We also offer a two-year Furniture FdA, which provides successful students the option to either top up with Year 3 of the Furniture and Product Design BA or finish with a foundation degree.
In the most recent Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey, 100% of all 2017 graduates from this course were in work or further study within six months.
The UK furnishings industry is a large and growing part of the economy – currently one of the top three growth sectors in British industry. According to the British Furniture Confederation, there are about 330,000 jobs in the furnishings sector, one third of which are in the 8,000 making and manufacturing companies based in the UK, with employment and self-employment opportunities ranging from design, craft and manufacture to specification and consultancy.
Read a positive review of the furniture work from our 2018 summer exhibition.
London Met’s Furniture and Product Design BA degree provides you with the opportunity to design your careers as well as furniture. With the use of sustainably sourced resources and new materials and technologies, we’ll help you establish your own individual style.
On this undergraduate course, we place strong emphasis on both traditional and contemporary practical skills, as well as critical thinking and experimentation. Sound ethical practice and respected professional principles underpin everything you will learn.
The course structure ensures you receive regular feedback in one-to-ones, group tutorials and seminars. Each module lays out the key skills a successful furniture and product designer must have, strategically incorporating them into the projects you’ll undertake. This runs parallel to ongoing self-reflective tutorials, workshop training and contextual studies.
We’ll challenge you with briefs, materials and time constraints reflective of real-world workplaces. You’re encouraged to respond with visual research, design, material and technical experimentation, prototyping and production, all supported by the development of presentation and communication skills.
During the course, you’ll have the chance to develop your knowledge and understanding by working on real-world creative briefs set by professional design bodies. The briefs place strong emphasis on the professional presentation of project ideas, with past projects including work with Heal’s, S.C.P, Emir, Hitch Mylius and many other private clients.
The teaching team includes internationally renowned furniture and product designers, traditional cabinetmakers, CAD/CAM designers and design critics. You’ll have regular opportunities to collaborate and share ideas with fellow students, as well as ongoing live projects and industry competitions. This will prepare you for your final project and graduation show.
What our students say
„During my first year we had to complete a project called Our Chair. The brief was to source two old chairs, dismantle them into pieces and use all the original compartments to create a new chair, giving it a new function and identity. This project opened my eyes to new ways of working and understanding the importance of storytelling through chairs.
„After graduating, I secured an internship with Lee Broom and had the opportunity to spend one or two days a week in his studio. After completing the internship I then applied for funding from the Prince’s Trust so that I could start running my own studio and produce new work that could be exhibited during London Design Festival.”
Yinka Ilori, former Furniture and Product Design BA student and now a London-based designer
„The studio culture at The Cass has transformed the experience of furniture-making for me – I really appreciate the chance to explore what my practice could be when I graduate. The teaching staff have been excellent, giving me just enough freedom to explore, but not get too lost either! Excellent facilities, excellent technicians.”
National Student Survey
„This course encouraged my creativity and confidence. I am much better at communicating as a result and I feel ready to launch into a professional environment. There’s been great access to tutors who are as helpful as possible and give good feedback.”
National Student Survey
„There’s a real emphasis on training in the workshops with both machine and hand tools. The workshops at London Met are amazing and it’s great to have access to the facilities and expertise in other subject areas. The work I produced on the course attracted a lot of attention from manufacturers and the press.”
Tom Price, former Furniture and Product Design BA student
After the course
The degree prepares you to enter the design profession in areas including the creative industries, commercial and public sector bodies and self-employment. Our graduates attend major international furniture industry and trade events, and have gone on to work as furniture designers for companies including Kesslers International and McLaren Furniture. Former student Yinka Ilori has successfully set up his own design studio and now exhibits his work all over the world.
You could follow in the footsteps of our students who regularly win international competitions and participate in events such as the London Design Festival and Milan Furniture Fair. Such opportunities provide you with the connections to help launch your own career.
As well as opening up a wide range of occupations within furniture, product and architectural/interior design, you may also work as a buyer, furniture technologist, design journalist or educator in furniture and product design. The course will also prepare you for entry to courses at a master’s level.
Read a review of the furniture work from this course, shown at our 2018 summer exhibition.
