Product Design Job Prospects
Hi, having done quite a bit of research into uni courses, i have decided that a degree in Product design or design engineering is something i realy want to do.
I wondered what sort of jobs people taking product design are looking to do, or what people who have completed a degree in product design are currently doing. I just realy want to know what sort of things i could do having completed this degree. Thanks
I wondered what sort of jobs people taking product design are looking to do, or what people who have completed a degree in product design are currently doing. I just realy want to know what sort of things i could do having completed this degree. Thanks
Product design is quite a broad field obviously, first the best thing to do is look at what the alumni of the university end up doing, and what are the current research/project interests of the department?
The large fields of product design can be things like furniture design, footware design, sports equipment design, consumer product design, and industrial design, with subsets for things like vehicle and automotive design.
I am a mechanical engineer by degree but take on product design projects as a consultant, there are a number of skill sets to build which your course will give you, to varying degree's based on their strengths.
Firstly understanding that design is about solving problems with the tools, people, and resources you have available. Being able to communicate your potential solution is a key skill.
This is manifest as sketching and drawing, both on paper and digitally, you do not have to be an artist but as a product designer being able to quickly develop concepts visually is important for you to refine your ideas and to communicate to the client. - as an un-artistic engineer I am not the best at this bit on paper, but I am a very good CAD (computer aided design) software user ( see solidworks etc.)
Secondly understanding "some" of the physical principles that might underpin your design - this bit comes very easy to me as I have the technical background but understanding the limitations of your materials, basic concepts such as density, stiffness, strength, toughness, and what things might be important for the design brief (oh a high temperature environment - better understand if my material will suffer from corrosion and thermal expansion etc.)
Also manufacturing methods - many less industrial product designers have no clue how to actually make the thing they have designed, this is problematic as design for manufacture is an extremely important thing for viability, cost feasibility, and scalability of your design, which is often neglected.
Thirdly - Understanding the clients needs and being able to capture the true design intent of the brief - this is helped by various frameworks such as design thinking.
As for the sort of jobs you can get there are product designers in virtually every company, even service based ones use designers to improve their digital product designs.
Understanding the nuances of design and being able to produce, and recognize good design, is a trait that is extremely useful for all companies.
So in a nutshell it depends what you would like to do, do you want to make consumer products, or industrial ones?
Digital things or physical things? Cars, or trains, or boats, or medical devices. Maybe Trainers or tennis rackets.
The first thing I designed was mechanisms and components for circuit breakers, the last thing I design was motorcycle parts, in between I've designed things in automotive, electrical, domestic products, adapted devices for the disabled, and many more.
The large fields of product design can be things like furniture design, footware design, sports equipment design, consumer product design, and industrial design, with subsets for things like vehicle and automotive design.
I am a mechanical engineer by degree but take on product design projects as a consultant, there are a number of skill sets to build which your course will give you, to varying degree's based on their strengths.
Firstly understanding that design is about solving problems with the tools, people, and resources you have available. Being able to communicate your potential solution is a key skill.
This is manifest as sketching and drawing, both on paper and digitally, you do not have to be an artist but as a product designer being able to quickly develop concepts visually is important for you to refine your ideas and to communicate to the client. - as an un-artistic engineer I am not the best at this bit on paper, but I am a very good CAD (computer aided design) software user ( see solidworks etc.)
Secondly understanding "some" of the physical principles that might underpin your design - this bit comes very easy to me as I have the technical background but understanding the limitations of your materials, basic concepts such as density, stiffness, strength, toughness, and what things might be important for the design brief (oh a high temperature environment - better understand if my material will suffer from corrosion and thermal expansion etc.)
Also manufacturing methods - many less industrial product designers have no clue how to actually make the thing they have designed, this is problematic as design for manufacture is an extremely important thing for viability, cost feasibility, and scalability of your design, which is often neglected.
Thirdly - Understanding the clients needs and being able to capture the true design intent of the brief - this is helped by various frameworks such as design thinking.
As for the sort of jobs you can get there are product designers in virtually every company, even service based ones use designers to improve their digital product designs.
Understanding the nuances of design and being able to produce, and recognize good design, is a trait that is extremely useful for all companies.
So in a nutshell it depends what you would like to do, do you want to make consumer products, or industrial ones?
Digital things or physical things? Cars, or trains, or boats, or medical devices. Maybe Trainers or tennis rackets.
The first thing I designed was mechanisms and components for circuit breakers, the last thing I design was motorcycle parts, in between I've designed things in automotive, electrical, domestic products, adapted devices for the disabled, and many more.
Original post by kingkongjaffa
Product design is quite a broad field obviously, first the best thing to do is look at what the alumni of the university end up doing, and what are the current research/project interests of the department?
