ABOUT THE THREE DESIGN STREAMS
PRODUCT DESIGN
Products are inseparable manifestations of art, science and engineering, ideally without an argument of primacy among them. Product Design is an iterative creative process of specifying products that meet human needs responsibly. Aligned to the vision (hyperlink to PES University Vision) and mission (hyperlink to PES University Mission) of PES University, the objective of the Product Design stream is to facilitate the development of skills in students that will enable them to solve/resolve problems facing humanity through product interventions. As the definition of product can be broad, the program also is broad-based and allows students to choose an area/sector/segment to work on which they prefer to pursue in the later years of their degree and pursuing a career.
INTERACTION DESIGN
The Interaction Design stream will focus on designing Interactions and not just interfaces. Interactions looks beyond the immediacy and seen within a larger societal context. Few courses in these specializations include User Experience, Usability Evaluation, Interaction Technologies and Media. Apart from the main courses, students will have electives (credit and non-credit courses), which will strengthen their abilities as an Interaction Designer.
COMMUNICATION DESIGN
Communication Design is a mixed discipline between design and information-development. Here we look at how media such as printed, crafted, electronic media or presentations communicate with people. The focus is also to create new media channels to ensure the message reaches the target audience. Few courses within Communication Design are Typography, Design, Storytelling and Narratives, Visual perception and Semiotics. Just like the other two streams, elective courses will be available for students specializing in Communication Design to strengthen their skills.
WHILE WORKING INDIVIDUALLY IS ENCOURAGED, THE STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO WORK COLLABORATIVELY IN TEAMS WITH STUDENTS FROM OTHER DESIGN STREAMS AND ENGINEERING DISCIPLINES AT PES UNIVERSITY, THEREBY LEVERAGING THE STRENGTHS OF A DIVERSE AND ENTREPRENEURIAL PES UNIVERSITY CULTURE. IT IS EXPECTED THAT STUDENTS IN DESIGN ALSO LEAD SUCH COLLABORATIVE INITIATIVES CULMINATING IN STARTING UP THEIR OWN PRACTICE AND BECOMING ENTREPRENEURS. HOWEVER, STUDENTS COULD ALSO CHOOSE TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT PES UNIVERSITY CONSISTENTLY ATTRACTS FROM PLACEMENTS.
OPPORTUNITIES ON GRADUATING WITH B.DESIGN DEGREE
On graduating from the product design stream, the roles that may be offered in the industry could be Industrial Designer, Design Engineer, Design Manager, Product Designer etc.. These offers typically depend on the individual’s performance (generally evaluated over a portfolio of alongside other considerations that the industry may set) and work experience.
The typical industry roles for Interaction Design and Communication Design graduates are UI, UX designer, Interaction designer, Graphic Designer etc. A trend which works to the advantage for Interaction and Communication Designers is that more companies now believe that using these designers early in the product/service development process can change the course of conversations and add considerable value.