ceramic cups and matching creamers

Department of Product Design

Product designers are the people who create the tools, transportation, computers, clothes, sofas, and sports equipment to fit the changing needs of people's lives. Gain in-depth knowledge of materials, idea generation, prototyping, and manufacturing by becoming a product designer. Learn how to research consumer needs, design new products, and explore the history and theory of design as you make your own products. Finish the program with the confidence and skills to work for a company or start your own business.


Collaborative and Creative Community

Our students are curious and driven. Working together, students and faculty members seek solutions for design challenges facing our world. Whether we examine options for sustainable plastics or cleaner drinking water, or building furniture or household goods using sustainable practices, we share the discoveries with each other. Our projects are not merely made up, we partner with real-world clients and users to examine how to make our designs meet the needs of others. We enter competitions to test our ideas with a larger network of designers—and we win!

students collaborating
three students work on project

Hands-on Environment

Product designers make things. We use woodworking tools, steel fabrication methods, ceramic and plastics molding, and other hand skills alongside high-tech 3-D rendering, cutting, and printing. You will gain skills to help transform your ideas into reality.


Enrich Your Academic Experience

Expand your horizons with a Portland-based internship. Learn how to develop your portfolio and job-seeking skills with our Student Services Hub. Develop your leadership and communication skills by joining one of our student organizations.


Learn More

Visiting the UO is one of the best ways to learn about us. Participate in UO's campus visit programs—Duck Days in the spring or Duck Preview in the fall—to tour facilities, see campus, and meet with faculty members or schedule a tour anytime. For those who wish to pursue advanced study, the master's degree in Sports Product Design is offered at the University of Oregon's Portland location, and BFA students complete their final year of the program in Portland.


Connect with Us

Product Design booth Instagram

Department of Product Design

shoes Facebook

Sports Product Design

coats Instagram

Sports Product Design


The Student Experience


Sustainable City Year and Product Design programs partner on Portland’s TriMet project


Product of Eugene—A Product Design Apprenticeship Program

A partnership between Lane Arts Council and the Department of Product Design, this program offers middle and high school students apprenticeship opportunities in graphic, digital, and physical design. Students pair with a professional product designer (often UO instructors or alumni) and use the technology available at the 942 Olive building in Downtown Eugene, which features studios, digital design and plastics labs, and 3D printers, a laser cutter, and shop tools, to create their own designs.


News


Upcoming Events


Art + Design Opportunities Blog

The Art + Design Opportunities blog is a posting board for opportunities in the field of art and design as sent to the School of Art + Design to share with our students.


Faculty Spotlight: Studio Gorm

Photo of Professor of Product Design John Arndt and Associate Professor of Product Design Wonhee Arndt

Professor of Product Design John Arndt and Associate Professor of Product Design Wonhee Arndt, founded their design business, Studio Gorm, in 2007. Specializing in sustainable and minimalist household furniture and objects informed by speculative research into culture, history, and technology, Studio Gorm has garnered accolades for its thoughtful approach from Architectural Digest, Design Bloom, and Dezeen. The studio partnered with the Hancock Shaker Village and the Mt. Lebanon Shaker Museum for the Shaker Design Project to produce 32 Shaker-inspired objects influenced by the Protestant sect known for their distinctively simple furniture design.

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Student Spotlight: Trent Nesbitt

Trent sitting on a chair he designed

Trent Nesbitt is currently working towards a bachelor of fine arts degree in Product Design.

He is currently in his third and final year at UO's Eugene campus, before transitioning to UO Portland for his final year of study. He is extremely passionate about his work in PD and takes pride in his ability to find solutions for any design problem that may need solving.

We spoke with Nesbitt about experiences at the UO, the Product Design program, transpecies design, and more!

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Student Spotlight: Kiera Patterson

Kiera Patterson is currently working towards a bachelor of fine arts degree in Product Design.

She works with the College of Design communications team from University of Oregon Portland's White Stag Block as a Student Ambassador.

We spoke with Patterson about studying Product Design at the UO, the processes that go into this field of study, her transition to UO Portland's campus, her work towards creating accessible tools to those with arthritis, and more!

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Kiera Patterson smiling on a patio surrounded by lush plants and flowers