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ANGLIA RUSKIN
Course overview
The focus of the course is towards producing informed designers and technically skilled graduates who are well placed to pursue successful careers in graphic design. Cambridge School of Art develops designers, capable of creative and independent thought, with the confidence and ability to deliver significant input within a professional environment.
Cambridge School of Art offers an academically rich and visually diverse environment for you to enhance your understanding of graphic communication and to develop your ability as an innovative designer. As an undergraduate you will explore a wide range of graphic disciplines - and their professional contexts.
Course content is based upon graphic, typographic, text-image relationships and the visual communication of information and ideas. The main focus is on the development of both intellectual and practical skills, to the levels required in industrial practice. Access to our excellent on-campus digital facilities and design studios, will provide you with real understanding of contemporary design processes using industry-standard Adobe CS design software on Macintosh technology.
The course embraces new areas of practice, including site specific, conceptual, interactive, hypertextual and multimedia work, and does so in a way that values informed visual literacy, cultural awareness and the imaginative exploration of new ideas. Principal teaching methods focus on practice via design briefs and are principally studio or workshop based. Core modules are supported by theoretical and contextual modules of lectures and seminars. The course optional modules allow you to explore areas of particular interest, and to prepare for your future career.
Sarah Channing-Wright
BA (Hons) Graphic Design (now MA Publishing)
I moved to Cambridge in 2007 and having worked in Administration for 15 years, I felt it was time for a career change. I had always wanted to study Graphic Design, so I chose Anglia Ruskin University to pursue my dream. Lectures were engaging and assignments encouraged me to stretch my conceptual thinking. The enthusiasm with which the subject was taught made me look at the world very differently, in the use of colour, typography and the structure of design, which is everywhere you look, from road signs to dog biscuit packaging. I would highly recommend this course to anyone wanting to study Graphic Design. Coming from a non-design background, I found the tutors helpful and supportive throughout the course. The Mac suites all had the latest version of Adobe Creative Suite, which was pertinent to the course and, following some successful campaigning, printing costs were reasonable. There is also the unique opportunity at Anglia Ruskin to experiment in the letterpress workshop, which I highly recommend doing.I am now studying for a MA in Publishing at Anglia Ruskin, and the Graphic Design course has been an invaluable stepping stone. My involvement with the redesign of the student newspaper 'Apex' during my second year has led me to become the Chief Editor, rebuilding it from the ground up as a student society. As my final major project I designed a book including typesetting, cover and binding. Both of these I am hoping to integrate as projects during my MA.
Facilities
Teaching takes place within a well resourced and dynamic learning environment in the Cambridge School of Art; comprising three formal digital Mac Suites surrounded by other resource rooms, providing further networked workstations and more informal seminar and critique areas, as well as access to the dedicated resource areas of letterpress and printmaking. All workstations are equipped with current industry standard software for the Apple Mac, which remains the chosen platform within the graphic design profession.
Links with industry and professional recognition
Alongside the core staff of permanent lecturers, Cambridge School of Art further consolidates its relationship with industry through the regular contribution of part-time lecturers with national reputations as practitioners. Students have had considerable recent success within National Competition Briefs and engage with Industry Graduate Networks.
The course team is regularly contacted by businesses offering 'live' briefs or seeking to employ students reaching graduation. Member of the D&AD Global University Network.
Associated careers
This course is particular invaluable to anyone wishing to pursue a career as a graphic designer. However, it also provides a good basis as a designer for entry into a wide range of related fields and industries, such as: digital graphics, media communications, publishing, advertising and marketing promotions, and of course teaching or further postgraduate study.
Our graduates embark upon careers in advertising and branding, as information designers, as editorial and book designers, as freelance designers, and also as designers within the web and interactive media.
