Core77

[lilly89]

Hi!

I really want to study abroad next year, but can´t decide at which school. I´ve completed a bachelor´s degree in industrial design in Norway and I´m now searching for a great school to take a master´s degree. I´m interested in manufacturing/production (even though I don´t have an engineering degree), design from a business point of view and of course aesthetics!

I´ve looked at these schools:

TUDelft - "MSc Integrated Product Design"
Loughborough design school - "MA Industrial Design and Technology"or "MSc Product Design in Business".
Brunel University - "MSc Integrated Product Design"


Someone here who know some of these schools/programs who want to share their experiences? Or are there maybe any other schools I should look at?

I´ll be very grateful!!

[simon_four_fingers]

You might visit them first. You may also want to look more at the ecosystems, environments, and users that just aesthetics.

[lilly89]

Thanks, for your reply. Yes, I should of course visit the schools, but I'm afraid it will not be possible. So I'll have to be satisfied with the information I can find online and through contacts. Yes, the three points you quoted is a natural and important part of Industrial Design which I also want to immerse myself more in.

[alanniski]

Hello,
I'm an industrial designer doing the integrated product design program at TU Delft.
The course is very strong, the building (workshops, computer rooms and etc.) is amazing, and the students are usually very hard working. You have to be hard working if you want to graduate here. You can take many nice electives about different subjects.
But the most important for you is to know if the course is suitable for you. I found out too late that it's not suitable for me. It's really engineering oriented, so you have to be really interested in it (we have lectures and workshops about electronics and cyber physical systems for example). It's also very methodological, we have to write a lot of reports. I also don't like the weather here (I'm from Brazil) but since you are from norway, I think you won't bother about this.
If you have more specific questions, let me know.
Alan Niski

[bngi]

Hej Lilly,

Have a look at FH Joanneum in Graz., competitive school that tend to produce excellent results.

[lilly89]

Hello,
I'm an industrial designer doing the integrated product design program at TU Delft.
The course is very strong, the building (workshops, computer rooms and etc.) is amazing, and the students are usually very hard working. You have to be hard working if you want to graduate here. You can take many nice electives about different subjects.
But the most important for you is to know if the course is suitable for you. I found out too late that it's not suitable for me. It's really engineering oriented, so you have to be really interested in it (we have lectures and workshops about electronics and cyber physical systems for example). It's also very methodological, we have to write a lot of reports. I also don't like the weather here (I'm from Brazil) but since you are from norway, I think you won't bother about this.
If you have more specific questions, let me know.
Alan Niski

Hello Alan, Thank you for your informative answer! Wow, it's great to speak to someone who are doing the program. It is sad to hear that it does not fit you right.., and due to the way you describe it, I'm afraid it will not be suitable for me either. Do you know what you're going to do now? Are you going to complete the program, or do something else? I will say I definitely is a hard working person, but the fact that the program is so engineering oriented worries me a bit. I do not think I would be able to implement it.. Do you know if it is as much engineering oriented on the "Strategic product design" program? He he, the weather worries me minimal, because here it's just, wet, cold and dark....

[lilly89]

Hej Lilly,

Have a look at FH Joanneum in Graz., competitive school that tend to produce excellent results.

Hi Bngi,

Thanks for your tip Are you studying there? I have already looked at it, and it seems quite interesting. I'm a bit concerned about the entry criteria, though. Do you know if i need a bachelor's degree in engineering to get in? Well, and I also read that "he languages of instruction are German and English", and I don't know one word German But the program looks great. More design and creativity than Delft I guess.

[bngi]

Hej Lilly,

Have a look at FH Joanneum in Graz., competitive school that tend to produce excellent results.

Hi Bngi,

Thanks for your tip Are you studying there? I have already looked at it, and it seems quite interesting. I'm a bit concerned about the entry criteria, though. Do you know if i need a bachelor's degree in engineering to get in? Well, and I also read that "he languages of instruction are German and English", and I don't know one word German But the program looks great. More design and creativity than Delft I guess.

I did an exchange-semester there, and I was from an ID school (lund university). I didnt know good enough German, but picked up some and the rest most instructors were willing to share in English.

[DanielB]

In terms of future employability you might also want to look at:
Umea
Pforzheim
These schools have a great network of industry contacts. Don't expect to learn too much about manufacturability and engineering in the course...Most designers pick up these things in the field.

[lilly89]

In terms of future employability you might also want to look at:
Umea
Pforzheim
These schools have a great network of industry contacts. Don't expect to learn too much about manufacturability and engineering in the course...Most designers pick up these things in the field.

Hi,

Thanks. I've heard a lot about Umeåa and that their Transportation Design program is really good! I don't think that's the right program for me, though. . But thanks for the tip anyway

[alanniski]

Hello,
I'm an industrial designer doing the integrated product design program at TU Delft.
The course is very strong, the building (workshops, computer rooms and etc.) is amazing, and the students are usually very hard working. You have to be hard working if you want to graduate here. You can take many nice electives about different subjects.
But the most important for you is to know if the course is suitable for you. I found out too late that it's not suitable for me. It's really engineering oriented, so you have to be really interested in it (we have lectures and workshops about electronics and cyber physical systems for example). It's also very methodological, we have to write a lot of reports. I also don't like the weather here (I'm from Brazil) but since you are from norway, I think you won't bother about this.
If you have more specific questions, let me know.
Alan Niski

Hello Alan, Thank you for your informative answer! Wow, it's great to speak to someone who are doing the program. It is sad to hear that it does not fit you right.., and due to the way you describe it, I'm afraid it will not be suitable for me either. Do you know what you're going to do now? Are you going to complete the program, or do something else? I will say I definitely is a hard working person, but the fact that the program is so engineering oriented worries me a bit. I do not think I would be able to implement it.. Do you know if it is as much engineering oriented on the "Strategic product design" program? He he, the weather worries me minimal, because here it's just, wet, cold and dark....

Hello Lilly, sorry for the late response.
From what I heard from people doing the other masters, the master in "integrated product design" is the most engineering oriented, "strategic product design" is very theoretical ( a lot of things to read) and design for interaction is maybe a little bit more artistic. But all of them are very methodological.
About me, I'm not going to finish it. Now I'm applying for Elisava in Barcelona and Domus in Milano.

[adamdrazin]

I'm not a designer per se - a design anthropologist - but I've taught at the RCA and Eindhoven, and visited a lot of the programmes mentioned over the years.

It has a lot to do with character - when it comes to postgrad level, you need space to develop your own approach and the right kind of discussions going on around you. In spite of what some say, I'm not convinced that many programmes "deliver" skills, it's finding the right space for you to deliver. I love the openness of the Scandinavian and Dutch programmes, those which have a strong element of conceptualisation (eg. Eindhoven, Umea, RCA London, Stockholm, Southern Denmark). A social or contextual orientation is also good (eg. Glasgow School or Art, Finland). When I work with graduates of any of those places, I know they can take 'ethnographic observations' of the kinds I do, and re-conceptualise them in a very empathic way. Elisava and Domus are quite happening places, and have a really interesting aesthetic sensibility which the more Northerly schools rarely capture.

Adam

MA Culture.Materials.Design (not design but mainly anthropology)
www.ucl.ac.uk/culture-materials-design

[JettieKarl]

Hi,

This is a fantastic post full of great advice. Thanks for writing this out thoughtfully and compiling a wealth of resources.

Psy.D. Clinical