Umeå Institute of Design - Umeå University

Bachelor Programme in Industrial Design

During the first year, you will develop foundational skills in industrial design that include sketching, prototyping and hands-on techniques in our workshops and digital labs. In the second year, you will expand upon these to include interactional aesthetics, systems thinking, and participatory design. During the third year, you will bring these together to formulate your own vision and practice as an industrial designer.

Through the whole programme, you will work on real-world projects with companies, organisations and authorities, tackling diverse and complex challenges.

Applied design projects form the backbone of Bachelor Programme in Industrial Design. Projects include lectures, field trips, site visits, group method work, user studies and studio work. The projects are often carried out in collaboration with external partners and tutoring is given both by our own teachers and visiting professional designers. The projects you will work on are human and more-than-human centred projects based on specific user groups rather than product categories.

Between major project work, you will take in-depth courses in several design techniques:

• Sketching and visualisation techniques
• Form and colour studies
• Model and workshop techniques
• Communication strategies
• Digital 3D modelling (CAID)
• Material exploration
• Physical and digital prototyping

The second half of the sixth and final term is devoted entirely to the examination project. You will carry out your exam project in cooperation with a corporate sponsor or other external partner. It is important that the project is seen as a collaboration and not a commission. You are expected to define a problem area, establish contact with an external partner, and write a project brief that includes aims, method description, and anticipated deliverables.

Courses in the programme

Year 1

• Becoming a designer: Introduction
• Exploration of form and materials
• Design expression 1
• Design studies 1
• Designing for functionality
• Designing for people
• Design expression 2
• Design studies 1

Year 2

• Exploration of interaction and experience
• Designing with people
• Design expressions 3
• Design studies 3
• Becoming a designer: Practice
• Designing together
• Design expressions 4
• Design studies 4

Year 3

• Exploration of design (as) research
• Designing design: Immersion
• Becoming a designer: Direction
• Design expressions 5
• Design studies 5
• Designing design: Articulation
• Degree project in design
• Being a designer: Reflection

The programme’s close ties with companies – including a ten-week internship – make students attractive in the job market. Graduates go on to work as industrial designers in diverse fields – from consumer products to healthcare, mobility, and digital experiences. Many join leading design consultancies or international companies, while others pursue entrepreneurial paths or continue to advanced studies.