Designing the Future: Students Explore Creative Careers with Bates Product Design

This term, students from Ashton Park School and St Bernadette Catholic Secondary School were joined by Bates Product Design to explore careers in the sector. The workshops gave pupils a real taste of what it’s like to work in the world of design — where creativity meets problem solving, and ideas are brought to life through innovation and teamwork.

Each session began with an introduction to product design as a career. The students learned how products move from an initial idea, to a sketch on paper, to a prototype that you can hold, use, and test. Students were tasked to think about the interaction between design and function, getting hands on exploring this idea by testing two very different juicers. We learned that sometimes the most beautiful product is not the easiest or best to use!

Students were then challenged to work in teams to choose a design brief and design a new product. They had to think about how their product appealed to its target audience and how it solved an existing problem. We were really impressed by how quickly the teams started developing their own concepts and ideas! They showed real problem solving and creativity in the concepts they came up with.

Finally, the students learned that design is just one part of the role and that a big aspect of a career in this sector is pitching your ideas back to clients. So, the teams were challenged to do just that – they had 1 minute to tell us all about their product and what made it special and unique. Including of course one of the most important things – a catchy name!

It was fantastic to see how these sessions helped students to get a glimpse a future where their creativity can shape real change and to see their confidence grow by pitching their ideas at the end. We hope the session has inspired some of the designers, innovators, and problem-solvers of tomorrow. A massive thank you to Myles from Bates Product Design for delivering the sessions and to all the students at Ashton Park and St Bernadettes for being so engaged and enthusiastic.