Product Design

Most people just walk past mediocre design without a second thought, but that’s not you. You pause and fix it in your head. We built the Bachelor of Design in Product Design program at The KPU Wilson School of Design to hone that instinct.

You don’t need a list of patented inventions to apply to our four-year, full-time undergraduate degree. You just need the curiosity to keep asking how things could work better. In our program, you’ll build meaningful technical skills, starting with model-making and computer-aided design. Later, you’ll study human factors, semiotics, and material and production technology. This is the knowledge that separates a sketch from a manufacturable product.

Our program aims to turn your ideas into functional products — from recreational gear and protective equipment to everyday consumer goods. You’ll start with the fundamentals and work towards increasingly complex projects. It all builds toward a solo capstone: taking a project from research through to production, then presenting it to the industry professionals who might hire you.

What it looks like to get a hands-on education in product design:

For their Hyperbaric Chamber Project, Product Design students got to partner with a real mountaineer:

Why Study Product Design @ KPU?

Here’s what makes our program unique:

A limited number of students are admitted each year, so class sizes stay small and your instructors actually have room to mentor you.
You’ll learn about the whole design process, not just the concept stage: from early sketches through to manufacturing and distribution.
Your curriculum is shaped by an Advisory Committee of industry experts, so you’ll graduate with real connections already in place.
You’ll share the Wilson School of Design’s purpose-built home with designers from every other discipline, so collaboration happens naturally, not by accident
You'll graduate with a portfolio built around a major research and development project. It serves as proof of what you can do.
British Columbia is home to hundreds of design companies. This proximity means many of our graduates go on to work with them.
Career opportunities include product, industrial, environmental, or packaging design. Our grads have also found success as buyers, retailers, and consultants.

Apply Today

Who Studies Product Design?

Product design draws people from all walks of life: engineering, business, fine arts, and more. Maybe you’re the lifelong tinkerer who takes gadgets apart just to see how they work. Or maybe you’ve noticed how often products are built for one kind of body or one kind of life, and you want to design for everyone else, too.

Whether you’re fresh out of high school, transferring from another program, or a working professional ready for a change, what matters most is the curiosity to keep chasing better solutions. In our program, you’ll build expertise in materials and manufacturing. You’ll also learn research methods that uncover how people actually use things. Finally, you’ll develop the business sense to pitch a product, not just design one.

If you’re a risk-taker who’s willing to push boundaries, and ready to back that up with concrete technical skills, you’ll be right at home here.

A second-year Product Design student takes you inside a typical day at the Wilson School of Design:

Admission Requirements

Here’s what you’ll need to do in order to apply to the Wilson School of Design:

Meet our English Proficiency Requirement.
Submit an Entrance Package.
Complete an Interview.

Click the links below to explore detailed requirements about this program.

Apply Today ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Product Design Grad Profile

Tarun Dosanjh knows what it takes to protect a rider going full speed down the highway. As lead product designer at Alpha Vitesse Racing from 2020-23, he directed and developed performance-driven motorcycle crash protection gear, taking multiple product lines through every stage: problem identification, ideation, prototyping, user testing, and final production. It’s the kind of hands-on process he first learned at the Wilson School of Design, where a real project with the Canadian Coast Guard let him build industry-ready skills before he’d even graduated. Tarun says Wilson gave him the experience he needed to shift right into work mode.

“By working very closely with the industry, we’re able to get hands-on experience for the skills that we need to transition into the industry as seamlessly as possible.”