Textile Design

Our Textile Design degree course has an exceptional reputation for producing commercially engaged creative designers. Amplify your passion for drawing, colour, and materials to become a dynamic designer in this exciting and diverse industry.

Supported by a team of specialists, this course offers an exciting mix of practical workshops and design thinking. We enable you to explore your ideas through drawing, colour, design investigation, and surface and material experimentation.

You will work within the Textile Design studio, an inspirational and stimulating environment. The studio is the centre of our community, where students draw, paint, design, share and test ideas. You will also have access to other practical facilities such as our printmaking, ceramics rooms and 3D workshops.

We encourage you to establish an individual design identity, becoming confident and accomplished in developing print-focused outcomes. Applications can be seen across textiles and surfaces such as fabric for fashion, interior products, gifting, and architectural settings. You will gain experience of working with industry through a combination of exciting live briefs, international competitions, and employment opportunities via our professional network.

Traditional and crafted techniques, including screenprint and printmaking, are taught alongside cutting-edge digital design practices, surface embellishment, and manipulation processes including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, AVA CAD/CAM, Wacom tablets for digital drawing and Laser Cutters. Practical work is underpinned by context - developing an awareness of global issues and ethical concerns such as sustainability and intellectual property. Textile Design is an employability focused course. Employability, enterprise and entrepreneurship underpin teaching and learning on all modules.

Year one – Your first year is about experimentation. We introduce you to various themes and core skills in creative thinking and making, digital design, and print. We will help you identify, develop, and express your creative interests, aesthetic sensibilities, and approaches to creative practice. We offer design-related workshops, peer-to-peer learning, and student collaboration opportunities that give you industry-relevant skills and experiences.

Year two – Develop your creative and practical skills through live briefs, industry competitions, and employability opportunities. You may produce work for a range of audiences including national and global clients. You will be encouraged to develop a personal design ‘handwriting’ that you can apply to your choice of design and specialist interests.

Year three – You will be encouraged to consolidate and plan your own programme of work in response to your chosen design interests and creative hand. Through this, you will develop a professional portfolio of work supporting your career aspirations. You will have regular contact time with tutors who will support your progress. Due to the course’s broad remit, former students have gained employment at high street and designer brands, in fashion, interiors, and entered self-employment.