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Sustainable Product Design BA(Hons)

Immerse yourself in the future of sustainable product design on a course that’s driven by the major challenges facing humankind today. Develop your skills as a designer and critical thinker, identifying your own niche and career direction.

Sustainable Product Design BA(Hons)

Key details

LocationFalmouth Campus
Course Duration3 years
AttendanceFull-time
UCAS codeW250
Contact01326 254350

Apply now

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Introduction

You’ll explore the social, environmental and ethical aspects of product design, learn how to create products with a lifetime far beyond what’s typical, and consider how to create positive changes in human behaviour to improve sustainability. 

You will:

  • Develop digital design and manufacturing skills with access to cutting-edge 3D printing and CNC technologies. 
  • Get hands-on in the workshop to prototype your ideas through a broad range of materials and processes. 
  • Harness your creativity to design innovative solutions that address global sustainability challenges. 
  • Design and create your own projects, either independently or with an industry partner. 
  • Proactively build your network and develop career pathways, with opportunities to meet industry practitioners. 
  • Have the opportunity to go on study week trips such as the Milan Furniture Fair and Stockholm Design Week.

Covid-19 update

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have reviewed and made changes to our courses to provide flexible, blended delivery that offers high-quality digital engagement and access to face-to-face teaching in our facilities. You can see how your course may be adjusted by viewing the changes for the current academic year by visiting our welcome letters & latest course updates pages

  • Students
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    What our students do

    Article
    Article

    Sensory Experience for Students

    27 February 2020
    The School of Architecture, Design & Interiors was recently joined by Joanna Grace, a Sensory...
    Article
    Article

    Student Designs Motorbike Luggage for Merlin

    5 February 2020
    Between the second and third year of her Sustainable Product Design degree, student Emma Lacey...
    Article
    Article

    Designing Consumer Electronics Packaging for Easy Access and Sustainability

    20 January 2020
    Falmouth staff, students and alumni are working together with Logitech, provider of personal...
    Article
    Article

    Student Aims to Make Medical Casts More Sustainable with the Help of 3D Tech

    11 November 2019
    Third year Sustainable Product Design student Jack Cockle has just started his final year of...
    Article
    Article

    Sensory Toolkit Showcased at London Design Fair

    19 September 2019
    Sensory educational toys created by Sustainable Product Design students are currently on display at...
    Article
    Article

    Learning from the Best: Design Students Explore Milan

    7 June 2019
    If you’re dreaming of becoming a designer, Milan is the place to be. As first-year students from...
    Article
    Article

    Product Storytelling with Paul Tudor

    26 March 2019
    Getting fresh insights from industry professionals is an important part of the offering at Falmouth...
    Article
    Article

    Design Students Create Toys for Sensory Beings

    26 March 2019
    In collaboration with the award-winning Joanna Grace, second-year BA(Hons) Sustainable Product...
    Article
    Article

    Sustainable Product Design Student Lighting Eden

    21 January 2019
    You never know where an idea that could change the world is going to come from. For Sustainable...
    Article
    Article

    Student Success at New Designers

    24 July 2018
    A group of Sustainable Product Design students has scooped accolades at New Designers 2018....
    Section of plywood table design with red and white laminate.
    A progression of wooden vehicle models.
    Bird flying towards contemporary cube shaped bird box.
    Simple silver radio.
    Woman wearing wooden strap around the back of head and in front of her eyes with turquoise circles by her ears.
    Cutlery set with large ball handles.
    Guide to using specially designed cutlery.
    Green device to pull buttons through holes.
    Design sheet for ring shaped button puller.
    Information for the key sized ring puller.
    Designs for a green egg called a mud power orb.
    Designs for a solar powered orb and a wind powered orb.
    Design concept for solar, wind and mud orbs.
    Diabetes pen holder.
    Diabetes pen holder for single handed use.
    3 cube lights that measure gas, electricity and water.
    Electricity cube light on a black box station.
    Wrist device with blue window.
    Wrist phone device that has blue window.
    Diagram of person putting drops in eye with eyedropper.
    Eye dropper prototype that has an arm for resting against face when using.
    Digital mock ups of eye dropper design with arm to rest on face.
    Drawing of figure standing on a blue mat and pulling something out of a rucksack.
    Digital designs for a grey and blue backpack.
    Lifeguard carrying yellow float on back.
    Yellow life float design on beach.
    Large flower shaped sculpture made of curved wood.
    Large flower shaped sculpture made of curved wood.
    A wooden torch design.
    Exhibition with wood sculptures, lights and table.
    Mannequin head with glasses and headphones.
    Folding picnic blanket design.
    Folded picnic blanket on end of a carrying stick.
    Girl sitting on grass and eating out of a tray table held by a stick in the ground.
    Wooden hand on display next to white oval shapes.
    Design and concept for an oval shaped tin and bottle opener.
    Yellow helmet design with red attachments.
    Steam bent wood curved lounger chair.
    Student drawing design for a bike seat.

