A degree in Outdoor Product Design & Development (OPDD) from Utah State University is the first step to a high skill, high wage, high demand career opportunity in product design, development, or management. The OPDD program prepares students for an exciting career bringing innovative, sustainable, and impactful product to market in the dynamic sports, outdoor, and active industries.
In this first of its kind bachelor's degree, students will learn design tools, techniques, and methodologies, to prepare them to develop products through hands on learning experiences. This new program brings together industrial design, engineering, digital design, fashion, sustainability, business, supply chain management and many other concepts important in the creation of consumer products.
Products come to market through the coordination of a team consisting of a designer, developer, and a product line manager. Students can choose one of the following emphasis areas for specialization: Design, Development, Product Line Management after completing the first two years of design foundations.
Emphases:
- Design: This emphasis focuses on learning the design process, how to conduct design, product, and user research, product ideation as well as learning design tools, technologies, and techniques to allow students to visualize their products on paper, digitally, and as physical prototypes.
- Development: This emphasis focuses on project management, negotiations, lean continuous improvement, global supply chain management, sourcing, sales, and operations. Students will collaborate with designers to transform concepts and designs into reality.
- Product Line Management: This emphasis focuses on team management and leadership, market research and consumer behavior, creating product lines plans and design briefs, understand cost, scheduling and ho to bring product to market.