The Department of Design believes that good design is the combination of commercial awareness, creative and inspirational thought validated by sound technological reasoning, defined through the process of design. We produce communicators who are at ease with members of engineering, design and marketing teams, appreciating their individual needs and capable of contributing to the total design process.

Brunel University, Department of Design has evolved through engineering to meet the needs of industry world-wide, by teaching highly motivated students, through in-depth professional design studies, to become imaginative yet practical professional designers.

Most of our courses allow students to undertake work placement. This experience ensures that students practice in the real world and that companies have the opportunity to sponsor projects, undertaken in the final year, by students who have worked with them. All our design courses are modular, initially providing students with a common broad base of technological and creative subjects, but offer later during the course, possibilities of branching towards specialised skills in Industrial Design, Industrial Design Engineering or Product Design. In all courses we encourage a respect for design issues, theories and design history as well as the material and production technologies and to cultivate the skills required to understand 'total design' from the function of products through to their external values fulfilling user needs and user perception.

The courses provide specific knowledge of materials, how products are made, why they function, how to conceive and build mechanisms and electronic hardware. The students learn to understand how products work and how to develop methodologies for solving product problems and adding value. By the end of the course students are capable of creating innovative design ideas, predicting functional specifications, building models and most importantly constructing fully operating prototypes of selected components. This is achieved initially by a set programme involving students in resolving designs with more closely defined problems gradually combining creative and technical skills.

By the final stages of their course every student undertakes a specialised major project with built in options. Not all option subjects are project based. Projects are initially defined for students; small design exercises to prove their understanding of each course element. Later students design projects and develop individually distinctive presentation techniques and design philosophy. Every student builds a comprehensive design portfolio incorporating their work and exemplifying their total grasp of design through contextual and practical research analysis, ideation and concept generation, development, testing, evaluation and final design solutions. A total understanding of the total design process.

At Brunel, we view the proof of being a good designer as being able to realise concepts, not just imagine them. The major project tends to be chosen from consumer goods, capital goods, telecommunications equipment or medical products, with a view to the type of company where the student will hope to work when they graduate.

Industry placements and student exchange courses with North American and European Universities form a major benefit to all our design courses.

Brunel University was established in 1966 by Royal Charter and has grown to an annual student intake of over 12,000 students. There are four campuses, the main campus being at Uxbridge some three miles north of Heathrow Airport, London's main National Airport. The Runnymede campus is some six miles to the Southwest at Egham with the third campus at Twickenham and further campus at Osterley.

The University offers courses in the Natural Sciences, Social and Human Sciences, Arts and Technology, mainly located at Uxbridge, in Industrial Design and Product Design on the Runnymede campus, Education and Social Work on the Twickenham campus and Sports Science, Health Studies and Business Studies on the Osterley campus.

The Department of Design is located in the Faculty of Technology & Information Systems. The University's mission statement is to produce high quality graduates and research which is of use to the community. This is realised in the Department of Design through the commitment of the Department to high quality teaching and design research in Industrial Design and Industrial Design Engineering. The high quality of design research was recognised by the UK government by the award of a 5A* rating. This is the highest industrial design research rating in the UK. The Department offers high quality design degree courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels and has a significant track record of design research excellence.

The Department is located on the Runnymede campus, a beautiful 60 acre site at Englefield Green situated overlooking the river Thames. and the Thames valley. Windsor is two miles North East and Egham station, one mile away, has a regular train service to Central London, a 30 minute journey. The Runnymede campus is a self-contained, highly resourced facility, with extensive computer labs, workshops and studios supported by presentation, conference and seminar rooms, and library facility. There are on campus sports, social and student union amenities and extensive in Hall accommodation for all Department of Design students. (The University is committed to providing accommodation for all new design students and may be able to extend this to other years subject availability). There are regular coach services to the main campus at Uxbridge which offers additional sports and social activities.