an exhibition featuring graphic presentation boards:

  • Explaining – crafting compelling narratives through information, storytelling, animation, and video editing
  • Exhibiting – showcasing 3D artefacts, app simulations and presentation boards
  • Communicating – presenting ideas through infographics, CAD renderings, and production drawings.

  By the end of this module, you’ll have:

  • Detailed technical drawings to document and support your product’s development
  • Computer visualisations to effectively communicate your product’s features
  • An artefact or simulation that demonstrates your design expertise.

  In completing this module, you’ll have proposed and substantiated your project using a variety of media, models, and simulations. Your work will showcase your comprehensive understanding of the design process and the resolution of your chosen brief or topic. This portfolio will serve as a substantial foundation for launching your career in the creative industries.

  Design Enterprise

  Through a series of interactive sessions, you’ll learn how to create and refine a solid business plan. With the support of prototyping and proof-of-concept development, you’ll transform your ideas into viable business opportunities and successful start-ups.

  You’ll work on designing and creating a new product including branding, packaging and marketing communications for your target market:

  • Marketing – gain insights into new product development (NPD) methodologies
  • Financing – explore business strategies creatively, including first-mover advantage, routes to market, and the application of the Business Model Canvas
  • Pitching – develop a detailed business proposal and refine it into a kick-starter pitch deck.

  By the end of this module, you’ll have:

  • Developed a comprehensive understanding of transforming an initial idea or concept into a marketable product proposition
  • Build confidence by presenting your work to an expert panel, including retail specialists and business advisors
  • Gained valuable insights into entrepreneurship and the process of launching a new business venture.

  This prepares you to create your own start-up business, equips you with future-ready skills in commerce and primes you to take the market the by storm.

  List of modules:

  Please note the modules shown here relate to the academic year 24/25. The modules relating to the academic year 25/26 will be available from June 2025.

  • Stage 1
    • Final Major Project - Research (20 Credits)
      Module code: 3DD3045

      Status: Compulsory
      This final major study module documents the research undertaken in the evolution of the Final Major Project and underpins the investigation and generation of applicable product concepts. The work is realised through the submission of a research report that summarises the chosen topic area, identifies the problem to be solved, and outlines the fundamental design approach taken by the student.
    • Final Major Project - Development (20 Credits)
      Module code: 3DD3046

      Status: Compulsory
      This final major study module documents the development undertaken in the resolution of initial product ideas and concepts into a comprehensive Final Major Project design solution. The work is realised through the submission of a development report that quantifies and substantiates the design decisions taken throughout this exploration process and may include appraisals of prototyping, modelling, testing, simulation and realisation of the student?s final design.
    • Final Major Project - Realisation (40 Credits)
      Module code: 3DD3055

      Status: Compulsory
      The final major project will integrate the skills gained from all modules studied on the programme. These will be demonstrated through a project initiated by the student utilising research carried out in Final Major Project ? Research module and documented in the Final Major Project ? Development module. The final design proposal will be presented in a critique, exhibition and audio-video presentation.
    • Design Enterprise (40 Credits)
      Module code: 3DD4023

      Status: Compulsory
      RESTRICTIONS: BA (Hons) Product Design BSc (Hons) Product Design

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• FAQs

  What specialist equipment will I need for the Product Design degree?

  To study on a Product Design degree, a high-specification laptop capable of running Adobe Creative Cloud and professional CAD software is essential. You will require a laptop, with the following specification:

  PC Laptop specification – preferred option:

  • CPU: Intel/AMD Processor scoring a single thread CPU Mark of 2,200 or higher. (Such as the AMD Ryzen 5 2600, Intel Core i7-4790 or better)
  • System Memory : 32GB (16GB minimum)
  • Graphics Card: a GPU scoring a G3D Mark of 14,000 or higher with up-to-date drivers. (Such as the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070, AMD Radeon RX 5700XT, Quadro RTX 3000 or better)
  • Graphics Card Memory: 8GB or more
    Screen Resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels
  • Hard Drive: 500GB SATA3 SSD or NVME m.2 storage
    Operating System: Windows 10 64-bit (up to date)
  • Wi‑Fi networking: 802.11ac

  MacBook specification with additional required software*:

  • CPU: Apple M1 chip (or Intel)
  • Memory: 32GB (16GB minimum)
  • Operating System: MacOS 11 Big Sur
  • Hard Drive: 500GB Solid State Drive (SSD) (256GB minimum)
  • Wi‑Fi networking: 802.11ac
  • Software*:  Windows 10 64-bit, Bootcamp and/or Parallels

  You will need to budget approximately £200 for the academic year for extra materials to cover the costs of sketch books, marker pens, modelmaking materials, 3D printing, and 2D printing of presentation graphics. This amount is a guide based on what successful current students and recent graduates have spent and will depend upon the projects you choose to undertake.

  You will need to purchase, drawing and modelmaking equipment such as digital Vernier callipers, cutting tools, basic hand tools, plus a toolbox to contain them. A comprehensive list will be provided prior to starting the course.

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