Industrial Design (Auckland School of Design)

The Auckland School of Design Industrial Design major provides a focused experience for students under the guidance of professional design experts with excellent backgrounds in the design of consumer, industrial, commercial and leisure products.

The programme encourages innovative thinking and creative application of new technology to meet the social, cultural, economic and environmental needs of existing and future societies. This degree course has produced some of Massey’s most acclaimed students who have gone on to win prestigious national and international design competitions. Some of our industrial design graduates are now working at notable consumer product companies such as Fisher and Paykel and creative industries such as Weta Workshop. Our programme aims to produce innovative graduates who are well equipped to positively contribute to the world of consumers.

Industrial design studio is the main strand of the programme and is backed up with courses in history and theory, drawing, computer aided industrial design, ergonomics, socio-cultural studies, manufacturing processes, materials and construction and the business of business. Students learn how the effective use of good design in production and marketing is an essential element in the achievement of business success. Those not wanting to head straight into the workforce, can if desired, continue in postgraduate studies to further enhance their design skills and research capabilities.

First Year: You’ll make the transition to tertiary education in this year. In design studios you are introduced to generic art and design knowledge and skills and develop core competencies and practices. You explore a range of design specialisations so you can make an informed decision about your future pathway.

Second Year: Here, you’re introduced to specialist material and studio work including model making, history, materials and processes, ergonomics and visual communications including drawing and rendering.

Third Year: You will undertake advanced studio design projects and extend your knowledge of the processes and current context of industrial design. There is opportunity to supplement study with elective papers, e.g. furniture design, from within the School of Design or from the wider Albany campus.

Fourth Year: You develop and undertake individual research or studio-based projects, study professional practice and complete a studio project or a design research project. Entry into national and international design competitions is strongly encouraged. The outcomes of the research projects are exhibited in a public exhibition at a central Auckland location in November of each year.