Course summary

Why study furniture design at BNU? Our history and our future Situated in High Wycombe, our town’s rich history in furniture design and making influences our tradition design methods and contemporary teaching. You’ll be able to learn new skills and develop your unique style whilst studying in a renowned furniture town. This interdisciplinary approach, and our university Chancellor being the renowned Furniture Designer and Restorer, Jay Blades MBE, makes this course strictly unique. Taught by the industry Delivered by our experienced teaching team who boast a wealth of experience within the furniture design and making, product design, modelmaking and design visualisation industry. As industry-professionals, you’ll benefit from their industry insight and connections, gaining direct access to guest lectures, live project briefs, master classes, and plenty of networking opportunities. Industry-standard facilities Access to high standard of facilities is key to the growth and development of your practice, that’s why we have invested ample time in making your key course areas ones of excellence. We continue to develop these areas, the equipment and software you use to match current industry desires, meaning upon graduating from the course, your skillset matches what’s needed. You’ll put learnt design principles and both traditional and modern furniture design and making processes into practice in our professional-standard workshops, studio facilities and CAD suites. Here you’ll have access to state-of-art equipment and software. Here you’ll develop as a thinking-practitioner, mastering your profession and taking ownership on inventive briefs. You’ll produce 3D models, fully working prototypes, computer models and finished pieces, whilst experimenting with a range of different materials including wood, metal and mixed media. A degree for you Throughout this degree you’ll get hands-on with a range of furniture, learning the skills, techniques and methods that you’ll need to create high-standard finished pieces. Overtime you’ll develop your own unique style and speciality. In your final year you will present practical work in a range of formats to different audiences, whilst demonstrating an ethical and professional standard of practice in your design-related work. You’ll have the opportunity to exhibit your design and finished products to industry-professionals from a range of design and art focused sectors. Opportunity modules are a key part of the BNU curriculum. You’ll choose modules in both your first and second year from a broad selection in areas such as sustainability, entrepreneurship, creativity, digital skills, personal growth, civic engagement, health & wellbeing and employment. Opportunity modules are designed to enable you to develop outside the traditional boundaries of your discipline and help you to further stand out from the crowd to future employers. What will I study? This Furniture Design course embeds furniture design and devising innovating approaches and practices to reflect the exciting developments that define the contemporary furniture industry today. At the core of this degree is skills and understanding of techniques, materials, historical and cultural contexts, sustainable design and developing a professional profile. By working through sequences of contemporary and interdisciplinary projects, you will acquire a wide range of creative and technical skills which enable you to complete design projects from concept to final presentation, and help you become a ground-breaking practitioner of furniture design. This course is also offered as a four-year programme, including an initial Foundation Year. The Foundation Year will allow you to develop your academic study skills and build confidence in your abilities, identifying your own strengths and development needs for progression onto an undergraduate programme.