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If you love good design—whether it be of objects, computer graphics, systems, or experiences—and want to learn from a leading-edge university, then this is the right degree for you.
Design your career
The Bachelor of Design Innovation (BDI) is a three-year undergraduate degree designed to prepare you for a career in one of the many expanding design-related industries.
At Victoria University of Wellington, Design is about innovation. While developing the skills and knowledge that industry currently demands, you'll also be pushing the limits and forging the future of design practice. During studio classes and seminars, your teachers will show you how to take an experimental approach to design that encourages creative and thoughtful design solutions.
You'll major in one of seven areas—Animation and Visual Effects, Communication Design, Design for Social Innovation, Fashion Design Technology, Industrial Design, Interaction Design, or Media Design. A feature of this degree is that it's cross-disciplinary, meaning you'll be encouraged to study and work in subject areas outside Design. This will make sure you gain a thorough grounding in design and its connections with the real world.
First year
In your first year you'll investigate a broad range of essential design ideas, principles, histories, theories, and practices, so you're able to challenge traditional ideas about design. Study eight courses made up of a combination of core Design courses, a writing course if needed, and electives.
The first year covers all three of the subject areas, giving you a solid foundation in design and confidence in the direction you'll have chosen to go in for your second year.
Second year
This is the year you'll begin to focus more on your chosen major. Media Design students will delve more into screen-based technology, including games, VFX, and web app design. Industrial and Interaction Design students will learn the core skills and knowledge needed to work in product design and manufacturing. Design for Social Innovation students will gain a deeper and more critical understanding of design research, thinking, and practice. If you're majoring in Communication Design, you'll delve into the industry-standard techniques of combining text and visuals towards conveying expresive, inspiring, and informative designs. Interaction Design students will investigate the considerations addressing how and why people relate to designs in certain ways, with design projects both on and off the computer screen.
In your second year you're likely to take six courses made up of core Design courses from your major and complementary electives from other disciplines. If you're a Design for Social Innovation student, you'll need to take a minor subject—a secondary area of study you choose to focus on.
Third year
By this stage you'll have developed a good understanding of your major and be confident in your design skills. You're likely to take six courses—three or four in your major or specialisation and two electives.
In third year, Communication, Media, Industrial and Interaction Design students will learn to be agile, resourceful, and inventive in solving complex design problems. Design for Social Innovation students will gain a broad appreciation of how design contributes to material and visual culture, and how design relates to other disciplines through their minor subject choice.
During your final trimester of study, you’ll work on a 30-point “capstone” project (compulsory for all subjects except Media Design). This project gives you a chance to bring together everything you’ve learned in your chosen field and create a showcase piece for your portfolio.
Medical insurance: NZD$620 per year
