Subject specialisations in DMU Dubai’s BA (Hons) Interior Design programme resonate with the UAE’s design needs

Specialist areas — leisure and hospitality, retail, living and working from home, exhibition, and events — suit the growing demands of the UAE’s interior and spatial design industry

Being a global design hub for architecture and design, interior design is one of the strongest growth industries in the UAE and the market has no dearth for commercial space, residential, trade exhibition and event projects. Market reports suggest that UAE leads the GCC interior design market and enjoys almost half of the overall share.

De Montfort University (DMU) Dubai’s BA (Hons) Interior Design programme focuses on specialist areas — leisure and hospitality, retail, living and working from home, exhibition, performance, and promotion events (including visual merchandising) — that will reflect the needs of the local, regional and global context.

The curriculum prepares students for a wide range of roles within the built environment – providing graduates with a great many career opportunities including becoming an interior and spatial designer, exhibition designer, production designer or visual merchandiser.

Stuart Lawson, subject head for the Art, Design and Humanities portfolio at DMU Dubai, the Dubai branch of DMU Leicester, said:“The programme focuses on interior and spatial design – and the way in which people interact within these built environments. The staff bring professional or academic research experience to a range of specialisations that are taught within the course. These include exhibition, retail and leisure design – and these inform the students’ own developing specialisations – and ultimately the choice of their final major project.”

Industry-focused modules and subject specialisations

Employability is embedded into DMU’s BA (Hons) Interior Design programme and students are offered opportunities to engage with clients and design professionals in live projects and through visiting lecturers, participate in competitions. Industry and research-based expertise within the team support the specialist pathways choices in the second year.

The ‘Visual Communication’ module in year 1 and ‘Principles of Design 1’ modules, cover the teaching of effective manipulation of materials, mediums and software to help students to effectively communicate design ideas, via 2D and 3D format and cross-modelling techniques, and the conventions of drawings used within the wider construction and design industry.

In year 2, tutorials within selected subject specialisations, are based in a supervised design studio in which students also undertake workshops where they are asked to develop and realise one idea – through the manipulation of 3D form and the psychological use of colour, shape, texture and lighting.

In the year 3 ‘Advanced Design in Practice 2’ module, students are asked to reflect on the design process that they have undertaken within their major project – from research and development work to the complete design stage and then from advanced construction technology and practice technical detailing.

DMU Dubai students will also be offered the opportunity to transfer their studies to the UK campus at any point of the academic year to experience diversity and exceptional international career support by DMU Works.