Join us as we challenge you to rethink how design can address urgent global challenges across both the physical and digital worlds.

Businesses, policymakers and communities are increasingly looking for designers who can develop ethical, responsible, and future-proof solutions that reduce environmental and social impacts. This module equips you with the skills and knowledge to meet this demand, exploring how design can drive positive environmental, economic and social change.

You will engage with sustainability frameworks and ethical design principles to develop creative, impactful solutions. Whether designing tangible products, services or digital experiences, you will explore strategies like repair, reuse, regeneration, and material innovation to align your work with the growing need for sustainability.

By the end of this module, you will be prepared to design for a more sustainable world, enhancing your employability and empowering you to make a real impact in shaping a better future.

Investigate how designers use visualisation to develop ideas, explore interventions and communicate possible futures. This innovative module will build on your previous knowledge gained from the Visual Communication module and enhance your skillset further with a range of technical and conceptual tools.

Practical techniques for creating visualisations will include 3D modelling, rendering, generative AI, and data visualisations. You will also engage with contemporary issues in design visualisation, such as the ethical implications of using Generative AI in design practice.

Featuring a dynamic blend of lectures, studio sessions, and video tutorials, this module promotes both collaborative and independent learning. Continuous feedback will be provided through studio assessments, allowing you to present your work-in-progress and engage in constructive discussions.

Culminating in a portfolio submission, you will have the chance to reflect and showcase your creative journey, encouraging personal growth and professional development.

Focusing on the generation of insights through engagement with people, data and desk research, this module will strengthen your ability to apply creative methods and tools to develop impactful design solutions rooted in real-world contexts.

You will explore participatory methods, such as workshop design for gathering and interpreting insights, alongside data-led processes and research. Emerging technologies, including AI, will be introduced as tools to enhance insight generation. You will learn how to transform data into meaningful concepts, strategies, and design narratives, ensuring your ideas are both informed and innovative.

Practical, studio-based projects will foster playful, creative exploration of real-world design challenges. By combining analytical research with creative practice, you will develop solutions that are insightful, forward thinking, and socially engaged—supporting bold thinking, critical reflection and a commitment to impactful design.

A fascinating introduction to the principles and practices of design, you will create meaningful interactions between people and digital or physical products, services, and systems.

Developing both theoretical and practical skills, you will learn to design intuitive, engaging, and effective interactive experiences. Through creative exercises, you will explore design methods including wireframing, prototyping (both paper-based and digital), and iterative testing. You will learn to identify interaction strengths and weaknesses to continuously improve your designs.

Emphasising responsible design practices, we will teach you to craft interactions that not only meet functional requirements but also consider emotional impact, accessibility, and ethical implications. Alongside this, you will analyse how well-designed interactions can benefit people and the planet as well as the economy.

By completing this module, you will develop the critical and creative thinking skills needed to design seamless, meaningful interactions for a variety of contexts, from websites and apps to physical products and service systems.

Take on the challenge to explore possible futures and their societal implications by creating radical products and services that question the status quo.

In this studio-based module, you will critically and creatively examine emerging innovations such as Artificial Intelligence, robotics, and biomaterials. Through doing this, you will be able to anticipate their long-term consequences and propose thoughtful, forward-thinking, creative responses. You will develop skills that enable you to envision future scenarios through creating 2D and 3D prototypes that make speculative futures feel real and relatable.

With businesses, governments and NGOs increasingly looking for future-focused designers who can navigate uncertainty and drive innovation, these skills are in high demand. By the end of the module, you will be able to communicate potential futures in compelling ways, creating standout, unique portfolio pieces that showcase your ability to merge critical thinking, innovation and futures-focused design.

Not all professional contexts are the same – and within any organisation there are diverse people with varied backgrounds. This module focuses on enhancing your intercultural competency and cultural awareness, with a particular emphasis on ‘place-based’ learning. Considering the cultural dynamics of the North West of England and the broader UK helps us reflect upon intercultural dynamics in very different locations.

Through analysis, discussion and self-reflection you will strengthen your ability to navigate diverse workplace settings and enhance your employability in today’s interconnected world.

Hone a strong sense of purpose and gain the satisfaction of applying your skills and knowledge to a community, charity or student-led initiative.

Your challenge will be to take responsibility for arranging and completing a voluntary or fundraising activity—locally, virtually or during vacation periods at home. You will need to show that you have made a positive difference through this activity.

In class, you will be asked to reflect on this experience and explore the wider social impact of the work. In doing so you will build your confidence in your ability to contribute meaningfully to society through your future personal and professional path.

You are invited to collaborate in an interdisciplinary team with other students as you explore major global challenges such as climate change, inequality or emerging technologies.

