Design education is changing. A designer is no longer expected to simply make something visually attractive. Modern design increasingly involves understanding people, identifying problems, experimenting with materials and technologies, testing ideas and developing solutions that can work in real situations.
Somaiya School of Design (SSD), Mumbai, approaches design education through this broader understanding of product design. Supported by riidl, the school offers a four-year full-time Bachelor of Design (B.Des.) in Product Design, with a learning environment that brings together design, technology, business and humanities.
The programme is designed around experiential learning, with students moving from foundation-level design thinking to exploration, focused learning and finally real-world experiences through internships, student exchange and a capstone project. Students can also specialise from the third year in UI/UX Design, Visual Communication Design or Design for Tangible Products.
Ready to take the next step?
- Start by Understanding the Problem, Not the Product
- The First Year Builds the Designer’s Foundation
- Year Two Moves From Fundamentals to Experimentation
- Making Becomes Part of the Learning Process
- Design Can Become Physical, Digital or Experiential
- Third Year Connects Design With Real-World Sectors
- Parallel Skills Give Students Room to Explore
- The Final Year Turns Learning Into Professional Experience
- A Design Degree Can Lead to Many Professional Directions
- Final Thoughts
- FAQs
1. Start by Understanding the Problem, Not the Product
Good design does not necessarily begin with a sketch.
It can begin with a question: Why is something difficult to use? Why does a particular process frustrate people? Could an existing product work better? Is there a completely different way to approach the same problem?
Somaiya School of Design’s B.Des. journey begins with a Foundation year that introduces students to design thinking, design, innovation and entrepreneurship, visual and content design, user experience design, and design and fabrication. The objective is to establish an understanding of how different parts of the design process depend on each other.
This creates an important shift in mindset. Instead of immediately trying to produce a finished object, students can learn to observe, question, understand users and investigate possibilities before deciding what should actually be designed.
That approach is useful because the strongest design solutions often emerge from a clear understanding of the problem rather than from aesthetics alone.
2. The First Year Builds the Designer's Foundation
The first year of the programme is structured around five major blocks: Inception of Design Thinking; Design, Innovation and Entrepreneurship; Visual & Content Design; User Experience Design; and Design & Fabrication.
Together, these areas introduce students to several dimensions of design. Visual thinking can help them communicate ideas, user experience can make them consider how people interact with solutions, while fabrication introduces the physical side of creating and testing.
The combination is important because product design can eventually involve physical products, digital experiences, services or combinations of these. SSD describes its programme as preparing students to build physical, digital and strategic solutions using core design principles.
For a student entering design education after Class 12, this first stage can therefore be less about choosing a narrow career immediately and more about discovering how designers think and work.
3. Year Two Moves From Fundamentals to Experimentation
Once students understand the basic design process, the next challenge is to explore what they can do with it.
At Somaiya School of Design, the second year is called Exploration. The programme introduces advanced design elements, technology platforms and business nuances while maintaining an experiential connection with real-world contexts.
This stage can help students understand that an idea has to work across multiple dimensions. A product may need to be aesthetically convincing, technically possible, useful to its intended audience and realistic from a business perspective.
The school’s curriculum framework also introduces students to areas such as design research, data visualisation, digital software, fabrication, physical computing, UI/UX, user testing, manufacturing, business and presentation skills.
Instead of treating design as one isolated skill, students gradually begin to see the connections between research, making, technology, communication and implementation.
Ready to take the next step?
4. Making Becomes Part of the Learning Process
A design idea can look convincing on paper and still fail when someone tries to use it.
This is why prototyping is such an important part of design education.
Somaiya School of Design provides access to laboratories intended to support experimentation and prototype development. Its facilities include a Digital Fabrication Laboratory, Bioriidl, SMAC Lab, XR riidl and Parallel Skills Lab.
The Digital Fabrication Laboratory provides an environment for computer-driven design and fabrication. Bioriidl introduces students to DIY biology and biotechnology-oriented experimentation, while the SMAC Lab supports the development and testing of software applications. XR riidl focuses on applications involving virtual, augmented and related immersive technologies.
This variety changes the meaning of a design studio. Students can move between ideas and physical or digital experiments, discovering what works through the process of making rather than relying entirely on assumptions.
5. Design Can Become Physical, Digital or Experiential
Product design is often associated with physical objects such as furniture, appliances or consumer products. However, contemporary product experiences can extend far beyond a physical object.
A product may include an app, interface, service, connected environment or interactive experience. This is reflected in SSD’s approach, where students are encouraged to develop solutions that can be physical, digital, strategic or a combination of these.
From the third year, students can specialise in UI/UX Design, Visual Communication Design or Design for Tangible Products.
This gives students an opportunity to develop a stronger identity within product design while still working within a broader multidisciplinary environment.
For example, a student interested in digital experiences may move towards interfaces and user experience. Someone interested in communication may explore visual systems, while another learner may prefer physical products, materials and form.
6. Third Year Connects Design With Real-World Sectors
The third year is described as the programme’s Deep Dive stage. Students select focus areas, develop customised skills and work with peers from different areas because real-world problems are often multidisciplinary.
