Go 3-dimensional
Whether it's creating spaces or products, take your 3D designs to new levels of innovation at Massey.
Fab first
Our Fab Lab is Australasia's first digital fabrication laboratory – affiliated to MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Be job-ready
Massey graduates are sought after – 77 per cent of our bachelor degree students get jobs within six months of graduating.
Reputation counts
With a reputation for innovative research and practice, Massey is the country's oldest creative arts school, dating from 1886.
Overview
Imagine and build. And be mindful of how it affects people and our planet.
Learn from world-class lecturers with experience as creatives and design experts. Discover new ideas in areas such as interactive environments or prop design. Explore ways of making, from hand-crafting furniture and models to 3D printing and other digital fabrication technologies. Get hands-on and test full-scale prototypes in our well-equipped facilities, including 3D workshop and Fab Lab Wgtn.
Spatial and industrial design are a good fit if you:
- do well in school subjects such as design, visual arts (ngā toi) or technology (hangarau)
- want to create impactful products, services and experiences
- like thinking creatively and getting hands-on to make things.
Spatial and industrial design courses may cover:
- 3D modelling
- design processes, including ways to generate ideas and develop innovative concepts
- CAD, rendering and visualisation software, and technical specifications
- ergonomics – designing products to fit the people who'll use them
- human-centred design principles
- lighting and projection design
- prototyping, both digital and physical
- sustainability, including bio-materials
- technical skills needed to work a wide variety of materials
- visual storytelling and presentation.
Our staff, students and graduates have a long and rich history of participation and success in design competitions such as:
And we have strong partnerships with companies such as:
- Fisher and Paykel and Fisher and Paykel Healthcare
- Formway
- Warren and Mahoney.
What is industrial design?
Industrial designers create products for use at home, at work or at play. Examples include:
- appliances and devices such as coffee machines, dishwashers or gaming consoles
- bikes, cars or e-scooters
- furniture such as office chairs, kitchen cabinets or handcrafted pieces
- mobility aids
- props for film or TV
- safety equipment
- sportswear or sports equipment
- watches, glasses or jewellery.
Industrial designers merge innovation and usability to take a people-first approach to design – focusing on what people need and how they'll use things.
Industrial design at College of Creative Arts – Toi Rauwhārangi
What is spatial design?
Spatial design includes:
- digital spaces, including virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality
- exhibition and performance design, including temporary structures
- interior architecture
- landscape design
- urban design.
Spatial designers create new environments for people to live, work or play – and devise new ways to interact with physical and virtual spaces.
Spatial design at College of Creative Arts – Toi Rauwhārangi
How to study spatial and industrial design
Discover what we offer if you’re interested in spatial and industrial design – whether you’re coming to university for the first time, changing direction or returning to advance your study or career.
Undergraduate study
Undergraduate bachelor's degrees with honours
Bachelor of Design with Honours – BDes(Hons)
Change the world through design. Study in New Zealand’s leading and most comprehensive design qualification.
Industrial Design – Bachelor of Design with Honours
Industrial design is a great choice if you enjoy designing, inventing, and making three-dimensional products. From smartphones to movie sets, industrial design transforms people’s lives - and Massey grads are at the forefront.
Integrated Design – Bachelor of Design with Honours
Take a unified approach to design. Develop strong design strategies and contextual understanding, applying your technical skills in the design fields of your choice.
Spatial Design – Bachelor of Design with Honours
From designing a home interior, or public building to an interactive exhibition, or a virtual world, spatial designers have myriad opportunities at their fingertips. Let your imagination soar.
Undergraduate certificates
Certificate in Visual Arts – CertVisualArts
Massey’s Certificate in Visual Arts is a flexible programme that will introduce you to the basics of art and design - creative thinking, visual communication, specialist skills, and critical awareness.
Undergraduate diplomas
Diploma in Visual Arts – DipVisualArts
You’ll study with art and design degree students in a range of studio and lecture-based courses covering everything from critical and contextual studies, to social media, painting, and digital fabrication.
Graduate diplomas
Graduate Diploma in Design – GDipDes
Develop your technical skills and learn to think like a designer.
Relevant undergraduate subjects to major or specialise in
When you apply to study at Massey, for some undergraduate qualifications you can choose what subject you’d like to specialise in. You can usually change your mind after you get to university, depending on the courses you enrol in.
