Students have independent access to a variety of design facilities that include dedicated design studios, digital sketching, extensive workshops that are both traditional (such as wood, model making, metal fabrication) and contemporary (3D printing), as well as electronics labs.
Modern, industry standard digital media facilities include a green screen and post-production studio, motion capture, sound and photography studios, 4K digital cinema cameras, and a dedicated render farm. Expert technicians provide workshop training and support our students to develop quality hands-on skills to become designers in the modern world.
There's also the opportunity to use our immersive virtual environment laboratory. This includes an immersive dome (planetarium) set up for 明星八卦 by the National Space Centre in Leicester, and is one of only a few in the UK.
You will have access to all our modern spaces during your studies and gain hands-on, professional skills for developing new products and services. Our workshops are collaborative spaces where you can share advice, support and creative ideas with other students.
Explore our design facilities
Digital fabrication laboratory
From prosthetic limbs to aeroplane parts, 3D printing can produce almost anything you can design. In the digital fabrication laboratory, you’ll use 3D printers and scanners to turn your computer-aided design (CAD) models into real, working prototypes or even finished objects.
Model making workshop
You’ll make everything from industrial models to aesthetic products. With rapid prototyping tools, disc, belt, and pillar sanders, band saws, casting facilities and spray paint booths at your disposal, you’ll have everything you need to turn your ideas into reality in our model making workshop.
Wood workshop
In the wood workshop, you’ll find all the equipment and expertise you need to bring your ideas to life. You’ll use everything from lathes, mortise machines and band saws, as well as manual powered and hand tools. When studying product design, your prototypes and models will often start here.
Plastics workshop
Plastics are a core material in many products, and it features heavily across all industries. In the plastics workshop, you’ll get hands-on with CNC mills, vacuum forming and laser cutting machines and a range of other tools used to work with one of the world’s most flexible and adaptable materials.
Metal fabrication workshop
You’ll find metal bars, tubes, rods and angles with the option to order anything which is not in stock in the metal fabrication workshop. You have access to welding, lathes and cutting machines to use when working on your projects.
Explore our digital media facilities
Digital Media Mac Lab
Our Digital Media Mac Lab gives you access to Mac Pros and iMacs, as well as industry standard software for video and audio post-production, digital design, graphics and other digital media productions
Mac lab
In our 27” iMac suite, you’ll use the creative industry’s favourite tool to help you make digital media and interactive entertainment
Computer graphics lab
You’ll use PCs for graphics, visual effects and image editing including 2D and 3D graphics, animation and compositing.
Industry standard specialist software is available in our computing labs including Cinema 4D, Adobe Creative Suite, Nuke, Houdini, Sketch
Green screen studio
With an infinity cove green screen, post-production Mac Pro and Armari workstations, and industry standard applications, our visual effects studio rivals plenty of worldwide production studios. Here, you’ll learn the art of digital compositing, motion graphics, 3D animation, 2D graphics and video editing
High-quality sound recording
Our post-production and audio mixing room is acoustically treated and has everything you need to record, mix and master instruments, vocals, sound effects and voice-overs. It’s connected to our larger live space; you’ll have plenty of room and flexibility to work
Motion capture and photography studio
Motion capture sits at the heart of console games, blockbuster films and a whole host of other industries. Within our motion capture studio, you’ll get hands-on experience and learn to master a technology that’s changing the world of 3D animation. This space is also used as a studio digital portrait and product photography
Immerse yourself in our technical facilities