Product and Furniture Design: Degree Information

This studio course introduces modes of thinking and practices employed by product and furniture designers. Through a series of hands-on projects and research assignments, students use product design methodology to identify and define problems, then develop solutions with real-world applications. Using a variety of materials and techniques, students explore ideation, iteration, model making, and form development. Faculty provides an overview of topics such as ergonomics, sustainable design, user interface/experience design, manufacturing processes, and design in social context.

Designed objects begin with ideas, which have long been visually initiated and communicated through quick, expressive sketches. Subtle changes to the emphasis or quality of line, shape, and/or value can be the difference between a successful takeoff or a failed launch. This course introduces techniques used by product designers that are useful to a broad range of creative professionals. Manual drawing and rendering techniques enable students to effectively and efficiently communicate design ideas, convey context and operation of a product, develop form, iterate, and present design intent. This approach prizes clear, compelling communication intended to represent objects that do not yet exist.

This course introduces digital visualization techniques employed by product designers. Students will learn to use industry-standard parametric CAD software (Fusion360) and digital rendering (Keyshot, etc.) to create and render three-dimensional models. Exercises will teach students to use the tools to explore form and mechanisms, build physical models and prototypes using digital fabrication techniques, communicate detailed specifications, and create photo-realistic images of a design. No prior CAD experience is required.

Products can be made of just about any material, from textiles to ceramics to circuit boards—so product designers have developed numerous techniques for making physical models and prototypes to develop, test, and communicate their ideas. Students will learn these techniques—and when to deploy which ones—as they design a series of simple, everyday products. Using the models and prototypes they build, students evaluate their design solutions on the basis of function, performance, mechanical feasibility, appearance, usability, and context-appropriateness.

This course introduces students to a mix of real-world products, such as tableware, home decor, personal accessories, lighting, etc., in which appearance is a primary consideration. Assignments will focus on developing appropriate expressive qualities, techniques for form generation and development, iterative refinement of form, appearance models, and attractive presentation of work. Students will integrate new sketching, model-making, and prototyping materials and techniques. Students are encouraged to incorporate a broad spectrum of materials such as plastics, metals, woods, castables, glass, and stone.The class includes studio experiments with light (including lamps and atypical light sources), wiring, and electrical safety. Lectures and demonstrations support class activities.

This studio course is about designing products that require significant physical interaction with users’ bodies, and addresses topics including ergonomics, accessibility, body-fit, and fashion. This class conceptualizes textiles and surfaces as skin or wrapped objects and delves into the relationship of products, including furniture, with the human body. Students explore a variety of fabrication techniques including but not limited to sewing, adhesives, traditional and nontraditional surface application methods. Topics include a range of materials. Each project incorporates lectures, demonstrations, and critiques.

This studio course examines the combination of multiple design disciplines including interior design, architecture, graphic design, furniture design and product design. Projects include commercial, hospitality and retail environments as it pertains to human scale. In a studio setting, designs are created with an application of anthropometrics, social responsibilities, accessibility accommodations and environmentally responsible design. Projects focus on critical ideation and are evaluated by faculty and peers through group discussions and critiques.

In spite of the many products, services, and experiences now provided via digital devices, product designers still require fundamental knowledge of tangible materials and the means to shape them. From raw materials to finished products, students will learn to identify and understand the materials and processes used to make familiar products and where to source them. The manufacturing portion introduces students to the materials and processes used in mass production. In particular, the course will focus on how to design for each material and manufacturing processes (design for manufacturability). This course discusses sustainability, defined as the economic, ecological, social, and political impacts of their production, processing, use, transportation, and disposal. The class includes field trips to local manufacturers, and independent research.  

Product Design Senior Project consists of two sequential studios. It is the culmination of the program and a requisite for graduation. Each student works with a departmental advisor and a number of in-house or external advisors to develop a project resulting from a self-generated investigation. Results are broad and far-ranging, from products to furniture, services, culture-driven explorations, products for social impact, etc. This is an independent endeavor to demonstrate that students have acquired the fluency necessary to join the professional world of product design. The emphasis during this first semester is on research and ideation to develop an original and innovative solution to a real-world problem.

This studio is the continuation of Product Design Senior Project 1. Although the structure of this studio is similar to Senior Project 1, the emphasis in this course is in iterative development the design concept, through the use, testing, and revision of sketches, models, and prototypes. Students will research and make a compelling case for the strategic, economic, social, and environmental appropriateness of their design solutions, culminating in a fully-staged senior exhibition.