Postgraduate study
Master's degrees
Master of Creative Enterprise – MCE
Combine research and practice to give you the skills you need to make your mark in the highly competitive creative industries.
Master of Design – MDes
In the Master of Design, you’ll produce innovative and responsive design work that is thoroughly grounded in design research methodologies and expertly realised.
Master of Fine Arts – MFA
Embed yourself in a rich dialogue about your creative practice in Massey’s transdisciplinary Master of Fine Arts qualification, for artists and designers.
Postgraduate diplomas
Postgraduate Diploma in Design – PGDipDes
Go beyond your bachelor’s degree and advance your design thinking with a Postgraduate Diploma in Design.
PhD and other doctoral degrees
Doctor of Philosophy – PhD
A prestigious research qualification that demonstrates your ability to carry out independent and original research in your chosen field.
Relevant research areas at Massey
Discover research expertise, projects and initiatives relating to spatial and industrial design at Massey.
Our facilities
You'll have access to a wide range of first-class facilities when you study with us.
Fab Lab
Fab Lab Wgtn is Australasia’s first digital fabrication laboratory (Fab Lab) affiliated to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Fab Lab's capabilities include: A computer-controlled laser cutter; numerically-controlled milling machine; a sign cutter; a precision milling machine to make three-dimensional moulds; surface-mount circuit boards; and small 3D printers, for fast production of 3-dimensional forms.
3D Workshop
Students can access a number of workshops on campus, alongside technical staff who will introduce them to the equipment and assist them if required. The 3D Workshop has specialty spaces to explore materials, prototyping and manufacturing processes. This includes wood, plastics, engineering, resins/ casting, welding, sanding and spray booths, CNC (water jet cutter, laser cutters, mill, routers) through to wood and metal working machinery and hand tools.
Toystore
The Toystore offers a wide range of audiovisual equipment for design students to borrow, as well as access to large format printing and technical support.
Virtual and augmented reality
A specialised room where students can explore and prototype virtual spaces and experiences, or create virtual artworks or designs using virtual reality and augmented reality equipment.
Photo studios
Massey University's Wellington campus has specialised professional photography studios, (white cycs, green screen, Elincrom/Bowens/Diva lite) access only by students enrolled in photographic specialised papers only.
Jobs in spatial and industrial design
Design better and smarter products and spaces, fit for purpose, fit for people, fit for our planet and its resources. Careers can span from entertainment to interiors, electronics to healthcare, car companies to furniture makers.
Some of our graduates are freelance designers, or start their own businesses. Others work in consumer product companies such as Apple, Fisher and Paykel, Kathmandu and Nike, or in creative industries including film and television.
Spatial and industrial design careers include:
- digital experience designers, who create ways for people to interact with digital products or spaces
- exhibition designers for festivals, museums or pop-ups
- industrial and product designers
- interior designers or interior architects, who may specialise in kitchens, restaurants or retail
- prop and FX designers
- service designers
- urban designers.
Annual salary ranges for jobs
- Industrial designer – $42,000 to $120,000
- Interior designer – $42,000 to $95,000
Salary ranges disclaimer
Indicative pay rates are:
- in New Zealand dollars
- based on careers.govt.nz data.
Which spatial and industrial design qualification?
Examples of where our qualifications may take you.
| Jobs | Examples of what you could study |
|---|---|
| Designer for film, stage or TV |
Bachelor of Design with Honours (Spatial Design) Master of Design |
| Experience designer or exhibition designer |
Bachelor of Design with Honours (Spatial Design) Bachelor of Design with Honours (Visual Communication Design) |
| Interior designer or interior architect | Bachelor of Design with Honours (Spatial Design) |
| Industrial and product designer | Bachelor of Design with Honours (Industrial Design) |
Accreditations and rankings
QS Ranking - Art & Design
College of Creative Arts – Toi Rauwhārangi ranks in the global top 150 for art and design by QS World University Rankings.
NASAD
Massey's College of Creative Arts is New Zealand's only art and design school granted “substantial equivalency” — an international benchmark of quality — by the United States National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).
Red Dot Design ranking
Ranked 3rd in Asia-Pacific by International Red Dot Design Awards, the only design school to be ranked in New Zealand and Australia. This significant achievement recognises the high calibre of our teaching staff and the exceptional quality of our students' design concept work.
Get an information guide
Download our guides to find out more about studying spatial and industrial design at Massey.
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