Matt Power
BA (Hons) Graphic Design
My job is as a graphic designer with SCE Cambridge Studio (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe) I work on a varied amount of content and this is quite reflective of the course at Anglia Ruskin, with the opportunity to try out different areas of graphic design over the first two years through different modules and then working on specialities in the third year, whilst also preparing you for the professional start in the industry. It's always been known that the graphic design course at Anglia Ruskin is complemented by the lecturers' specialist knowledge of typography, which has always been a fantastic foundation in my job. Working with layout is a typical day-to-day task, from designing menus and interfaces to laying out packaging or manuals, so having the knowledge of what looks right on the page and understanding what will be most legible for the end user is incredibly important. The same applies to having a contextual knowledge of what design and type styles are suitable for which target audience, and understanding why.
Arts University College Bournemouth
THE COURSEGraphic design is a vehicle for communication as well as self-expression. It is about communicating to inform, educate, entertain, persuade, or any combination of these. This course aims to foster self-confidence and the ability to develop informed design strategies; it will also encourage you to bring your own experiences and interests to the course. You will develop your own unique and individual approach to visual problem solving. Graphic designers need to be able to make decisions in complex and unpredictable contexts and react quickly to new information, evolving briefs, changes in situations and advances in technology. Innovation is therefore central to the course and will be critical to your development. The course is academically rigorous whilst remaining vocationally focused.
You will engage with a variety of contextual and design issues such as user-centred design, sustainability, emerging technology, service design, information design and interactive design. As a graduate you will leave with a range of abilities that include technical, critical, conceptual, interpersonal and learning skills, which will enable you to enter many varied areas of industry.
RESOURCESThe course is based in two main studios, one of which has an integrated computer suite. We have a newly refurbished main studio for use by Year 1 students that incorporates private spaces for individual and small group discussions. You will learn through technical workshops, software training, seminars, small and large group tutorials, plus the use of online virtual learning environments.
The course team has a full range of experience working in the design profession, running independent consultancies and working with major clients and design organisations. Staying abreast of current developments within the graphic design world is very important, so it is crucial that staff members are involved in contemporary design practice. Guest speakers and visiting lecturers (including successful course alumni) are invited from various areas of the industry to share their experiences and supplement students learning.
YEAR 1In Year 1, you will be exposed to the full breadth of graphic design skills and solutions. You will be introduced to the range of differing techniques that you will go on to explore through the course. It is essential that students are flexible and diversely skilled so that they can communicate across a broad range of media. The scope of topics you will explore include: screen, print, interactive, web, typographic and theoretically based issues. Practical work often combines writing skills because graphic design usually involves, in one form or another, image working in conjunction with text.
YEAR 2Year 2 focuses on the application of knowledge in different contexts. It is also about practicalities as it aims to provide you with a solid grounding in the knowledge and skills needed to take an increasing responsibility for the management of your own learning.
YEAR 3Year 3 is concerned with identifying and extending the limits of your design knowledge. Final major projects are about your identity as an individual designer and you will be encouraged to view your project as a springboard into a career and to use it to open doors into industry.
INTERVIEWS AND PORTFOLIOSAt interview we are looking for applicants with motivation and who have shown commitment in their previous studies. Portfolios should ideally contain drawing and photography plus evidence of an understanding of the design process. Academic performance is also very important. We have an interest in people from a variety of different educational, social and cultural backgrounds.
A-level candidates are very often recommended to possess a Foundation Diploma in addition to their A-level grades. This is because this course requires a high degree of skill, technical knowledge and conceptual understanding that cannot always be demonstrated through A-level study.
WHAT WE LOOK FORFirst and foremost you should be passionate about using visual imagery in a compelling and original way. You should demonstrate an appreciation of visual and conceptual aspects of design and a desire to communicate visually to your audience in a variety of styles and with a range of objectives. You should have proven skills in more than one design discipline, which may include drawing, illustration, photography and typography. Your motivation and thirst for learning must match up to the academic demands of this course.
SKILLS AND CAREER DEVELOPMENTAlthough work placements are not an assessed part of the course, we encourage our students to undertake some form of work experience. To launch a career in graphic design it is vital to be exposed to real working environments. We help students to make industry contacts and post work opportunities online for students to follow up independently. Each year, we aim to offer a variety of travel opportunities which may include visits to London and international cities such as New York, Berlin and Barcelona to attend design conferences. In addition, students are expected to arrange their own independent visits and trips.
