Abstract

There are currently a wide range of Higher Education Industrial Design courses available in the UK. In the present era, a wider breadth of narrative has developed within the subject, and as a result the content of industrial design educational offerings varies considerably. The paper assesses the industry view of Industrial Design as a discipline from the perspective of those employing university graduates. These views illustrate a change in the discipline, and this is considered in respect to current education practice. The choice of entry courses for the student wishing to embark on a career in the subject has also widened. It is argued that at present, the access to courses offers a haphazard informational stream to the potential applicant. An approach to developing an online facility to enable potential students to apply for the right course is discussed. It is suggested that a consistent and comparable platform of guidance is needed by which potential students can identify and match the course offering against their aptitudes and aspirations. Given that course choice will ultimately define the nature of their career opportunities this would be a useful and productive asset.

Keywords

Industrial Design, Design Thinking, Learning style categorization, University Applicant

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

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Jul 8th, 9:00 AM

What is Industrial Design? Providing a Guide for University Applicants

There are currently a wide range of Higher Education Industrial Design courses available in the UK. In the present era, a wider breadth of narrative has developed within the subject, and as a result the content of industrial design educational offerings varies considerably. The paper assesses the industry view of Industrial Design as a discipline from the perspective of those employing university graduates. These views illustrate a change in the discipline, and this is considered in respect to current education practice. The choice of entry courses for the student wishing to embark on a career in the subject has also widened. It is argued that at present, the access to courses offers a haphazard informational stream to the potential applicant. An approach to developing an online facility to enable potential students to apply for the right course is discussed. It is suggested that a consistent and comparable platform of guidance is needed by which potential students can identify and match the course offering against their aptitudes and aspirations. Given that course choice will ultimately define the nature of their career opportunities this would be a useful and productive asset.

 

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