    See a selection of project work from our recent Sustainable Product Design BA(Hons) graduates.

    What our graduates do

    Our graduates have taken on careers ranging from in-house toy designer for Hamleys, to product designers for Tangerine and Lowe Alpine, to consultant for Environmental Resources Management.

    Article
    Article

    Designed for life: Graduate success

    17 December 2020
    Niall Jones, CEO of Benthos Buttons, graduated from Sustainable Product Design in 2020.What made...
    Article
    Article

    Graduate Finalists in Nike Sustainable Design Challenge

    17 January 2019
    Three forward-thinking Falmouth graduates have created a sleek set of modular furniture and won a...
    Article
    Article

    Creative Conscience Honours Design Graduate

    12 July 2018
    Sustainable Product Design graduate and Creative Conscience Award winner Elliot Lunn joined us to...
    Article
    Article

    Tom Raffield's Design Success

    4 June 2018
    When your customers are people like Brad Pitt, Madonna and Tommy Hilfiger, it might be easy to get...

    Course details

    What you'll learn

    As part of this future-focused product design course, you’ll learn how to become a practitioner with a strong understanding of truly sustainable products. You’ll develop a broad range of creative and prototyping skills and critical thinking, to bring ideas to life through the design process. Your work will reflect your own experiences and interests, developing a personal direction towards the designer you want to become. You’ll nurture strong networks within the course and the wider design industry, which will support your ongoing development as a designer.  

    • Year one
    • Year two
    • Year three
    Year one

    You’ll develop creative and conceptual skills by exploring major modern issues, the visual language of sustainable design, and its critical and theoretical processes. We’ll help you professionally communicate your ideas by teaching you drawing, model-making and 3D computer-aided design (CAD) skills, and introducing you to fundamental manufacturing technologies. You’ll also have the chance to go on local, national and international trips to exhibitions and events like the Milan Furniture Fair. 

    Modules

    Design Principles

    Introduces core aspects of product design practice that affect the form and function of objects for people. Ergonomics, anthropometrics, semantics and aesthetics are discussed and practiced through a series of design workshops and studio-based team projects. 

    Form & Materials 

    Developing CAD skills to create dimensioned drawings of 3D designs that are translated into real materials. Practical skills are honed through a series of workshops using hand- and machine-based processes using wood-based materials. 

    Design Ethics

    Introduces ethical contexts by examining key global issues such as food and water, energy, housing, population and resources that are informing design debates for sustainable change. Thematic human-need-based studio projects are aimed at developing innovative design solutions. 

    Material Capital

    Introduces strategies and tools for informing sustainable material and manufacturing selection. Practical skills are developed in forming and fabricating with metal and plastic materials, through a series of product deconstruction and technical processes workshops, in order to create prototypes. 

     

    Year two

    You’ll study inclusive design and human-centred research, before collaborating on projects with industry partners. This will build your teamwork skills and uncover possible product design career paths. You’ll also develop your CAD and digital manufacturing skills and debate the contexts, concepts and ethics of the industry. Focusing on the business of design, you’ll explore what’s involved in producing a product – from intellectual property to cost and profitability. And you’ll have the chance to study abroad in countries like Finland, Iceland and the Netherlands. 

    Focusing on the business of design, you’ll explore what’s involved in producing a product - from intellectual property to cost and profitability. And you’ll have the chance to study abroad in countries like Finland, Iceland and the Netherlands.