Students have excelled in national design competitions and awards such as Design & Art Direction (D&AD), Royal Society of Arts (RSA), International Society of Typographic Designers (ISTD) and Young Creatives Network (YCN). We have twice won D&AD Best in Show and one of our final year students recently won the RSA environmental design category and collected the Design Council Award for Innovation. Another course graduate recently published a book with Thames and Hudson on the subject of colour theory, stemming from his dissertation completed whilst on the course. We have an excellent track record of successful employment and a number of our graduates also go on to study at postgraduate level. Some have gone on to set up their own businesses, or work for major design consultancies (such as Roundel Design, Pentagram, Bubble, Frost Design, Browns, BBC Television, Archigram in San Francisco, and Studio Dunbar and Tel Design in Holland). One recent graduate now heads up the CGI team for The Mill in Los Angeles and another recently won Shells Entrepreneur of the Year award in London.
University of Bedfordshire
Summary
This course recognises the increasing information flow in the current world and the possibilities that digital media have created for producing, distributing and publishing graphic work. The course makes students aware of the changing significance of design in society, placing emphasis on the social, cultural and environmental aspects of design and the designer as a maker of meaning in visual form.Graphic Design offers two pathways you choose a major and a minor area of study during your second stage.Print and TypographyThis looks critically at all aspects of the printed word and imageAreas of study include:- Cultural Design Context- Creative Typography- Drawing, Photography and Software such as Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator and Fontlab- Editorial Design; Art Direction- Printmaking and Book BindingWeb and Motion GraphicsThis looks critically at all aspects of moving, interactive or time-based graphic design.Areas of study include:- Cultural Design Context- Creative Typography- Design for Communication Technologies such as mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs)- Drawing, Photography and Industry-standard Software- Motion Capture Lab- Narrative and Sequential based Storytelling- Professional PracticeStudents on the course are initially involved in problem-solving activities that require an understanding and use of practical workshop areas and studio practices.The course introduces you to the possibilities of digital media publication and print, typography, photography, illustration, advertising design, video, animation and web design.In the final stage of study the course is very focused to preparing students as professional designers ready to enter the world of work.The course benefits from contact with the professional world of design through visits, exhibitions, membership of the D&AD, visiting lecturers from London design agencies.
Why choose this course?
Staffed by practising artists, designers and guest lecturers who regularly publish and exhibit their work and have practical experience of working on a wide range of industrial and public projectsThe Institute is an Apple Centre of Education ExcellenceCombination of strong theoretical input with a depth of study, offering a wide range of career optionsFocuses on fostering personal creative developmentProvides knowledge and experience of using industry standard technologies and softwareOpportunities to use cutting edge techniques in areas such as design for mobile and new communication technologies, motion graphics, digital and hand-drawn animationStrong emphasis on design that is environmentally and ecologically aware
Career Opportunities
Corporate design, web design, exhibition design, packaging, logo design, illustration, typography, small design business/ freelance work.
Assessment
Course work, design projects, portfolio, written assignments.
Further details about the programme
The following course information refers to current courses. This information is therefore subject to review.STAGE 1Graphic Design 1A foundation to subsequent studio units and will introduce students to a range of skills and ways of production that are essential to the Graphic Designer and Illustrator.Art and Design PPaD (level 1)Enables needs, aspirations and expectations to be identified in working in the professional world of art and design. Understanding the coherence of the art and design course.Graphic Design 2Builds upon and reinforces knowledge acquired in the semester 1 Graphic Design 1 unit. Specific design projects will be set to ensure the development of the ability to apply combined skills to a variety of design problems.Contemporary Issues 1Introduces both European and non-European key concepts and models of twentieth and twenty-first century art and design practice. It is intended to encourage a critical engagement with some visual arts/design issues.Visual Research 1Introduces working attitudes, procedures and concepts essential for effective visual research. Provides knowledge, skills, and conceptual strategies to be able to identify, investigate, organise and interpret visual information.Skills for Academic WritingDevelops core study skills, irrespective of discipline, involved in producing academic essays/reports and oral presentations.STAGE 2Graphic Design 3Develops students' abilities to analyse and resolve graphic design problems within more complex projects and expansive design problems.Graphic Design 4Design projects in which take into account the production and re-production process. Introduction to technical (digital pre-press), mechanical (colour lithography, screen printing, digital printing) and physical factors (paper stocks and inks) that might affect planning and implementation of design ideas.Contemporary Issues 2Advances and develops ability to reflect critically upon contemporary art and design concepts and practices and become familiar with the language and use of visual/oral and textual analysis.Art and Design PPDPrepares for the dissertation in the following year as well as developing an understanding of the professional context of art and design specialisms.STAGE 3Graphic Design 5Combines and synthesizes previous design/illustration knowledge and skills by engaging students in projects, which reflect professional contexts.Art and Design DissertationIndependent learning through the writing of a dissertation of approximately 8,000 words.Art and Design Major projectProduction in a body of creative art/design work that is intended to be represented in a public exhibition.
