Program Overview

You will develop a solid theoretical grounding in design principles and applications, learn how to produce design briefs, commission design work and manage marketing for any area, from packaging to online advertising. You will also gain design experience by responding to a range of design briefs, and you will be introduced to a range of creative industry-standard software packages to assist you in developing strong visualisation skills.

Throughout your three years, you will work alongside marketing and design majors, and the lively discussion between marketers and contemporary designers forms an important part of your course.

In your first year, you will learn about business models, new technologies, product development, sustainability, and how design interacts with social media. You will learn how to undertake a creative design process, from the initial brief to presenting the final concepts. We also explore areas ranging from consumer behaviour to marketing research, customer relationship management to marketing communications.

You will also study another subject of your choice outside the areas of marketing and design, enabling you to personalise your degree. This could be a business or management subject, such as economics, entrepreneurship, or management; another creative subject, such as film or creative writing; or a social science, such as psychology or sociology, amongst other options.

In your second year, you will study advanced marketing topics in greater depth, such as routes to market with a particular emphasis on retailing, the application of design thinking and marketing research methods. You will deepen your understanding of consumer behaviours and develop your skills in applying your marketing knowledge, planning a system, running an analysis, and dealing with marketing problems using industry-standard marketing simulation software.

Alongside this, you will develop your expertise in design visualisation, creating imaginative two-dimensional and three-dimensional visualisations that engage with contemporary design issues using a range of industry-standard software. Furthermore, you will study design management to understand how it benefits organisations and how to work with designers on strategic issues.

In the third year, you will develop knowledge and practical experience of Design Consultancy and the relationship between design and innovation. Our final-year Design Consultancy module enables you to work with a real-life client for the full year. This experience is designed to strengthen your professional consulting abilities. Working as part of a design team, you will generate research that allows you to gain a full understanding of your client's organisation and needs, and develop innovative design proposals for your client. Additionally, there are opportunities to develop and deepen your practical designing skills through optional modules oriented towards future thinking.

The relationship between design and marketing is becoming increasingly more strategic and business-driven, and this degree gives you the skills to succeed, whichever career path you choose.