Product Design for Students

Product Design for Students covers the basic concepts and processes intrinsic to professional industrial product design: from the initial design concept through design for manufacture, sustainable production, distribution, marketing and recycling of the product at the end of its life. User research, concept generation techniques, design process methodologies, the use of design thinking, user-centred design and co-design, design for sustainable production, materials and manufacturing process selection, quality control, design for recycling, marketing and distribution are all covered at an introductory level. Case studies and examples from transport design, consumer product design and service design projects are all included in this book.

Product design is for anyone with sufficient interest, from beginners to advanced students. No background knowledge is necessary to engage with this exciting book. It serves as an introduction to the subject for those who might be looking to make a career as a product designer or who need to understand the profession as a career advisor or on a collaborative and managerial basis.

Peter Barker is an experienced product designer and academic. He currently holds the post of Senior Lecturer in Product Design Technology at the University of the West of England in Bristol, UK

He started his career working as technical assistant to Dr Alex Moulton, the originator of the revolutionary Moulton bicycle plus Moulton rubber suspension systems for cars and other road vehicles. Then moving on to product design consultancy for manufacturers in the UK, Europe and the US, Peter had his design work exhibited in London, Zurich and Chicago. Peter’s design work won awards for clients in several industries including leisure accessories, access equipment and metrology.

A second career as a design academic at leading design universities located in California, Great Britain and Europe also led to success with many of Peter’s students now practising as leading product designers themselves.

With both industrial and educational experience, Peter Barker is ideally placed to write this introductory textbook for aspiring product designers ’Product Design for Students’.

Peter Barker is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an Associate Member of the Guild of Motoring Writers.