Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Product Design The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Programme Aims & Learning Outcomes

The BA (Hons) Scheme in Design aims to educate innovative and mindful problem-solvers who are sensitive to social needs, and to equip them with the necessary intellectual, technical and managerial skills that will facilitate their development as designers who will shape contemporary culture and invent desirable futures.

Programme Characteristics

The BA(Hons) Scheme in Design offers students a design education that is attuned to social trends and is sensitive to change. The School encourages students to think critically, learn independently and in teams, and experiment with dynamic, multilayered design processes that encourage them to weave culture and industry strands into appropriate social narratives.

The School also encourages the development of creative thinking through independent learning, experimentation with creative and contextual research processes and the questioning of existing design paradigms. The programme provides students with opportunities to participate in international collaborative projects and enroll on student exchange programmes.

Curriculum

The BA(Hons) Scheme in Design is normally undertaken over four years of full-time study.

• Year One introduces students to their chosen disciplines and enthuses them about their study through subjects such as the Freshman Seminar. The year leads students to learn while providing a broadly based foundation in common design skills and thinking within a design discipline.
• Year Two provides students with the opportunity to investigate the characteristics of the discipline they choose and explore interests and develop their strengths.
• Year Three allows the study path to be consolidated in the Design Studios and enriched by continued Discipline Specific Subjects, and co-operation with other students in multidisciplinary common Compulsory Subjects.
• Year Four, the final year, develops students’ critical ability in design appreciation, the different perspectives of design thinking, and their own execution processes. They are increasingly allowed to negotiate project outcomes, while developing a personal portfolio of a professional standard. This year encourages personal development. Graduates are prepared for employment or for postgraduate studies.

The core study of the issue-based design studio subjects addresses contemporary aspects of human existence and the ambition to project desirable futures. Mindful of the cultural implications of technology, projects are developed with the user at the centre and a critical appreciation of social trends, reflecting a humanistic teaching and learning mode running across the scheme’s four design disciplines.

The total credit requirement for graduation is 124, including 30 credits of General University Requirement Subjects, 20 credits of common Compulsory Subjects and 74 credits of Discipline-Specific Subjects and Elective Subjects.

Career Prospects:

Graduates of the BA(Hons) in Product Design can pursue careers as industrial/ product designers, product stylists, concept innovators, design managers, entrepreneurs, designers for product manufacturers and trading companies or be employed by product design consultancies.