‘There’s always something new to be created’: why product design is one of the most dynamic careers on offer

“Design is not just what it looks and feels like. Design is how it works.” That’s a Steve Jobs quote, but it’s also the philosophy at the heart of Buckinghamshire New University’s Product Design degree programmes, where students are encouraged to ask questions, solve problems, make, experiment, and get their hands dirty.

George Peryer graduated from Buckinghamshire New University in 2015. He started his career working in the print room at a firm of architects, then became a technician at an acoustic panels company. Now, he’s a product designer at Bisley Office Furniture, creating bespoke office products and configurations such as lockers and storage spaces.

“Doing a design course isn’t just about designing furniture or cars,” he says. “I never realised, until I left, how many doors a course like this can open. Literally everything around you that you see has been designed by someone. So there’s an awful lot of opportunities out there. It’s great to work on a range of different products because you’re not doing the same thing every day. There’s always something else to be opened, created, adapted and changed.”

Great maker-spaces where students can learn, experiment and practise are key to a hands-on course like product design. At Bucks, students study and make things with all the materials you’d expect – silver, metal, ceramics, plastic, wood. “We make sure that they’re in the workshops, making things, and getting used to working in these materials,” says Lyndon Buck, associate professor in product design.

Links with industry are key. “All of our courses are externally accredited to ensure that we are covering everything industry needs,” says Buck. “Students understand how things are made but we also cover health and safety, safe and economic working practices, sustainability of materials and consumption. We’re always looking at the latest industry-standard software, materials and manufacturing process. We’ve invested heavily in 3D printing and digital technologies – but we’ve still got our traditional workshops.”

Students are set tasks by external companies and designers, which could be anything from a toy to a piece of furniture to a sports product. It’s a great opportunity for students to start to build links with industry as well as learn how to work to a strict brief. A student who took on the task to redesign a football training mannequin for sports company Diamond Football won £1,000 from the company because his idea was so good.

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Peryer says he’s found the practical aspect of the course hugely valuable in the world of work. “I get lots of different projects and bits and pieces to do. At Bucks, we’d work on more than one project at a time. That definitely taught us how to multitask, plan our time and work out what had priority. The workshops were absolutely brilliant. It was particularly good being able to go across the different courses, as well, and use their equipment. In one project, I had to make a watch, so I went over to textiles and experimented with some of their knitting machines.”

The product design course has run for around 25 years, and last year the department branched out to offer a BSc (Hons) in Sports Product Design, responding to the huge demand for the subject. Students on the sports design course follow the same design pathway as the other product design students until the final module in each year, where the two split: one to study the context and development of product design in general, the other to look in-depth at issues that crop up when designing for sports in particular, such as human physiology. Students on the different pathways would then specialise further in their final major project.

“We’ve currently got the British women’s under-20 fencing champion on the course, looking at how she can improve her kit,” says Buck. “Students get to understand more about sports and sportspeople, to make their products more successful. We also run sports and sports science courses here, and we’ve got state-of-the-art sports science labs, so our sports design students can share that resource.”

And after university, the sky’s the limit. Product design students go into a huge range of roles. While sports product design graduates have an obvious home at big sports companies, they could also find jobs in healthcare or education product companies. Former students on the product design course are at companies including McLaren, Dyson, Nokia and Microsoft, and one even has his own TV series – Discovery’s Engine Addict with Jimmy de Ville. Alumni keep close ties with the course, often coming back to the annual degree show to find new recruits or bringing colleagues or bosses who are looking for the latest talent.

“It’s a great course with fabulous career options,” says Buck. “Product design is a fantastic place for you if you want to make new products, solve problems, you’re willing to get stuck in and have a go and you’re not scared to try different things.”

To find out more about studying product design at Buckinghamshire New University, visit the website or call 0330 123 2023