The large fields of product design can be things like furniture design, footware design, sports equipment design, consumer product design, and industrial design, with subsets for things like vehicle and automotive design.
I am a mechanical engineer by degree but take on product design projects as a consultant, there are a number of skill sets to build which your course will give you, to varying degree's based on their strengths.
Firstly understanding that design is about solving problems with the tools, people, and resources you have available. Being able to communicate your potential solution is a key skill.
This is manifest as sketching and drawing, both on paper and digitally, you do not have to be an artist but as a product designer being able to quickly develop concepts visually is important for you to refine your ideas and to communicate to the client. - as an un-artistic engineer I am not the best at this bit on paper, but I am a very good CAD (computer aided design) software user ( see solidworks etc.)
Secondly understanding "some" of the physical principles that might underpin your design - this bit comes very easy to me as I have the technical background but understanding the limitations of your materials, basic concepts such as density, stiffness, strength, toughness, and what things might be important for the design brief (oh a high temperature environment - better understand if my material will suffer from corrosion and thermal expansion etc.)
Also manufacturing methods - many less industrial product designers have no clue how to actually make the thing they have designed, this is problematic as design for manufacture is an extremely important thing for viability, cost feasibility, and scalability of your design, which is often neglected.
Thirdly - Understanding the clients needs and being able to capture the true design intent of the brief - this is helped by various frameworks such as design thinking.
As for the sort of jobs you can get there are product designers in virtually every company, even service based ones use designers to improve their digital product designs.
Understanding the nuances of design and being able to produce, and recognize good design, is a trait that is extremely useful for all companies.
So in a nutshell it depends what you would like to do, do you want to make consumer products, or industrial ones?
Digital things or physical things? Cars, or trains, or boats, or medical devices. Maybe Trainers or tennis rackets.
The first thing I designed was mechanisms and components for circuit breakers, the last thing I design was motorcycle parts, in between I've designed things in automotive, electrical, domestic products, adapted devices for the disabled, and many more.
The large fields of product design can be things like furniture design, footware design, sports equipment design, consumer product design, and industrial design, with subsets for things like vehicle and automotive design.
I am a mechanical engineer by degree but take on product design projects as a consultant, there are a number of skill sets to build which your course will give you, to varying degree's based on their strengths.
Firstly understanding that design is about solving problems with the tools, people, and resources you have available. Being able to communicate your potential solution is a key skill.
This is manifest as sketching and drawing, both on paper and digitally, you do not have to be an artist but as a product designer being able to quickly develop concepts visually is important for you to refine your ideas and to communicate to the client. - as an un-artistic engineer I am not the best at this bit on paper, but I am a very good CAD (computer aided design) software user ( see solidworks etc.)
Secondly understanding "some" of the physical principles that might underpin your design - this bit comes very easy to me as I have the technical background but understanding the limitations of your materials, basic concepts such as density, stiffness, strength, toughness, and what things might be important for the design brief (oh a high temperature environment - better understand if my material will suffer from corrosion and thermal expansion etc.)
Also manufacturing methods - many less industrial product designers have no clue how to actually make the thing they have designed, this is problematic as design for manufacture is an extremely important thing for viability, cost feasibility, and scalability of your design, which is often neglected.
Thirdly - Understanding the clients needs and being able to capture the true design intent of the brief - this is helped by various frameworks such as design thinking.
As for the sort of jobs you can get there are product designers in virtually every company, even service based ones use designers to improve their digital product designs.
Understanding the nuances of design and being able to produce, and recognize good design, is a trait that is extremely useful for all companies.
So in a nutshell it depends what you would like to do, do you want to make consumer products, or industrial ones?
Digital things or physical things? Cars, or trains, or boats, or medical devices. Maybe Trainers or tennis rackets.
The first thing I designed was mechanisms and components for circuit breakers, the last thing I design was motorcycle parts, in between I've designed things in automotive, electrical, domestic products, adapted devices for the disabled, and many more.
Thank you for your answer, it was interesting to hear about the range of possible careers/ things I could design as a product designer.
I was just a little worried about the availability of jobs having completed my chosen product design degree. Do you have any understanding of what employers would be looking for in terms of an art based degree or a more engineering based degree? Which would make me more employable? I understand that it mainly depends on what I would like to design, but is there a greneral preference?
Original post by James244
Thank you for your answer, it was interesting to hear about the range of possible careers/ things I could design as a product designer.
I was just a little worried about the availability of jobs having completed my chosen product design degree. Do you have any understanding of what employers would be looking for in terms of an art based degree or a more engineering based degree? Which would make me more employable? I understand that it mainly depends on what I would like to design, but is there a general preference?