The school identifies thrust areas including Governance, Sustainability, Healthcare, Biotech, Agri-tech, Food & Nutrition, Robotics, Mobility, Education, Entertainment and Fin-tech, among others.
This means students can begin asking a more specific question: Where do I want to apply design?
A healthcare-focused design problem can require very different thinking from a mobility or entertainment project. Similarly, designing for sustainability may involve materials, behaviour, systems and long-term environmental considerations.
Working across these contexts can help students understand that design is not limited to a particular industry. The design process can be applied wherever people, systems and problems intersect.
7. Parallel Skills Give Students Room to Explore
A design student may have interests that do not fit neatly into their main specialisation.
Someone studying product design may want to learn photography. Another student may want to explore coding, filmmaking, illustration, fabrication or another creative discipline.
The Parallel Skills Lab at Somaiya School of Design is designed around this idea. The school describes it as a space where experiences and workshops are curated to help students develop supplementary design skills and pursue personal interests.
This can be particularly valuable during undergraduate education because students are still discovering their strengths.
A supplementary skill can eventually become part of a portfolio or even influence a career direction. A student interested in both design and technology, for instance, may develop a profile that combines interaction design with digital prototyping.
The broader lesson is that a design education does not have to remain confined to the boundaries of the core degree.
Ready to take the next step?
8. The Final Year Turns Learning Into Professional Experience
The final year is called Leap, and it represents the transition from academic learning towards professional practice.
Students undertake either a full-time internship or a student exchange programme, followed by their final-year capstone project.
This stage can be important because students are required to bring together what they have learned across the earlier years. A capstone is not simply another classroom assignment; it can become an opportunity to demonstrate research, design thinking, experimentation, communication and execution.
The school’s Partnership & Placement Council also connects the programme with corporates, startups, alumni, universities and government organisations. According to SSD, these partnerships support experiential learning through internships, events, live projects, placements and real-time industry knowledge.
For students, this can help bridge the distance between creating academic projects and understanding how design operates in professional environments.
9. A Design Degree Can Lead to Many Professional Directions
One advantage of a broad product-design education is that graduates do not necessarily have to follow one fixed job title.
Somaiya School of Design lists potential roles including Product Designer, Product Manager, User Experience Designer, UI/UX Designer, Web/App Designer, Interaction Designer, User Research Expert, Information Architect, CAD Designer, Experience Strategy and Consulting & Strategy, among others.
The programme also highlights entrepreneurial capabilities such as opportunity evaluation, business modelling, financial modelling, operations, branding, marketing and MVP development.
This is significant because design careers can develop in different directions.
A graduate may join a design team, work with a technology company, contribute to a startup, pursue user research, develop products independently or combine design with entrepreneurship.
The exact career path will depend on the student’s specialisation, portfolio, projects, internship experience and evolving interests. The degree provides the foundation; the student’s work helps determine where that foundation leads.
10. Final Thoughts
A design education becomes powerful when students are given the opportunity to observe, question, experiment, make, test and rethink.
Somaiya School of Design’s four-year B.Des. journey reflects this progression. Students begin with foundational design thinking, move into exploration of technology and business, develop focused skills in the third year, and finally enter internships, exchange opportunities and capstone work during the fourth year.
The programme also gives students access to fabrication, software, biotechnology and immersive technology environments, while parallel skills and multidisciplinary thrust areas provide opportunities to explore interests beyond a single design category.
For students considering design after Class 12, this makes Somaiya School of Design an option worth exploring if they are interested in a Product Design degree that combines design practice with technology, business, experimentation and real-world problem-solving.
Admissions Open for 2026
Students looking for broader career and university guidance can explore CareerGuide.com for university comparisons, career planning and admission resources.
For entrance-examination and counselling guidance, students can also explore CareerGuide CUET.
11. Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What programme does Somaiya School of Design offer?
Ans: Somaiya School of Design offers a four-year, full-time Bachelor of Design (B.Des.) in Product Design. The programme focuses on developing physical, digital and strategic solutions.
Q2. What are the specialisations available at Somaiya School of Design?
Ans: From the third year, students can specialise in UI/UX Design, Visual Communication Design or Design for Tangible Products.
Q3. What is the four-year structure of the B.Des. programme?
Ans: The four years are organised as Foundation in Year 1, Exploration in Year 2, Deep Dive in Year 3 and Leap in Year 4. The final year includes a full-time internship or student exchange and a capstone project.
Q4. What kind of industries can students explore?
Ans: Students can explore design applications across areas such as healthcare, sustainability, robotics, mobility, education, entertainment, fintech, biotechnology, agriculture, food and nutrition and governance, among others.
Q5. Does Somaiya School of Design provide design laboratories?
Ans: Yes. The school highlights facilities including the Digital Fabrication Laboratory, Bioriidl, SMAC Lab, XR riidl and Parallel Skills Lab, supporting physical prototyping, software development, biotechnology exploration, immersive technologies and supplementary skills.
