A LEVEL PRODUCT DESIGN & THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Truro, United Kingdom
A-level
DURATION
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Aug 2026
STUDY FORMAT
Key Summary
About: This A Level in Product Design & the Built Environment at Truro and Penwith College develops 3D model-making and digital design skills. You’ll use wood, clay, wire, card and foam, plus CAD, 3D printing and laser cutting to produce finished outcomes. The course emphasizes sustainable materials and you’ll study design history. Sketchbooks and creative journals record evolving 2D, 3D and digital skills, leading to a year-one portfolio that explores personal ideas through to a final outcome.
Career Outcomes: Graduates can pursue roles such as product designer, architectural technician, model-maker, furniture designer, interior designer, digital fabrication technician or CAD technician.
Do you have an interest in modelling your three dimensional ideas using traditional materials such as card, wood, and expanded foam, but also wish to explore the possibilities of computer design and computer modelling? This course offers you the opportunity to both develop your creative practice and your understanding of the wider design industries including Product Design, Architecture and Interior Design.
You will begin the course with a variety of different workshops, working and modelling with wood, clay, wire and foam. We encourage our students to use creative technologies, CAD, 3D printing and laser cutting/engraving to enhance the finish of final outcomes and wherever possible ensure the use of sustainable materials and processes. Throughout the course, you will explore the rich history of design and learn from designers and architects both past and present.
Sketchbooks/creative journals are used to record your evolving skills, both 2D and 3D, CAD and traditional, critically evaluating your ideas and processes as you progress and learn throughout the course. By the end of the first year you will have developed a body of work which fully explores personal ideas through to a final professionally produced outcome.
