Design for Technology Fine Design + Smart Technology
What is Design for Technology?
From fast cars to flashy fax machines, creating new products is no longer a matter of putting the pieces together and seeing if it works. Instead, it's a careful blend of quality technology and fine design. A well-designed object has the power to become a symbol of the times. Think of the Volkswagen Beetle. Or the iMac.
There is a strong need for qualified designers who not only have an eye for aesthetics and innovation, but who also have an understanding of technology, and an awareness of the commercial environment they're working in. Otago's BAppSc in Design for Technology combines design studies with a range of science, business and technical courses.
You'll learn skills from computer modelling, to analysing materials, to understanding the physics involved in good design. You'll gain exposure to the commercial realities of design, by working with local companies on professional design projects throughout your studies. The degree encourages you to develop your business skills and entrepreneurial awareness, so you'll be able to embark on your own design enterprise in the future.
Why Study Design for Technology?
- It is New Zealand's only honours degree that targets the highly-valued areas of aesthetic and technical design.
- It gives you a chance to develop both your artistic and mathematical strengths.
- It gives you lots of options. Few qualifications have relevance to such a wide variety of areas as Design for Technology. You can explore the area you're most interested in through a major final year project.
Career Opportunities
With a BAppSc in Design for Technology, you'll be ideally suited to working in an area of design that has a strong technical component.
This could mean just about anything, from creating the perfectly ergonomic keyboard, to analysing wear and tear on a tennis racquet. And throughout the degree, you'll have options to enable you to develop specialist skills in an area that particularly interests you. For example, by taking electronics papers, you could become expert in designing products with an electronics component, including whiteware or stereos.
With your design and technical skills, you could work for a large company, helping them with the development of their products. Or, you may enter a consultancy practice, working on a range of projects for a number of different clients. Your skills could be put to use in just about any industry, including the financial, medical and engineering sectors. Creativity and critical thinking abilities are valued in a range of professions, as are advanced mathematics and physics skills. The commercial focus of this degree will give you the independence, innovation and feel for business to be in charge of your own employment, and establish your own design company.
Background Required
Students from a range of backgrounds are welcome to study for Otago's BAppSc in Design for Technology. However, you will need to have studied Mathematics with Calculus to NCEA level 3.
What Will I Study?
You'll focus on the specific field of Design for Technology learning all about the product design process, from gaining an understanding of the materials used, to building your own three-dimensional models, both physically and using computational modelling software. Many of these skills are taught in a hands-on way, in the University's well-equipped design studios and computer labs.
As you progress, you'll be introduced to more and more complex problems in the area of Design for Technology, and consider things like the philosophy of design and the principles or ergonomics. And each year, you'll work on a group design project, with problems taken from real-life industry scenarios. In this way, you'll come to understand the realities of working in a professional design practice. Meanwhile, you'll take a range of commerce papers, emphasising innovation and business skills.
Your second year of study also includes three specified design papers, and a compulsory mathematics paper, in either calculus and/or matrix algebra. And throughout the degree, you have the opportunity to take additional papers in design studies, electronics, energy management, mathematics, surveying or physics. Here you can develop your own specialist skills to bring to your career in product design.
Further information
For more detailed information on Design for Technology papers and course requirements, please see the main University website at http://www.otago.ac.nz/subjects/dete.html
Major Subject and Programme Requirements
Minor Subject Requirements (for BAppSc only)
Profile: Jodi Reddell
Jodi Reddell discovered that holding a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Design for Technology offered an exceptionally wide range of career opportunities for her.
Jodi says "I chose to study a Bachelors of Applied Science in Design for Technology because it offered a good mix of design, applied science and commerce which no other course in New Zealand offered. Due to the breadth of the course I had a good initial grounding in many aspects of the everyday work I am involved in".
Jodi works as a Sales and Marketing graduate for Frucor, which is one of Australasia's most dynamic and successful drink companies. Her job is a year-long programme that involves experiencing and learning the entire sales and marketing mix in the company.
She adds "Frucor is a company that prides itself on being an innovation leader in the NZ beverage market and an innovation incubator for our parent company Danone. The management and innovation papers I took at Otago have allowed me to understand the innovation process and gain a greater understanding in the creation of new and successful products. However, it is the application of the knowledge - working and trying to implement ideas - that leads to the greatest learning."
Contacts
For further information regarding Design for Technology, please contact:
Dr Sarah Wakes
Department of Design Studies
Design Studies Building
Tel +64 3479 3148
Fax +64 3479 3066
Email sarah.wakes@design.otago.ac.nz
Other Websites
Design for Technology Regulations http://www.otago.ac.nz/subjects/dete.html
Department of Design Studies http://www.otago.ac.nz/design
Infosheet PDF
You can download the latest Design for Technology Infosheet (404k) in PDF format.
