About the minor
Product Design is the planning of an item intended to be manufactured and sold. From the toothbrush you used this morning to the bike, car or train you rode to work, to the laptop and pen you are using right now, all of these products affect our lives in social, political, economic and cultural dimensions. The Product Design graduate minor is inherently creative and interdisciplinary, blending aspects of engineering, anthropology, branding, business, and model-making. As a student in this minor, you able to customize your curriculum in consultation with your major advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies for the minor.
Program Details
To receive a minor in product design, a student should experience at least one team-based product design process wherein they take an original concept to a working prototype stage with some level of customer involvement. The student should be capable of coming up with creative product concepts, visualizing these concepts, and making well-crafted purposeful prototypes. Ideally, this student will also have exposure to and an understanding of a variety of manufacturing processes and materials, and have a general knowledge of human factors, marketing and intellectual property.
Classes have been selected from across the university that will provide a student with a strong introduction to many of the skills needed to pursue a career in product design. Product Design Minor courses are grouped into the following categories:
- Product Design Process
- Creativity and Innovation
- Drawing and Visualization
- Prototyping, Manufacturing and the Environment
- Human Factors
- Understanding the Consumer and Market