I was just a little worried about the availability of jobs having completed my chosen product design degree. Do you have any understanding of what employers would be looking for in terms of an art based degree or a more engineering based degree? Which would make me more employable? I understand that it mainly depends on what I would like to design, but is there a general preference?
Hi, sorry for the late reply.
So what companies typically do is have multifunctional teams, so for any product there will be people from all different backgrounds who work on their strength. What this means for you is that either is fine.
In the more conceptual and visual design areas a strong portfolio is an absolute must, this must showcase your concept development, sketching and rendering skills, and ability to develop products that people want to use.
For the engineering side a portfolio is a must as well but this focuses more on technical projects and how you used engineering to arrive at a solution, often my portfolio sections contain things like $$$ saved or earned for the client for example. But also technical details such as made this thing x% lighter or stiffer or stronger etc.
Again for working out which companies I would say try to apply for experience days or shadow days at some companies, write a few emails. The more arty courses will give you more customer/user based destinations, the more engineering ones will give you more industrially based destinations.
Also it's important to recognise in yourself what your notion of design is.
For me it's about making technical solutions to solve problems, what that translates to is thing that people use that allow them to do things, often behind the scenes for example bits of turbocharger in a car or safety devices on trains.
An art person might have a different notion in that their design work is more visual and about people using the product, for example I recently helped design a beautiful motorbike and seeing the satisfaction of riders is really rewarding for me and probably just as much for the artists and concept designers.
Original post by kingkongjaffa
Hi, sorry for the late reply.
So what companies typically do is have multifunctional teams, so for any product there will be people from all different backgrounds who work on their strength. What this means for you is that either is fine.
In the more conceptual and visual design areas a strong portfolio is an absolute must, this must showcase your concept development, sketching and rendering skills, and ability to develop products that people want to use.
For the engineering side a portfolio is a must as well but this focuses more on technical projects and how you used engineering to arrive at a solution, often my portfolio sections contain things like $$$ saved or earned for the client for example. But also technical details such as made this thing x% lighter or stiffer or stronger etc.
Again for working out which companies I would say try to apply for experience days or shadow days at some companies, write a few emails. The more arty courses will give you more customer/user based destinations, the more engineering ones will give you more industrially based destinations.
Also it's important to recognise in yourself what your notion of design is.
For me it's about making technical solutions to solve problems, what that translates to is thing that people use that allow them to do things, often behind the scenes for example bits of turbocharger in a car or safety devices on trains.
An art person might have a different notion in that their design work is more visual and about people using the product, for example I recently helped design a beautiful motorbike and seeing the satisfaction of riders is really rewarding for me and probably just as much for the artists and concept designers.
So what companies typically do is have multifunctional teams, so for any product there will be people from all different backgrounds who work on their strength. What this means for you is that either is fine.
In the more conceptual and visual design areas a strong portfolio is an absolute must, this must showcase your concept development, sketching and rendering skills, and ability to develop products that people want to use.
For the engineering side a portfolio is a must as well but this focuses more on technical projects and how you used engineering to arrive at a solution, often my portfolio sections contain things like $$$ saved or earned for the client for example. But also technical details such as made this thing x% lighter or stiffer or stronger etc.
Again for working out which companies I would say try to apply for experience days or shadow days at some companies, write a few emails. The more arty courses will give you more customer/user based destinations, the more engineering ones will give you more industrially based destinations.
Also it's important to recognise in yourself what your notion of design is.
For me it's about making technical solutions to solve problems, what that translates to is thing that people use that allow them to do things, often behind the scenes for example bits of turbocharger in a car or safety devices on trains.
An art person might have a different notion in that their design work is more visual and about people using the product, for example I recently helped design a beautiful motorbike and seeing the satisfaction of riders is really rewarding for me and probably just as much for the artists and concept designers.
Thank you so much
Original post by James244
Hi, having done quite a bit of research into uni courses, i have decided that a degree in Product design or design engineering is something i realy want to do.
