MA/PgDip Art and Design: Product Innovation

The field of product innovation is assuming a strategic role in many sectors of commercial and social enterprise.

Consequently career prospects are diverse and offer scope for developing specialization or broad consultancy opportunities terms of one or more of following modes of professional practice:

• Freelance consultancy
• Mainstream design consultancy practice
  
• In-house company designer.

Career Prospects

Practitioners fulfil key roles from ethnographic research and development of new products, through to detailed specification for market differentiation and contemporary forms of manufacture.

Career sectors are increasingly less defined as design practitioners adopt a multidisciplinary and inclusive approach to their innovation and design practice. This includes practising across wide range of market areas in  the public, private sector and social sectors

Alumni Profile

Ian Lloyd (Graduate 2009) is employed as an in-house designer at ROBAT, a high tech instrumentation company with global distribution.  

Simon Britner (Graduate 2009) is employed at John Fawcett Design, within the field of experience design and the retail branding sector.  

Michael Stead (Graduate 2010) is practicing as a consultant designer, with clients focusing on energy economics, sustainability and new product development.  

Matthew Garner (Graduate 2010) is undertaking research projects with Practical Action, an NGO which focuses on support and facilitation for developing economies.  

The PG Product Innovation Community & Alumni Group have developed an ‘open innovation’ resource of product innovation knowledge, strategies, processes and methodologies. This is aimed at the enterprise, academic and governmental community in the form of a triple helix collaboration.    

Industry Links

This area has undertaken a wide range of live consultant projects during the period 2008–2012, involving commercial and social enterprises:

• Practical Action Org.
• Buxton Water
• Deva Taps Int.
• UK Carbon Trust
• Sigg International
• TyneTech Limited
• Manchester City Council
• Russell Hobbs
• Trafford Health Trust
• Addis House Wares
• Disability Alliance
• Water For All: OXFAM
• Assisted Living  Solutions
• Axion Recycled Plastics
• Cussons UK
• Lancashire Vending
  
• E.ON Energy

Further Study

Research in the School of Art & Design is coordinated by Professor Paul Sermon, Associate Head for Research. There are over 30 fully research-active academic staff and a number of embryonic and early career researchers engaged in a range of innovative creative practice in art and design and in advancing the boundaries of theoretical investigation. Find out more.