This programme enables you to embark upon a career in a wide variety of spatial design disciplines by providing you with the increasingly trans-disciplinary skills of the design profession and a thorough understanding of contemporary creative practice.
The programme promotes rigorous and expansive ‘designerly’ thinking through distinct and complementary modules using projects of varying focus and complexity.
The primary focus is to allow you to develop a sophisticated design language and an understanding of the relationship between space, form, structure and materials within the context of building purpose, the end-user and the wider environment. You will develop design skills through a broad variety of studio projects including; interior design, retail design, exhibition and museum design, lighting design, and design for urban and exterior spaces. Design development is supported by research and experimentation and is augmented by conceptual, technical and regulatory studies as the programme advances.
In addition to traditional skills such as drawing and model making you will learn to use specific design software (AutoCAD, 3D Studio Max) to articulate design ideas and design processes and to investigate the associated technical issues of design proposals.
Critical and contextual studies modules develop a knowledge and understanding of visual culture and the designed world, and provide a context within which you can critically assess design propositions.
The programme has a diverse student body and an international outlook. In Year 3 you have the opportunity to study for one trimester (three months) with one of our overseas partners in Europe, China, Australia or North America, or undertake a credit bearing work placement.
In the final year you will devise your own Major Project, articulating an individual design philosophy and further enhancing subject specific skills and knowledge in accordance with career aspirations and professional interests.
There is a strong studio culture supported by a multidisciplinary staff team of academics and industry-based practitioners. You can develop creative and professional skills and apply design thinking to a range of creative outcomes and design interventions.
This course allows for the acquisition of knowledge and skills central to the spatial design professions. The programme can equip you with the skills necessary to develop unique design ideas, to establish rigorous design processes, to deal with complex design issues, to make informed judgements and to communicate conclusions clearly to a professional audience. It also allows for the development of professional, technical and software skills to a high level. Graduates of the programme possess transferable skills in problem solving, planning, leadership, teamwork, communication and time management.