Throughout the module you will examine how the humanities, arts and social sciences contribute to understanding and addressing complex issues. Classroom discussions and activities focus on the process of identifying problems and considering innovative, ethical responses, while helping you to consider and articulate the relevance of this work to your personal and professional development.

Explore how ideas can be developed into real-world projects with lasting value. Through hands-on collaboration and problem-solving, you will develop innovative projects, learn how to bring ideas to life and explore ways to sustain them.

Whether you are working in a team or individually, you will be encouraged to experiment with different approaches to making a difference in artistic, cultural, social and community spaces.

This module will allow you to spend the year working in a graduate-level placement role in the industry or sector that interests you most. Throughout the year, you will build an awareness of what is required in the professional workplace whilst developing a range of transferable skills.

During the module you will reflect on and critically analyse: your own career readiness, the ongoing development of your self-awareness in terms of skills and professional knowledge, and your understanding of current workplace practices and professional etiquette.

Our Careers and Placements Team will support you during your placement with online contact and learning resources.

Helping you gain essential industry experience, this module allows you to work on a live project with a real client, providing valuable insight into the role of a design consultant.

In a team, you will tackle real business challenges, delivering creative solutions grounded in robust design research. Each project is unique, shaped through collaboration with your client to meet their specific needs, while aligning with your team’s strengths. Your brief could cover:

• Product Design
• Brand Design
• User Experience Design
• Design Strategy

Throughout the module, you will refine your skills in data gathering and analysis, idea generation, conceptualisation and visual communication. You will also develop your ability to manage client relationships and communicate design decisions, boosting both your confidence and employability skills.

By the end of the module, you will gain vital experience solving real design problems and collaborating effectively, making this the perfect stepping stone into your career.

This is your chance to take full creative control and develop an independent, self-directed project that reflects your personal interests and career goals. It is an opportunity to dive deep into a topic you are passionate about; push your creative boundaries and refine the skills you have developed throughout your studies.

You will shape every aspect of your project, from concept to execution, with guidance from tutors who will support your creative and professional growth. This project will showcase your unique approach to design and your readiness for the next step in your career. Additionally, it is your chance to build a portfolio-defining piece that highlights your creativity, problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large-scale design project independently.

By the end, you will have a standout project that reflects your growth as a designer, as well as sets you on the path toward your chosen career.

Creatively blending design, leadership and innovation, this module will explore design and systems thinking to help you become an agent of change.

As you prepare to graduate, this module will enable you to develop your unique design leadership approach and communicate your design vision and values. You will learn key principles of design management, design and product development processes and tools for designing sustainable business models, to help you transform creative ideas into impactful solutions.

With a forward-thinking approach, you will explore the diverse future roles of designers as well as learn to create and communicate a strong value proposition, positioning design as a key driver of change and innovation.

By the end of the module, you will be equipped to lead design initiatives, make strategic decisions, drive meaningful change and impact businesses and society in the rapidly evolving field of design.

What happens when radically different forms of art meet? How do these fused forms change our understanding of the world? We will draw on material from different periods and continents, to explore works of art where, for example, film meets history, poetry meets philosophy, fine art meets sociology, religion meets fiction, and theatre meets politics.

How might we engage with the implications of environmental transformation locally, nationally and globally? Where do we have agency and capacity to intervene?

This module brings together a range of perspectives—historical, political, philosophical and cultural—to explore the nature and severity of the effects of the climate crisis on our world.

What does it mean to imagine a world without borders? Using materials typically derived from case studies, reports, archives, film, television and literature, this module foregrounds interdisciplinary approaches.

You will be encouraged to develop your understanding of migration and displacement, and to envision alternative global migration futures in ways that can impact future policy, political and societal perspectives.

What are the possibilities and pitfalls of community and citizen action, voice and agency? This module uses interdisciplinary case-studies to critically examine collaboration with communities.

You will participate in activities such as a mock citizens' assembly, visit local community groups and hear different points of view from a range of guest speakers on concepts like power, race, gender, class, affect and justice.

What do we understand by queerness? Looking back at earlier interpretations, we imagine how queerness might evolve—how it might be lived, felt and understood in the future.

You will explore queer futures from a range of perspectives and viewpoints, while examining both feminist and queer theory, as well as queer media and cultural texts and material relating to areas such as activism, politics and healthcare.

Who does technology benefit or harm, and what should its role in society be? This module examines the social and ethical issues surrounding the development of modern technologies and their use in the modern world, with a vision to shape our future relationship with technology.

How do ideas understand, transform and conserve the world? In this module we will study examples of powerful ideas such as the nation, free speech, liberation, the free market, culture and nature. We will use case studies to help us explore the relationship between analysis, imagination and practice.