Product and Furniture Design
Product and furniture design is a discipline that places the human being at the centre of the design process, asking how objects and spaces can be shaped to serve people's needs more effectively, more beautifully, and more sustainably. Product designers work across scales and sectors, designing everything from kitchen utensils and medical devices to transportation systems and public furniture. Furniture design brings that thinking to the objects that furnish our domestic and professional lives, combining aesthetic sensibility with an understanding of materials, production processes, and how people interact with the physical environment.
Together, the two strands develop a versatile designer who can work across contexts.
The University of Plymouth's three-year full-time Product and Furniture Design degree carries a typical entry tariff of 136 points and includes a sandwich year option, a year abroad option, and work placement opportunities. The placement year gives you significant professional experience in a design or manufacturing environment before you graduate, and Plymouth has a strong track record of supporting students in finding high-quality placements. You will develop skills in design thinking, sketching and visualisation, CAD modelling, materials science, manufacturing processes, prototyping, and user research, building both the creative and technical capabilities that professional product and furniture design demands.
Graduates of product and furniture design programmes work in product design consultancies, furniture manufacturers, design studios, retail design, medical device companies, and transport design. Some establish their own practices or work as independent designers. The skills developed through the degree, combining visual creativity with technical knowledge and user-centred thinking, also transfer into related fields such as user experience design, industrial design, and design management.
Postgraduate study in product design, design innovation, or sustainability design is an option for those wanting to specialise or move into advanced practice.