DE5029 - Contemporary Product Design

To help support and build on your design skills to successfully complete the design brief(s), you will be introduced to the product design workflow based on industry practice. Building on your level 4 modules, you will be taught through studio-based and workshop activities which will cover key decision making through sketching and thorough design iteration, prototyping and hands-on mock-ups to successfully communicate your design intent, pitching your ideas to a relevant audience, delivering your design output(s) and / or other project deliverables.  

  

Timetabled sessions, which will simulate real-world design studio environments, will allow you to apply your product design skills, advancing a deeper understanding of the discipline and the process while also providing opportunities for critical debate and feedback in a supportive and respectful environment. 

  

You will be given additional opportunities to enhance your CAD abilities through workshops or taught sessions, concentrating on the communication of your design intent via modelling and / or rendering. 

 

You will be encouraged to think and work independently, investigating design challenges and researching through both primary and secondary sources, putting yourself in the position of others and designing through experimentation. Work on practical product design projects that reflect real-world challenges and your final designed outputs, prototypes, artefacts will be presented or exhibited to share your process with others. By the end of the module, you’ll emerge with a greater understanding of the Product Design process that will prepare you for tackling some of the latest challenges in a rapidly evolving design landscape. 

Each project will begin with a comprehensive briefing that will outline and clarify the design project along with the expected learning outcomes, the module and project requirements / deliverables and a detailed schedule. Where a collaborative or live project is involved, professionals from the external partner will work with your module tutors to agree a suitable project and any additional support they can offer. This may include in-person briefings, feedback and guidance throughout the project, site visits, access to proprietary research and specialist equipment.



You will have regular weekly sessions in a studio setting to structure your learning experience. In these sessions, you’ll participate in group discussions to receive guidance and feedback from your peers and tutors. Tutors are aligned to each module that relates closely to their own design expertise and experience providing specialist support, whether that is through prior professional experience, through ongoing industrial collaborations or through current research work undertaken within the University.



The module has a specific virtual learning environment (eLearning Portal) which acts as a resource where you can access all the relevant documentation including module briefs and guides, presentations and assessment requirements. The digital submission of work, both formative and summative assessments, allow for expedient communication and the effective review of work whilst also utilising industry standard practices. During core working hours for the Design School but outside your timetabled sessions and project dependent, you will have access to a wide range of technician-supported workshop environments. Project and solution driven, these will support all your making requirements including specialist model making materials, laser-cutting, 3D printing, creating sewn soft-products, sensors and electronics, photography and videography. CAD workstations and industry-standard digital modelling software are accessible on campus 24/7 in certain buildings.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding:

Demonstrate design understanding with the appropriate integrated selection and skilled use of applications, tools, methods and processes during design research and development.



Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:

Appropriately select, articulate, justify and share design research and development using established methods and processes in the development of design concepts.



Create design concepts, proposals and solutions that appropriately respond to the brief, clearly identified needs or issues.



Personal Values Attributes

(Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):

Experiment and develop product design skills through the creation of sketching, prototyping and communication of design concepts.

You will be regularly assessed formatively and informally, using verbal feedback during timetabled sessions and at key stages of the design development process. Students may be asked to present their work verbally to an audience of peers, tutors and stakeholders to receive feedback and guidance. 



Students will be summatively assessed against one or more product design assignments over the course of the module submitted at the end of block 1, which may include design prototypes or artefacts. For each assignment, students will be assessed against the module outcomes and criteria set out in the brief. The combined marks for the projects (weighted to reflect the duration of individual projects) will form 70% of the overall mark. You will also submit Portfolio of design work to date. This will form 30% of the final mark for this module.

 

Feedback is written and delivered via tutorial review and via eLearning portal (eLP) after the submission at the end of each block (module).

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The module will introduce a design workflow, based on industry practice, that will provide a basic method for all future design projects. You will be given a stimulating brief to design a product that responds to contemporary trends and addresses user needs and behaviours. Through a rigorous process of iteration, you will present a resolved product concept. The project will build on your developing making skills, build your confidence in operating in the workshops and instil a process of hands-on learning through the creation of mock-ups, models and prototypes. 


Students will be summatively assessed against one or more product design assignments over the course of the module submitted at the end of block 1, which may include design prototypes or artefacts. For each assignment, students will be assessed against the module outcomes and criteria set out in the brief. The combined marks for the projects (weighted to reflect the duration of individual projects) will form 70% of the overall mark. You will also submit Portfolio of design work to date. This will form 30% of the final mark for this module.

 

Feedback is written and delivered via tutorial review and via eLearning portal (eLP) after the submission at the end of each block (module).