Industrial Product Design

This programme is unique in Belgium, and we have just been awarded as one of the best Product Design schools in the world!

Do you want to design products and services that are both meaningful and sustainable and that improve our living environment? Think of lighting, lawn mowers, smart devices, travel bags, wearables or kitchen tools, but also buses, machines, VR headsets, wheelchairs, and really all the products we use in our daily lives.

In the Bachelor of Industrial Product Design programme, you learn every step of the design process: from creative concept, design and technical development to the presentation of a production-ready design. Key concepts include circularity, creativity, material knowledge, prototyping and sustainability.

Practical experience is ever-present in this creative programme. In the design studios and prototyping workshops of the Industrial Design Center, you experiment with wood, metal and textile processing, 3D printing, laser cutting, water jet cutting, thermoforming, welding, ceramics, and more. You will also be challenged to test your concepts with real people, make them technically ready for production, and refine them in terms of shape, material, color and texture.

International opportunities

Do you like to look beyond borders? Then during the Industrial Product Design program at Howest, you will certainly get the chance to do so. During study trips, you will gather inspiration from designers in Europe, the US, and Asia and visit renowned companies such as Lenovo or Boeing. Occasionally, you will also receive lessons from foreign guest speakers or work with international students in thematic design weeks.

In the final year, you can spend a semester studying at a foreign design school or doing an internship in a foreign company.