    Modules

    Digital Prototyping

    Working with digital resources such as 3D printing, CNC milling and 3D scanning technologies to create digital data and produce advanced prototypes. Digital collaborative working is introduced and tested through design projects. 

    Inclusive Design

    Introduces the principles of inclusive design and Human Centred Design (HCD) strategies. You’ll learn primary research methods such as observation, shadowing, simulation and empathy. We’ll also cover data collection techniques, recording and documenting research findings, as well as evaluation strategies. 

    Design for Manufacture

    You’ll explore multiple manufacturing processes and industries to experience and understand various production methods at volume. Design projects examine how similar production techniques can be employed at an industrial scale and at a range of volumes, from one-off commissions to batch and mass production. 

    Design Networks

    Places you at the centre of live projects with industry to support the design of innovative products or services. Your design skills will be tested in real contexts through project partnerships and mentoring with external organisations. This module will also equip you with business skills focused on Intellectual Property and design protection. 

    Year three

    You’ll explore current and original design opportunities, develop your ideas through tutorials and team discussions, and turn your concepts into prototypes using skills like digital manufacturing. By delivering one-to-one and group presentations, you’ll focus on professional practices and management. There’ll be opportunities to gain real-world experience by working with external project partners, and to make potential work connections through external networks, project partners and start-ups. 

    There’ll be opportunities to gain real-world experience by working with external project partners, and make potential work connections through external networks, project partners and start-ups.

    Modules

    Design Drivers

    You’ll develop and articulate critical rationales and professional practice skills that underpin the final year of study in studio design practice modules. Ethical, moral and social challenges are researched to create critical thematic drivers that are articulated through a written essay.  

    Design Visions

    This module underpins the inspirational and contextual drivers for the final year of study. Research is applied in and to real-world contexts, providing insights that inform and guide the creation of personal design briefs and the creative process. 

    Design Futures

    The final and largest module of the undergraduate programme will provide you with the time and support to develop resolved design outcomes to a professional standard through advanced prototypes and communication materials. 

    The modules above are those being studied by our students, or proposed new ones. Programme structures and modules can change as part of our curriculum enhancement and review processes. If a certain module is important to you, please discuss it with the Course Leader.

    From module information to course aims and assessment criteria, discover the full course details

    We are making changes to our curriculum framework for courses starting in 2022. Modest amendments to our course module structure will provide you with new opportunities to collaborate and co-create with students from across disciplines during your studies.

    This course page will be updated when these changes have been finalised and applicants will be notified.

    How you'll learn

    On top of regular project work, you’ll take on live projects with local and national organisations, supported by lectures, demonstrations, seminars and tutorials. You’ll also evaluate your own and other students’ work in a small learning team, and attend masterclasses and workshops on career planning and business skills. 

    How you'll spend your time

    Year

    Timetabled

    teaching and

    learning

    activity

    Guided

    independent

    study

    1

    25%

    75%

    2

    25%

    75%

    3

    23%

    77%

     

    How you'll be assessed

    Year

    Written exams

    Practical exams

    Coursework

    1

    0%

    0%

    100%

    2

    0%

    0%

    100%

    3

    0%

    0%

    100%

    The above percentages relate to 2019/2020 data. 

     

    Assessment methods

    • Continuous assessment with no formal examinations.
    • Visual, verbal and written assignments, and your final-year projects.

    Staff

    You’ll learn from practising designers, researchers, journalists and academics, as well as our visiting professors like Sir Kenneth Grange.

    Some members of staff only teach on specific modules, and your course might not feature every member shown here.

    Staff profile
    Staff profile

    Drummond Masterton

    Head of Sustainable Product Design

    Drummond trained as a 3D designer, at Grays School of Art, Aberdeen and at postgraduate...

    Staff profile
    Staff profile

    Simon Andrews

    Course Leader, Sustainable Product Design

    Simon Andrews is course leader on the Sustainable Product Design programme at Falmouth University...

    Staff profile
    Staff profile

    Clive Goodwin

    Associate lecturer, Sustainable Product Design

    Clive Goodwin has over 25 years of experience in the design business having worked with, and for,...

    Staff profile
    Staff profile

    Evy Dutheil

    Senior Lecturer, Sustainable Product Design

    Product designer educated in Ensaama, Paris and BIAD, Birmingham, over the last ten years évY has...