I wondered what sort of jobs people taking product design are looking to do, or what people who have completed a degree in product design are currently doing. I just realy want to know what sort of things i could do having completed this degree. Thanks
I wondered what sort of jobs people taking product design are looking to do, or what people who have completed a degree in product design are currently doing. I just realy want to know what sort of things i could do having completed this degree. Thanks
HI James I see that you posted this some time ago so perhaps you can let us know what course you went for in the end. It looks like you have had some really helpful posts. Especially by KingKong. I spotted your post as I am director of a product design company and we receive many applications from graduates to work with us. I am actually signed up to reach out to some of that user base to conduct some questionnaires about their teaching. Anyway you might be clearer on what Product Designers actually do. I can tell you that there are over 20,000 Design Grads a year in the UK and industry is struggling to match that pace for employing them all. Further I can only give my perspective as a director and a product designer myself. It is an extremely rewarding career choice. Even if it is competitive, if you really have a passion for practical design then it can be a rewarding degree to undertake. Where were you looking to study? The Daily tasks for a product designer vary widely on the application as KingKong mentioned, the skill set can lend itself to 3D visualisation, Game Design, Furniture Design, Consumer Products, Industrial Design, Fast Moving Consumer goods such as packaging for all the consumables we use every day, through to medical devices and even surgical equipment. Our online folio as Product Designers flynn-product-design.com demos what product designers do. I might add that we are already inundated with internship requests and find it very difficult to keep pace with the volume of applicants. Product design essentially permits us to influence our future built environment and experiences. Moving forwards Architecture and virtual experiences merge with industrial design and digital design. Yes technically they are quite distinct however there is a natural cross over with these skillsets in the built environment. Transport design is another close one. I actually nearly went to Coventry to become an Automotive designer when I was in your position. I am very pleased I did product design instead, however I still have a love for all things Automotive. We could be involved in transport design, from Aircraft interiors through to Yatch designs these are areas we can add value. As a product design consultancy Flynn can enjoy bringing that objectivity to a project also. So if you want diversity it is a great pathway to follow. In many cases a lot of the industrial employment opportunity might exist in a discipline, with house hold names like Dyson or Elextrolux, Bosch, Philips Etc. These teams would be largely inhouse and depending on the company you chose you might have end up with a specialist background or quite a diverse one. As product designers working in one of the UKs top product design consultancy we can enjoy the luxury of working in all these fields as external advisors and designers. So in terms of prospects I would argue it can open many doors even if you do not chose to go and take a pure product design career it can spin out into many other design related avenues. In part I make this point because I think there is actualy a saturation point for those studying product design. Again another reason I am keen to get posting on this forum to better understand how graduates are finding the job searching experience. There is undoubted talent out there and it is also quite challenging to turn away such vast numbers of graduates when you can only provide limited opportunity as a small team of product designers. Regardless, I do hope that you have found your true vocation. Most people so I understand sale through life in the wrong job. Im a big believer in do what you love. And if you love developing products from the user perspective and you understand art, the sciences and engineering, it’s a fantastically rewarding pathway. I look forward to hearing how you got on.
So I’m currently on the way to study MDes product design at Bournemouth, what are possible job roles I could take when I leave? Would it be possible to merge into automotive engineering or not? Thanks
Original post by chris_FPD
HI James I see that you posted this some time ago so perhaps you can let us know what course you went for in the end. It looks like you have had some really helpful posts. Especially by KingKong. I spotted your post as I am director of a product design company and we receive many applications from graduates to work with us. I am actually signed up to reach out to some of that user base to conduct some questionnaires about their teaching. Anyway you might be clearer on what Product Designers actually do. I can tell you that there are over 20,000 Design Grads a year in the UK and industry is struggling to match that pace for employing them all. Further I can only give my perspective as a director and a product designer myself. It is an extremely rewarding career choice. Even if it is competitive, if you really have a passion for practical design then it can be a rewarding degree to undertake. Where were you looking to study? The Daily tasks for a product designer vary widely on the application as KingKong mentioned, the skill set can lend itself to 3D visualisation, Game Design, Furniture Design, Consumer Products, Industrial Design, Fast Moving Consumer goods such as packaging for all the consumables we use every day, through to medical devices and even surgical equipment. Our online folio as Product Designers flynn-product-design.com demos what product designers do. I might add that we are already inundated with internship requests and find it very difficult to keep pace with the volume of applicants. Product design essentially permits us to influence our future built environment and experiences. Moving forwards Architecture and virtual experiences merge with industrial design and digital design. Yes technically they are quite distinct however there is a natural cross over with these skillsets in the built environment. Transport design is another close one. I actually nearly went to Coventry to become an Automotive designer when I was in your position. I am very pleased I did product design instead, however I still have a love for all things Automotive. We could be involved in transport design, from Aircraft interiors through to Yatch designs these are areas we can add value. As a product design consultancy Flynn can enjoy bringing that objectivity to a project also. So if you want diversity it is a great pathway to follow. In many cases a lot of the industrial employment opportunity might exist in a discipline, with house hold names like Dyson or Elextrolux, Bosch, Philips Etc. These teams would be largely inhouse and depending on the company you chose you might have end up with a specialist background or quite a diverse one. As product designers working in one of the UKs top product design consultancy we can enjoy the luxury of working in all these fields as external advisors and designers. So in terms of prospects I would argue it can open many doors even if you do not chose to go and take a pure product design career it can spin out into many other design related avenues. In part I make this point because I think there is actualy a saturation point for those studying product design. Again another reason I am keen to get posting on this forum to better understand how graduates are finding the job searching experience. There is undoubted talent out there and it is also quite challenging to turn away such vast numbers of graduates when you can only provide limited opportunity as a small team of product designers. Regardless, I do hope that you have found your true vocation. Most people so I understand sale through life in the wrong job. Im a big believer in do what you love. And if you love developing products from the user perspective and you understand art, the sciences and engineering, it’s a fantastically rewarding pathway. I look forward to hearing how you got on.
