MFA Product Design Making

Develop your skills in a range of design prototyping and making methods.

Overview

Product Design is a rapidly changing discipline, elements of which are converging with craft-based practices to occupy new hybrid maker spaces and a growing redistributed manufacturing network. This programme develops your skills in a range of making methods, with both traditional tools and materials and digital prototyping technologies (including CNC routers, laser cutters and 3D printers).

Part of the MA/MFA Design Suite, the course benefits from bringing together designers from a range of disciplines into core modules, as well as modules specific to your chosen pathway such as 'Making as Thinking', 'Sketching & Prototyping in Hardware and Software' and ‘Design for Makerspaces’.

All students complete the Live Project and you will study 'Thinking: Research for Creative Practice', which will help you to determine your Research Portfolio (MA) or Major Project (MFA) topics.

The MFA is recognised as an advanced masters level degree and students already holding an appropriate MA can apply to enter the programme directly into the second year of study.

Course details

The programme aims to develop your creative practice through hands-on making and promotes “knowing-by-doing” and “making-as-knowledge”. You will undertake a number of projects led by material enquiry and processes and explore making as a process of growth. You will develop advanced workshop skills with hand guided tools and digital hardware. As your skills develop, you will work in the context of localised (re)manufacture and “manu-digi-facture”, seeking out entrepreneurial and/or social development opportunities. Sustainability and circular economic thinking are core values of the programme and you are encouraged to work with alternative consumer models.Part-time and online programmes are also available.

How you’ll be taught

The programme has studio learning environment, and uses practice-based learning, workshops, seminars, lectures guest speakers and supported on-line learning in which core knowledge and understanding of design and making are acquired and assessed in tandem with their specific application to your own individual projects.

Assessments

We take a common approach to learning, teaching and assessment in studio modules where practice-based student output is collated as a portfolio presentation.

Careers

Graduates from this programme pathway can pursue careers in:

• product design
• digital crafts
• remanufacturing
• furniture design
• interaction design and prototyping.