Design studios and technology

The not-too-distant future is full of significant disruption. Technological advancements will continue to shift how the world works; how people connect, work, learn, create, stand out, fit in, unwind, keep well, get money and live. It’s important that we don’t only interact with the technology emerging around us, but that we really understand how it works, make it do more for us, and use it to change our experience of the world. The demand for creative and efficient design is ever increasing to support and ensure technologies are being adapted and adopted in entertaining, efficient and ethical ways.

Design students study within dedicated studios, workshops and labs to rapidly prototype solutions for immediate problems, and develop speculative design strategies for possible future scenarios. As a Design student, you will have the chance to use a range of technologies to visualise, test and realise solutions adopting a systems thinking approach and a range of creative production processes. You will explore drawing by hand right through to testing new media and technologies, such as augmented reality, smart materials, 3D printing and robotics.

We recognise that people learn and create in different ways, so our purpose-built design spaces cater for digital experiments, messy making and individual study.

Alongside our design studios, our faculty has a variety of spaces to support your learning and making, including:

• digital media hubs with specialist devices and software 
• virtual, augmented, mixed reality studio
• photographic, video, film and audio facilities
• wood and metal workshops
• traditional machining shop
• foundry and kiln spaces
• Mac and Windows computer labs
• fine art presses and screenprint workshop
• photography studios, darkrooms and processing facilities

Our workshops and labs are supervised by qualified support staff who are constantly exploring the latest in making and prototyping to encourage and enable your creativity.