• » Bachelor of Arts in Product Design

    Programme Title  Bachelor of Arts in Product Design
    CAO Code  LY417
    LYIT internal code  LY_DINDD_D
    Duration  3 Years ab initio
    Standard Code Places:  20
    National Framework Level  7
    Award Type  Major
    Awarding Body  LYIT, under Delegated Authority from HETAC
    Is this Programme for Me?
    Product Designers work in many areas of industry. They bring their imagination, creativity and technical knowledge to bear on real-life design problems to satisfy human needs. They design the products that people use every day, working in design teams with marketing and manufacturing experts. Product Designers are mainly concerned with aesthetics, usability and safety.
    In the course of their work, Product Designers
    • Work with clients to develop the design brief
    • Develop a Product Design Specification to guide the project
    • Research the technological implications of the product
    • Use sketching and visualisation skills to develop imaginative concepts
    • Use conceptual and practical design methods to search for innovative solutions
    • Test their ideas in 3D with mock-ups and models
    • Communicate their ideas to the design team and to the client
    • Use industry-standard technology like ProEngineer and SolidWorks together with Rapid Prototyping to finalise their design.
    Aptitudes: You are likely to enjoy this course if you:
    • Are passionate about the design of products
    • Like to understand how things work
    • Want to develop exciting, innovative, visual solutions to real problems
    • Want to use the most up-to-date design technologies
    • Feel deeply that everyone deserves better-designed, more sustainable and more user-friendly products.
    Skills: People who want to succeed in industrial design will have good interpersonal skills and like working in a team; good communication skills are also important:- written, spoken and visual. Interests:
    Students taking this Industrial Design programme will be interested in and curious about the world around them. They will be interested in how things work and will want to improve them. They will be concerned about the environment and will want to know how designers can design things better from an environmental point of view. They will want a career which offers lots of challenges and which keeps up with the changing world. They will also want a job that pays well and gives good job-satisfaction
    Minimum Academic Entry Requirements
    Students must have grade D3 or better in at least 5 subjects at Leaving Certificate, including Maths and either Irish or English. Art is desirable but not essential. Design and Technology, Engineering and Technical Drawing are other desirable but non-essential subjects.
    Entry is based on Leaving Certificate or FETAC/NCVA results only. There is no portfolio assessment or interview.
    • FETAC applicants click FETAC
    • Applicants presenting non-Irish exams as a basis for entry, please check the IOTCEF listing to search for the entry relevant to your country
    • Applicants who are interested in taking selected modules only from this programme and/or those interested in studying this programme in a part-time mode, click Part-time Study
    Mature applicants
    should apply via the CAO before February 1st. Mature applicants who do not have Leaving Certificate or FETAC results for which points can be awarded will be invited to attend a creative test in April. In order to facilitate this, mature applicants who lack appropriate Leaving Cert. or FETAC results may not avail of the CAO’s late deadline and must apply by February 1st
    What will I study?
    Year/SemesterProposed ModulesMandatory/
    Elective    		No of creditsClass hours per week
     1/1  Visual Literacy Mandatory  10  6
     3D Studies Mandatory  5  3
     Orthographic Drawing Mandatory  5  4
     Design Drawing 1 Mandatory  5  4
     Learner Development & Study Skills  Mandatory  5  3
     1/2  Design Drawing 2 Mandatory  10  6
     Introduction to Design Software Mandatory  5  3
     Photography Mandatory  5  4
     Computer Aided Design Mandatory  5  4
     Design Theory 1 Mandatory  5  3
     2/3  Design Drawing 3 Mandatory  10  6
     Creativity & Conceptualization Mandatory  5  3
     Ergonomics & Human Factors Mandatory  5  2
     Web Design 1 Mandatory  5  4
     Design Theory 2 Mandatory  5  3
     2/4  Design Practice 1 Mandatory  10  6
     Rendering with Photoshop Mandatory  5  3
     Modelling Practice 1 Mandatory  5  4
     Digital Modelling 1 Mandatory  5  4
     Professional Practice 1 Mandatory  5  3
     3/5  Modelling Practice 2 Mandatory  5  3
     Design Practice 2 Mandatory  15  8
     Digital Modelling 2 Mandatory  5  4
     Professional Practice 2 Mandatory  5  3
     3/6  Design Project Mandatory  15  9
     Digital Modelling 3 Mandatory  5  3
     Design Theory 3 Mandatory  5  3
     Display Design Mandatory  5  3
    Learning Outcomes
    Graduates will be able to:
    • Work in teams and appreciate the relationships between designer, client, manufacturer and the marketplace.
    • Respond creatively to the opportunities and challenges offered within a design brief
    • Employ appropriate research techniques to inform their decision making
    • Set out clear Product Design Specification defining their design goals
    • Propose alternative solutions to a specific design task
    • Use sketching/drawing to explore concepts and components
    • Use sketching/drawing and industry-standard technology to communicate concepts to clients and colleagues.
    Are there follow-up Programmes Available?
    On successful completion of this programme, students may apply to progress to the Level 8 Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in Design in Digital Media at LYIT.
    Follow up programmes elsewhere include:
    Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) Industrial Design (CW088) at IT Carlow. A range of Post- Graduate Diplomas and Masters Degrees at DIT, University of Ulster and elsewhere.
    Career Opportunities
    Product Designers work in many areas of industry, in consultancy and as in-house designers for manufacturers. As companies respond to rapidly changing markets and competition, they need to employ designers who can give their product a ‘Unique Selling Point’, make it more cheaply, more sustainably and bring it faster to market.
    Graduates of this course have found employment in:
    • Product design
    • Furniture design
    • Interior and exhibition design
    • Multimedia and games design
    • Teaching.
    Prospects are good. Product Designers with 3 – 5 years experience can expect to earn between €35K to €45K, plus inducements.
    This course begins in September each year. How to Apply
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
    • Contact Cormac O Kane, Head of Department of Design & Creative Media, Letterkenny Institute of Technology by
    • E- Mail: Cormac.okane@lyit.ie
    • Telephone: (074) 918 6203