Central Saint Martins

Furniture Design For Beginners

The course is perfect for new designers, students looking to improve their portfolio, or professionals wanting to revisit the basics, get a fresh perspective and learn new techniques.
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Length 1 to 3 months
Effort 3 hours per week
Price £ 465
Subject Design
Level Beginner
Languages English
Video Transcripts None
This intense, modern furniture design course offers you the perfect opportunity to practice the leap between ideas and three dimensional reality; you will experiment with ideation and learn how to take your concepts forward, and learn the practical and technical skills to test, model, realise and present your designs professionally. This could be the start of a journey to a successful degree application, or your own professional practice.

What you'll learn

By the end of the course you will have;

  • Produced a user profile board
  • Learned how to feed findings from your research into your designs
  • Presented concepts to the client/developing client relations
  • Developed a range of drawing techniques and technical skills>
  • Learned how to communicate your designs effectively in 2D and 3D
  • Produced a finsihed scaled model of your design
  • Presented your finished design to the group for appraisal

Course syllabus

Course Contents

  • Introduction to the history of furniture design
  • Learning the design process
  • Understanding the client
  • Brainstorming and research techniques
  • Ideation and concept development
  • Sketch modelling and presentation models
  • Working with human measurement and ergonomics
  • Material opportunities, constraints and making
  • Technical production drawing

Meet the instructors

Rock Galpin

Trained with 7 years design education, finishing at Central Saint Martins with an MA Industrial Design, Rock Galpin has set up a number of design companies including his current practice, Rock Galpin Studio, specialising in product and furniture design, founded in 2005, originating from Studio Orange, which he founded in 1995.

Rock has won a number of awards for his designs including The Laurent Perrier Design Award in 2005 and has been featured throughout the world in the press and TV alike.

Rock's clients include; Aram, Authentics, Boss Design, Frem, Diageo, Bartle Bogle & Hergarty, Covo, Candy & Candy, Connection Seating, Designers Guild, Heals, Purves & Purves, Weber Shandwick, Hill & Knowlton and Channel 4, The British Council, Conran Shop, Geoffrey Drayton, Bacardi Global Brands, Ogilvy & Mather, Saatchi & Saatchi. In addition, Rock's own brand collection of design/supply furniture supplies to several architects and interior designers such as BDP, Swanke Hayden Connell, Featherstone Young and Waugh Thistleton.

Combined with his studio practice, Rock Galpin has also taught on the BA Product Design course for over 20 years and is a mentor on MA Industrial Design and is one of the original short course tutors now running seven short courses/online courses in furniture and product design at Central Saint Martins.