Thanks for your advice!
I decided to apply for BSc product design in Loughborough and Nottingham Trent University. After completing my Alevel design project i found i realy enjoyed CAD/CAM and was something i wanted to focus on in industry, although i still have a huge passion for aesthetic design.Although i am still not set on a specific 'area' of design, e.g automotive, i am still passionate about design and lookkng forward to having a diverse career
Hey, i am a student that has currently applied for marketing, even though I wasn't sure that I wanted to do it, I was running out of time and I picked something. however, I know i am more of a creative type of person, i have also finished my Art and Design Alevel. when i started to look into different careers, i got really interested in Product Design, (i also applied at Nottingham Trend) i was wondering if you could tell me about your experience with the course. Do you enjoy it so far? are the projects interesting to you? Because i want to change my subject choice, but i need some more information on it
Original post by Hgrt.01
Hey, i am a student that has currently applied for marketing, even though I wasn't sure that I wanted to do it, I was running out of time and I picked something. however, I know i am more of a creative type of person, i have also finished my Art and Design Alevel. when i started to look into different careers, i got really interested in Product Design, (i also applied at Nottingham Trend) i was wondering if you could tell me about your experience with the course. Do you enjoy it so far? are the projects interesting to you? Because i want to change my subject choice, but i need some more information on it
Hi, im studying design at Loughborough at the moment, and i love it! Yeah most of the projects are really interesting, using my major projects so far have been to design a radio and a toaster but we have had lots of other projects in other modules. Its not all drawing though, there is a lot of other work required such as mechanics, electronics and materials which can be quite difficult at times. I would say dont rush into making a decision. When applying for design you will need a portfolio which can take quite a bit of time to prepare. If your unsure, taking a gap year to think about it and prepare may be a better option. Leaving it a year will only benefit you, a huge percentage of students on my course are a year or more older than me.
Hi i’m studying Engineering and design GCSE atm, i’m also really confused with the career paths, i’m really interested in architecture/media/product design side of things, i’m decent at art and although i didn’t take it because i thought it would be hard, i felt like engineering would be good enough for a good design job. i’ve always loved DT and design, ive never wanted to be an Engineer but i love the 3d printing of it and stuff. So can engineering get u in to different kinds of jobs, not just engineering etc... i would like to study media design, product design, maybe engineering at A-level cause apparently arts are compulsory. Please someone help me with DT gcse/alevels its sooo confusing
Hi I am currently in year 13 and I am absolutely set on studying product design at Loughborough next year. My teachers however keep bugging me about applying for more than two universities, but I really can’t find any others that I like, I have looked at Bournemouth, Nottingham Trent and leeds and I am applying to Brunel and Loughborough, do you have any other suggestions of unis to look at? And how strict is Loughborough on the grades, I am concerned that I will not get in to either if I don’t get ABB as both loughborough and Brunel have the same entry requirements.
Original post by Katya__
Hi I am currently in year 13 and I am absolutely set on studying product design at Loughborough next year. My teachers however keep bugging me about applying for more than two universities, but I really can’t find any others that I like, I have looked at Bournemouth, Nottingham Trent and leeds and I am applying to Brunel and Loughborough, do you have any other suggestions of unis to look at? And how strict is Loughborough on the grades, I am concerned that I will not get in to either if I don’t get ABB as both loughborough and Brunel have the same entry requirements.
Hi Katya__
Great to hear that your thinking of studying here at Loughborough!
I have to say I do agree with your teachers - it's always worth using all your choices. You have nothing to lose by adding the extra three. It will also give you more options when it comes to deciding your firm and insurance choices.
Kingston and Manchester (in addition to NTU & Leeds which you've already mentioned) seem to come up quite often in these discussions - but what they are actually like I don't know. We're pretty strict on grades but if you were to drop a grade they'd look at your whole application again and a decision would be made at that point - but that's a long way off.
Hope that helps
Vicky
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