    Staff profile
    Staff profile

    Gary Allson

    Lecturer, Sustainable Product Design

    MA (RCA)

    Gary Allson trained as an industrial designer at the RCA in London. He worked for Raffo...

    Staff profile
    Staff profile

    Robert Dooley

    Research Teaching Associate

    Robert is a design strategist and academic. He consults on creative strategy and design research...

    Facilities

    • High-spec workshops and exhibition space.
    • Rapid prototyping equipment.
    • CAD/CAM equipment including laser cutters, CNC milling and routing machines.
    • A range of digital printing capabilities, plus industry-standard 2D and 3D software.
    • Sustainable auditing and lifecycle design (LCD) software.

    Take a virtual tour

    How to apply

    Apply via UCAS

    Ready to join us? If you're applying through UCAS Apply and Track, you'll need to reference the university and course codes below. 

    • University code: F33
    • Course code: W250

    Apply now

    Applying as an international student? 

    International students can apply for a course through UCAS, via an agent or directly with the university. For more information about how to apply as an international student, visit our International applications page.

     

    International applications

    Application advice & interview information

    Go to Toolkit
    • Entry requirements
    • Language requirements
    • Deadlines
    Entry requirements

    We consider all applications on their own individual merit and potential. We invite all applicants to an interview day or audition to give them the opportunity to demonstrate this along with what inspires and motivates them in their field. Applicants will also be able to show their portfolio or give a performance depending on the course. We welcome applications from all subject backgrounds, whether you’ve specialised in STEM, the arts or humanities.  

    As a guide our typical offer at undergraduate level is 104 – 120 UCAS Tariff points, primarily from Level 3 qualifications such as but not limited to A-levels, a BTEC Extended Diploma or a Foundation Diploma. 

    Check how many points your qualifications are worth

    Language requirements

    For applicants whose first language is English we require you to have or be working towards GCSE English Language Grade 4 (C), or equivalent. 

    If English is not your first language you will need to meet the same standard, which is equivalent to the IELTS Academic 6.0 overall score, with at least 5.5 in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. We accept a range of in country equivalencies and approved tests.  

    If you need a student visa to study in the UK, you'll need to take a recognised language test that is approved and vouched for by the University. You can read our English Language Requirements for more information.

    Deadlines

    UK applications: 29 January 2021 (for equal consideration) 

    Late applications will be considered if there are places available. 

    International fee payers can apply throughout the year. But we recommend applying as early as possible, to make time for visa and travel arrangements.

    What we're looking for

    We want someone who:

    • Understands drawing/mark-making, including composition, colour, form, graphical presentation, creative exploration and development.
    • Knows about 3D/product design practitioners or other artists and designers, and can relate this knowledge to their own work.
    • Understands the design process, including concept development, investigation into materials and production methods, and technical skills.
    • Has research and analytical skills.
    • Shows commitment and enthusiasm for the subject, as well as motivation, communication skills and creative thinking.

    Fees, costs & funding

    Tuition fees

    • Tuition fees 2020-21
    • Tuition fees 2021-22
    Tuition fees 2020-21

    £9,250 per year - full-time UK/EU

    £16,000 per year - full-time international

    Tuition fees 2021-22

    £9,250 per year - full-time UK

    £16,950 - full-time EU

    £16,950 - full-time international

    Tuition fees are set annually and are subject to review each year. The University may therefore raise tuition fees in the second or subsequent years of a course, in line with inflation and/or the maximum permitted by law or Government policy. Students will be notified of any changes as soon as possible.

    Typical course costs

    • £380-£700 - Recurring annual costs
    • £250-£370 - One-off costs for the course duration (compulsory trips, final portfolios or shows, etc)
    • £550 - Optional study visits and placements for the course duration

    If you need to bring equipment or materials with you, these will be outlined in your Welcome Letter.

    The figures above don't include accommodation and living costs

    Funding

    For information about funding available, please visit our undergraduate funding page

    Ask a student

    What better way to find out about life at Falmouth University than by asking our current students? 

    From course details, our facilities and the local area to the social scene and settling in, our students are ready and available to answer any questions you might have. Simply set up your account, send them a question and they'll get back to you within 24 hours.

     

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