Resource list

Our Product Design programme is a multi-disciplinary programme intended for students who wish to combine art and design with technology. As a result, and by design, our student body includes people with a wide range of educational backgrounds.

In Level 1 we introduce students to subjects related to art and design, and technology. Like any activity, preparation makes you better placed to perform at your full potential. However, the best preparation for individual students depends on their educational background and what they have done between completing their A2-levels (or equivalent) and joining the University.

Online resources

All students, regardless of their course, benefit from brushing up on their study skills. This is especially the case for students who have taken a gap year before starting university. The University provides many resources to support students through their studies but completing the following three resources will be particularly useful before you start your studies with us.

All Product Design students need maths skills to support the technology-based subjects. This is why we have a requirement for your GSCE (or equivalent) grade in maths. However, if you have not done much maths in the past year or so then it would be a good idea to brush up your maths skills. To do this we recommend the following sections of the University’s Skills @ Library Academic skills:

Short online courses

Medical Technology Futures is a suite of five, free, online courses which cover topics such as digital medicine, genomics, personalised medicine, artificial intelligence, robotics and regenerative medicine. The ‘MedTech: Trends and Product Design’ course may be of particular interest.

Reading list

In addition to skills, effective design students need sources of inspiration. We suggest that you review at least some of the following books:

de Jong CW. “Ten Principles for Good Design: Dieter Rams.” Prestel. 2021
Christensen T. “The Creativity Challenge: Design, Experiment, Test, Innovate, Build, Create, Inspire, and Unleash Your Genius” 2015.
Garner SW, Evans C. (eds) “Design and Designing: A critical introduction” Berg Publishers. 2012.
Clarkson J, Coleman R, Keates S, Lebbon C. “Inclusive design: design for the whole population”. London Springer 2003
Kelley T, “The Art of Innovation” Harper Collins, New York, 2001.
Norman DA. “The design of everyday things.” New York: Doubleday, 1998

For the design modules, all students need sketching skills and awareness of the design process. If you have not done much sketching or designing in the past year or so then it would be a good idea to brush up these skills. To do this we recommend the following book:

Henry, K. “Drawing for product designers”. Laurence King. London. 2012

Research and Innovation at the University

Our world-leading research actively informs our teaching programme. To discover more about our current research, follow the links below:

University resources

The University of Leeds also offers many useful resources to help you transition to higher education learning.  