Introduction to Product Design

Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati via Coursera

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Details

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Provider

Coursera
Pricing

Paid Course
Languages

English
Certificate

Certificate Available
Effort

7 weeks, 4 hours a week
Sessions

Self-Paced
Level

Beginner
Subtitles

English

Overview

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By the end of this course, you will be able to take a product from a real user need to a tested, working prototype using a structured, user-centred design process. You will learn to conduct user research with both qualitative and quantitative methods, build personas and journey maps, and turn your findings into clear design requirements. A rich toolkit of ideation techniques — brainstorming, SCAMPER, brainwriting, and morphological methods — will help you generate, evaluate, and refine novel concepts systematically. You will then bring your ideas to life through paper, digital, and physical prototypes, and use iterative testing to improve them quickly. What makes this course unique is its blend of engineering rigour and design thinking. You will master not only how a product functions, but also the principles of form, aesthetics, colour, and emotional design that set market-leading products apart. Developed by faculty at IIT Guwahati, every module pairs foundational theory with industry case studies, preparing you to bridge the gap between engineering analysis and human-centred innovation.

Syllabus

Basics of Product Design

This module introduces the fundamentals of product design, exploring how designers solve problems through creativity, aesthetics, and user research. Students learn the distinctions between product design, industrial design, and design engineering within the new product development process. The module traces the evolution of design movements and examines contemporary trends shaping design practice today.

User-centered Product Design for Engineers

This module introduces the user-centered design (UCD) process for engineers. Learners explore methods for understanding users through their sensory, cognitive, and motor systems, and apply research techniques to create user personas, journey maps, scenarios, and task analyses. The module culminates in formulating prioritized design requirements and actionable design briefs.

User Research Methods and Data Analysis

This module equips engineers with practical methods for conducting user research — from designing questionnaires and conducting interviews to observational studies, usability testing, A/B testing, and participatory design. Learners also develop skills in qualitative data analysis through coding techniques and quantitative analysis using descriptive and inferential statistics, alongside ethical research practices.

Creativity and Innovation in Product Design

This module introduces the principles and practice of creativity and innovation in product design. Students begin by examining real-world examples of creative products that transformed their respective markets — from Dyson's bladeless fan to Tesla's Cybertruck — and learn to distinguish between invention and innovation through the 4 Ps (paradigm, process, position, product) and 4 Cs (context, culture, capability, collaboration) frameworks. The module then presents a structured creative thinking process: formulating a clear design brief, decomposing it into features or attributes, applying ideation techniques, and synthesising ideas into workable concepts. Students learn and practise six formal creativity techniques — brainstorming with Six Thinking Hats, analogies (direct, indirect, fantasy, symbolic), SCAMPER, mind mapping, attribute listing, and creative constraints — each illustrated through a running pillow-design example and supported by industry case studies (Dyson, Tata Nano, Apple iPhone, Tesla, GoPro). The module concludes with methods for measuring creativity and innovation (psychometric approaches, componential models, quantitative and qualitative metrics), the challenges of such measurement (subjectivity, contextuality, multidimensionality), and strategies for fostering a creative culture within teams and organisations. By the end of this module, students will be equipped to lead structured creative ideation sessions and evaluate the innovation potential of the concepts they generate.

Creative Ideation, Concept Generation, and Feasibility Analysis

This module guides learners through structured ideation and concept selection for product design. Students master creativity techniques — the 5 Whys, 6-3-5 brain writing, role storming, and reverse brainstorming — before progressing to concept generation through affinity mapping and Six Thinking Hats, culminating in systematic concept evaluation using feasibility analysis and Pugh charts.

Prototyping for Product Design

This module equips learners with comprehensive prototyping knowledge for product design. Students explore low-fidelity to high-fidelity prototyping methods — paper, digital (CAD/CAM/CAE), and physical — along with rapid prototyping techniques including FDM, SLA, SLS, and CNC machining. The module covers prototype testing methodologies, cost–time optimisation, and strategic prototyping decisions across the product development lifecycle.

Product Form and Aesthetics for Engineers

This module introduces engineers to the principles governing product form and aesthetics. Students learn design elements (point, line, shape, form, texture, colour, value, space), design principles (balance, contrast, emphasis, hierarchy, rhythm, unity, proportion), material–texture relationships, colour theory (RGB, CMYK, colour wheel, colour schemes), proportions and scale (golden ratio, rule of thirds), emotional design, and cultural considerations — enabling them to create products that are functionally sound and visually compelling.