Our Product and Furniture Design course focuses on the design and development of creative, contemporary and innovative products and furniture, considering user centred design, social context and commercial understanding. Throughout your degree, you will be encouraged to explore materials, techniques and processes in relation to scales of manufacture, from one-off bespoke design to design for standardised mass production.

You will learn a range of research and design methods alongside continual practical skills development. Live student projects take place throughout the course to enhance your employability, communication skills and professional practice.  

• Students are satisfied with this course! We scored 100 per cent for overall satisfaction in the National Student Survey 2019 (rating from graduates of previous course title: BA (Hons) Furniture and Lifestyle Products).

• From Barcelona to New York, study trips and international opportunities provide new cultural perspectives and shared common experiences.

• You’ll have the chance to join the student-led Society of 3D Design to take part in collaborative opportunities, creating a community between different disciplines of 3D design.

• You’ll develop design communication and visualisation skills using recognised industry standard programmes such as SolidWorks, Adobe Creative Suite and AutoCAD.

• You will develop practical skills throughout the programme through extensive workshop practice and develop skills in rapid prototyping and digitally driven techniques.

• Live projects and industrial collaborations provide you with invaluable real world experiences and hone your communication and professional development skills.

Mature Applicants

Applications from mature students (21+) with alternative qualifications and/or considerable work experience will be considered on their merits.

Taught by experienced designers, makers and academics, this course combines practice with theory to give you a fully rounded learning experience.

Extensive workshop facilities will help you to realise your proposals, creating functional and commercially viable designs. This hands-on approach allows you to understand the opportunities and limitations of materials and construction methods.

Studio activities and projects

Final year BA (Hons) Product and Furniture Design students recently exhibited and sold their work at Minima; one of Birmingham’s key contemporary design showrooms. The fifteen selected students work in the collection included table-top products, desk and pendant lighting designs, furniture and homewares.

The students’ final pieces were created in response to a brief that tasked them with designing and making a collection of innovative and desirable objects or artefacts that could be sold in either John Lewis, Made.com, Heal's, WallpaperSTORE, or Not On The High Street. The designed objects also needed to fit within the retailer’s ethos, beliefs, style and approach, and fulfil the necessary requirements to be sold within their retail spaces.

Speaking afterwards, Level 6 Co-Ordinator and Lecturer Richard Underhill said: “As aspiring designers, our students aim to create objects which can be touched, lived with and worn. Being able to show their work within a collective of designers is a powerful experience; it’s a boost of energy to any designer to be celebrated and seen.”

See what they created

Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers

In 2019, three students were given the opportunity to take part in the yearly Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers Tour. The four-day tour takes students around North West furniture businesses to see how the industry operates.

“I am very grateful to my tutors and the Furniture Makers Company for providing such an educational and valuable experience. Every day was a chance to learn about different methods of production within the furniture industry, this opened my eyes to the range of job opportunities that are out there. I had many interesting conversations about the current furniture industry, what is predicted for the future, portfolio advice and general career tips. It was extremely heartening to see the shared concern about the sustainability of furniture manufacturing within the UK.

We were all impressed by the companies we visited and the steps which have already been taken to reduce environmental impact, in addition to the acknowledgement that there is more to be done. The industry tour also allowed the meeting of like-minded people – everyone was enthusiastic about design and really friendly. It was great to share ideas and projects and we still keep in touch now.”

Emma Jones – Second Year Student 

Students continue collaboration with Philips Lighting

Product and Furniture continued our industry collaboration with Philips Lighting during 2018 -19. Once again students were tasked with exploring Philips Lighting cutting edge technology and applying it to the ‘user centred’ design framework.

The focus of the project centred on the work space, with significance placed on new working practices and environments such as, co-working spaces. STEAMhouse was used as a live ‘co-working’ environment. Part of the objective was to understand both the cultural significance of co-working spaces/studio practice environments and home office environments and the various activities carried out within them. Students also explored and utilised a range of Philips Lighting technologies, which could enhance either the co-working / studio practice or home office environment itself and/or enhance and add value to the users experience of the co-working / studio practice / home office environment.

Throughout the project key members of staff from Philips Lighting provided students with feedback as well as technical guidance. The project also provided students with the experience of pitching and presenting their ideas to an established global company, which enriched the overall project from a student perspective.

Birmingham City University is a vibrant and multicultural university in the heart of a modern and diverse city. We welcome many international students every year – there are currently students from more than 80 countries among our student community.

The University is conveniently placed, with Birmingham International Airport nearby and first-rate transport connections to London and the rest of the UK.

Our international pages contain a wealth of information for international students who are considering applying to study here, including:

• Explore some of the good reasons why you should study here.
• Find out how to improve your language skills before starting your studies.
• Find all the information relevant to applicants from your country.
• Learn where to find financial support for your studies.

Our international students

Our course is popular with students from around the world, particularly China, Hong Kong, Brazil and Malaysia.

Julia's story

Brazilian student Julia Damiati Rezende developed a significant portfolio of work during her studies on the second year of Product Design. We welcomed Julia from the Brazilian scholarship programme Science Without Borders. As well as completing the second year of the BA, Julia has continued to work with postgraduate staff and students, developing her conceptual approach to design. She is currently researching Arts, Design and Behaviour: Convergences Between Body and Digital Technology.

Our Facilities

When you join Birmingham City University, the first thing you will notice is the high standard of our campuses. With an investment of £340 million across our buildings and facilities, we are committed to giving you the very best learning environment to help shape your experience.

You’ll be based in the multi-million pound Parkside building – part of our City Centre Campus – with technology and facilities that reflect advanced professional practice. We offer facilities which will accurately reflect the work environment you will enter after graduating. These include Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and a computer-generated Virtual Building Site, creating real life scenarios for you to work on.

While based in The Parkside Building, you will get sharpen your CAD and digital visual communication skills, prototyping and digital production, while also having access to a range of specialist software, workshops, computer and project learning laboratories, and a social learning space.

You’ll also benefit from:

• Design studios
• Computer and project laboratories
• Social learning space
• Café
• Meeting point

From industry-standard software, to our workshops and studio spaces, everything you need will be at your fingertips from day one. Working with our expert technicians, you'll be supported from concept through to completion. 

Making

Workshop facilities are integral to the programme and you will have access to an extensive range of prototyping equipment, including wood machining equipment, metal fabrication, CNC router, four axis milling, waterjet cutting, plaster, ceramic, glass workshops, 3D printing, laser cutting and etching, plastic forming, and ply moulding. A large range of hand and power tools also support model making and prototyping for Product and Furniture Design.