Duration: Three years (full-time)

Location: Dunedin

Options: Part-time and distance options are possible

Start: February

Application: Anytime through Capable NZ

This exciting hands-on degree, together with the knowledge and skills you have developed during your working life, will prepare well you for a career in teaching technology. Using the Polytechnic’s outstanding facilities – including its nationally-recognised Product Development Centre – the degree focuses on the professional skills important in the industrial product design industry. These include CAD operation, model-making, product development and manufacture, and are based in a sound understanding of design principles and strategic considerations. The programme places a strong emphasis on actually making things; in your final year you will design two major projects addressing real design needs or opportunities.

As well as providing the opportunity to reflect on and develop your own professional skills, therefore, you will also be exposed to essential teaching methodologies that will serve you well when you find yourself in front of the classroom!

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Capable NZ Assessment of Prior Learning

It is expected that many students entering the Bachelor of Design (Product) through the Capable Teachers programme will already have some years of industry experience behind them. They are invited to fast-track their qualification by having their existing knowledge and experience formally recognised. Further information about this process is found in the ‘How it Works’ section of this website, and questions to help you determine whether this process is right for you are found under ‘Is this a pathway for me?'.

Students who are not entering the Bachelor of Design (Product) via the Capable NZ process for the Assessment of Prior Learning are advised to look at the information details on the Otago Polytechnic website, which provides a full description of each year of the programme and further details about the application process.

YOU WILL STUDY

The Bachelor of Design (Product) incorporates core courses (Product Fundamentals, Product Frameworks, Product Design Studio) in addition to a range of interdisciplinary courses. If you are successfully accepted into the Capable NZ process, you will have the opportunity to have your knowledge and skills assessed and undertake any extra learning required, to enter Year 3 of the programme. This means that you will have achieved the equivalent of the first two years of the degree, which covers the following.

Year 1

Introduces students to historical and contemporary product design and the product design process. This involves research, verbal and visual communication strategies, including sketching and sketch-modelling, 2D and 3D modeling and visualization, human-centred design approaches and sustainable design frameworks.

Year 2

Extends on this knowledge, introducing students to materials and production processes, advanced prototyping, 2D and 3D modeling and visualisation and presentation techniques. Students gain insight into commercial production and marketing strategies through a retail-based design project. They also develop a broad understanding of New Zealand and international design constructs and practices, cultural perspectives and responses to sustainable design practice.

Year 3

The final year of the Bachelor of Design (Product) focuses on developing an understanding of the professional and strategic requirements of the design industry. Students extend their professional research techniques and critical reflection skills to define their personal design philosophy and potential career pathways upon graduation. They communicate these through a portfolio of highly-resolved design outcomes using  a range of visual, verbal and on-line formats and written documentation.

YOUR WORKLOAD

There is an emphasis throughout the three-year programme on the development of independent learning skills. This is reflected in the decrease of directed hours over the three years with an expectation that by the end of Year 3, students will be independent learners.

In Year 3 of the degree, the Bachelor of Design (Product), hours are allocated as follows, based on a 32-week academic year:

Year 3 Product Design Courses

Strategic Design

This course, studied with students from all four design disciplines, focuses on developing an understanding of the professional and strategic requirements of the design industry. Students extend their professional research techniques and critical reflection skills to define their personal design philosophy and potential career pathways upon graduation. They communicate these through a portfolio that utilise a range of visual, verbal and on-line formats and a written report.

Studio workshops

These are taught in a three week block at the end of semester one . Offerings vary each year and may include:

Metals/Jewellery, Photography, Production Ceramics, Furniture Design, Digital Film, Digital Animation, Packaging and Retail, Sculptural Design, Footwear, Storyboarding and Illustration, Textiles, Environmental Design, Printmaking, Rapid Prototyping, Exhibition Design, Storyboarding and Illustration, Small Business, Digital Photography, 2D Prototyping, and Stained Glass and Leadlight. Furniture, Rotational Moulding, Specialty Fabrics, Drape, Accessories.

Technology teaching candidates would be advised to select studio workshop options relating to their selected track. e.g.

• hard materials – metals/jewellery, 2D prototyping, furniture, rotational moulding
• soft materials – textiles , millinery, accessories, drape, specialty fabrics

Interdisciplinary Studio 3

Interdisciplinary studios provide opportunities for students from different design disciplines to work together on a shared brief drawing on their own discipline-specific approaches and learning from other approaches at the same time. For this course the shared brief is the design and implementation of all aspects of the end of year student exhibition which incorporates both static displays and a fashion show. Interdisciplinary teams work in areas of public relations, sales and promotion, web and print media, spatial design and exhibition display systems, installation,  funding and sponsorship and technical production.

Product Design Studio 6

[Major Project part a]

This studio is the opportunity for the student to identify and develop their design focus. In it they will bring together the key elements of the previous two years study as they seek to design a portfolio of product solutions that is resolved, relevant, compelling and evocative. Students are expected to take significant responsibility for the whole project from inception to completion with supervisory support provided.

Product Design Studio 7

[Reprise previous work]

The aim of this studio is to 'reprise' work developed in previous years to a similar standard to that being achieved in Product Studios 6 and 8. It is the opportunity to reconfigure previous work so it aligns more closely with their current design focus. Students will be expected to refine their product solutions so they are resolved, relevant, compelling and evocative.  Students who are completing the technology teaching pathway will be able to draw on their own industry experience for this project.       

Product Design Studio 8

[Major Project part b]

This studio is linked to the aims of Product Studio 6. It is the opportunity for the student to identify and develop their design focus. Students will have the choice of further extending the work developed in Product Studio 6 or design a second portfolio of product solutions that is resolved, relevant, compelling and evocative. Students are expected to take significant responsibility for the whole project from inception to completion with supervisory support provided.

Year 3 Graduate Profile.

At the end of this year students are expected to be able to:

• Demonstrate the interpersonal capabilities needed for a career which requires co-operation and participation in group decision-making activities
• Draw on specialised technical knowledge, inter-disciplinary approaches and conceptual skills required for continued development and personal experimentation within their industry
• Understand the complex and dynamic technological, legislative, social, economic, cultural and political environments in which discipline-specific and inter-disciplinary design activities are undertaken
• Position themselves within the design industry with a clear local, national and international view of design and design development issues. This includes having an on-line presence that communicates their design outcomes and philosophy.
• Demonstrate independent learning skills and the ability to access information and knowledge using sound academic practices which would allow them to advance to postgraduate study.
• Demonstrate sound knowledge, understanding and practical experience of the process of design and an appreciation of user-centred approaches to solving design problems
• Make informed choices about the integration of sustainable design principles into their practice and understand the social, environmental and economic impact of their design decisions.
• Operate knowledgeably, productively and professionally in the commercial design environment
• Integrate appropriate design research methods, development processes and production tools to produce and present a major resolved individual body of work
• Confidently utilise a variety of verbal, visual and on-line techniques to communicate their design outcomes
• Apply self analysis, critical thinking and reflection skills to recognise quality design outcomes
• Identify and articulate the distinctive characteristics of their work and underlying design philosophy