What Is a Design and Innovation Degree?

Design and innovation are key drivers of growth and success for almost any business. In a 2024 report, consulting firm McKinsey & Co. noted that investing in design and innovation to improve consumer products can strengthen a business’s ability to increase sales, boost profit margins, and promote sustainability.

To support those efforts, organizations need professionals with design and innovation expertise. Completing a focused degree program, such as an online master’s degree in design and innovation, is one way for individuals to build that expertise.

If you have an interest in advancing your education in this area, it can be worthwhile to explore the benefits of earning a design and innovation degree, what a typical degree program includes, and the careers it may support.

Benefits of a Design and Innovation Graduate Degree

Earning an advanced degree in design and innovation can provide individuals with a wide range of benefits:

• Apply a human-centered perspective to design that can spur innovation and lead to design solutions that more closely align with users’ needs
• Develop unusual or unconventional designs that can improve customer satisfaction
• Become a problem-solver, breaking problems down and producing multiple solutions
• Bring order to the design process, relying less on trial and error and more on a structured approach to developing design solutions
• Leverage new technology to expand the universe of potential design solutions

Key Skills Developed

The competencies that individuals can acquire by earning a degree in design and innovation are valuable as well. For example, building expertise in design and innovation can strengthen competencies in areas such as:

• Critical thinking
• Creativity
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Communication
• Collaboration
   

What Graduate Degree Programs for Design and Innovation Encompass

Master’s degree programs in design and innovation are designed to equip students with the expertise needed to excel in creative sectors of the economy. Through these programs, students learn to:

• Develop solutions to address complex design challenges
• Apply various methodologies to design strategy
• Enhance their skills in design leadership

Graduate Design and Innovation Degree Program Curriculum

Reviewing typical coursework can help clarify what design and innovation degree programs include. As an example, the curriculum for the online Master of Arts (MA) in Design and Innovation degree program at Tseng College at California State University, Northridge, is organized into three primary categories: design strategy and systems, design experiences and interactions, and design leadership and impact.

Courses in the program cover subjects including:

• Design strategy: Creating design solutions for creative industries and building expertise in areas such as brand identity, consumer research, inclusivity, design ethics, content development, and emerging design technologies
• Design systems: Offering students expertise in areas such as effective design system analysis, design research, cultural relevance, and evaluation of design solutions
  Research for designing experiences and interactions: Providing students with knowledge and skills in user experience (UX) design, user interface (UI) design, and interaction design
• Design for inclusive experiences and interactions: Teaching students how to develop inclusive and globally accessible interactions and experiences, as well as universal design and sustainable design concepts
• Design leadership for the creative economy: Giving students an opportunity to hone their leadership skills and gain expertise in topics such as art and design direction, creative team leadership, and client and stakeholder management
• Design for intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship: Offering students expertise in creative strategy and design for driving internal organizational change and launching new enterprises

In addition to taking courses, students in the graduate degree program for design and innovation complete:

• Practicums: Opportunities to apply classroom learning to real-world challenges and develop market-relevant projects 
• Graduate projects: Industry-sponsored or client-based projects in which students propose creative design solutions, receive feedback from faculty and professionals, and build connections within their field

Careers in Design and Innovation 

Earning a degree in design and innovation can prepare an individual for a range of careers. Below are a few examples.

User Interface and User Experience Designers

UI and UX designers create digital products and digital interfaces that are easy to use.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), web developers and digital designers earned a median annual salary of $95,380 as of May 2024. The BLS also projected that employment in this field will grow 7% through 2034, compared with 3% growth across all occupations.

Brand Strategist

Brand strategists analyze consumer markets and create brand messaging and customer experience (CX) strategies that influence purchasing decisions. 

The BLS reported that advertising, promotions, and marketing managers earned a median annual salary of $159,660 as of May 2024. The BLS also forecast 6% employment growth in the field through 2034.

Industrial Designer

Industrial designers develop consumer products by combining principles of art, design, and engineering.

According to the BLS, industrial designers earned a median annual salary of $79,450 as of May 2024. It projects 3% employment growth through 2034.

Innovation Consultant

Innovation consultants help their clients develop new products, improve CX, and identify growth opportunities.

Management consultants and analysts earned a median annual salary of $101,190 as of May 2024, according to the BLS. In addition, the BLS projects 9% employment growth in this field through 2034.

Build a Career in Design and Innovation

Whether creating and improving physical products, UX, or digital offerings, individuals with design and innovation expertise have the opportunity to do meaningful work. Each day, they can use their knowledge and skills to develop new and innovative solutions to design challenges.

If you want to build your design and innovation expertise, explore the online Master of Arts (MA) in Design and Innovation degree program that Tseng College at California State University, Northridge offers. Offering three stackable certificates that can be earned individually or combined to earn a full master’s degree, the program provides students with various options to enhance their design and innovation expertise and credentials. 

Learn more about CSUN’s program and start working toward your goals in design and innovation today.