University of Bolton
Course overview
The BA (Hons) Graphic Design programme is built on a series of diverse and challenging practical assignments underpinned by appropriate theory. These will help you develop the wide range of skills and knowledge you will need to pursue your chosen career or progress on to postgraduate graphic design study. The programme is available as a single honours or joint honours with a number of art, design or media-related subjects.We have a policy of continually updating and introducing new modules, ensuring your work is relevant to current industrial and international practice. For the same reason, all the staff teaching this degree are also practising professionals in their chosen fields, and we bring that broad experience to our teaching. Most of the programme involves the creative use of graphics software, but we are also strongly committed to ideas generation and problem solving using traditional media and techniques. In addition to your modules, you will have the opportunity to work on projects for clients from inside and outside the University. We will also encourage you to enter national and international competitions.
About the course
You will learn through a mixture of studio-based work, lectures, tutorials and seminars which will include critical evaluation of your work by tutors and your fellow students. You will gain experience of industry practices and standards by working on real projects for clients from both inside and outside the University. You are also encouraged and supported in the submission of work to many national competitions.You will have access to the Universitys unique design studio facilities and the departments state-of-the-art computer suite and industry standard software. All of our teaching staff are practicing professionals with extensive experience in the graphic design industry. In addition, visiting speakers from the industry give talks on different aspects of the business. We have a policy of continually updating and introducing new modules to ensure course content is relevant to current industrial practice.
What you will learn
You will learn applied skills in a broad range of graphic design media across digital, screen, multimedia and print-based graphics including knowledge and understanding of graphic design software. You will gain an understanding of design theories and principles and also learn about the historical and critical elements of design. During the course of your studies you will also develop your ability to generate ideas, research and analyse concepts, be able to use independent judgement and enhance your visual, critical, theoretical and practical understanding of graphic design in different media. The course has a strong industry bias ensuring you build a full understanding of professional practice in the graphic design industry and the application of your design skills in a business context.
What you will study
Level 1
The first level is exploratory in nature. You will experiment with the perception of form; the concept of meaning within images; the creative and formal possibilities of typography; the thinking processes involved in producing effective design and the history and theories that frame contemporary graphic design practice. We will offer you assignments that tackle the principal objectives of graphic design practice; these are identification, persuasion, information and education. At this level we are looking for how you approach such activity.
You will learn essential study skills such as research techniques, referencing systems, using computers in research practice, structuring academic writing and more. Software skills are developed through the design process together with independent study. Overall you will be asked to take a highly experimental approach to your study at this early stage and take creative risks.
You will study a number of compulsory modules: Developing Visual Literacy; Fundamentals of Typography; Contextualising Graphic Design 1; Type, Image, Message; Design Thinking.
Level 2
We refer to level 2 as a defining period. You will work on live competition assignments selected for their specialist demands. It is during this period that you will identify specialist areas of interest and realise and refine your strengths. You will also develop key production skills for both print and web, and in professional practice you will be introduced to the kinds of demands placed on graphic designers in todays multiplatform media industries.
Software skills will be further developed, again with particular emphasis on how they relate to professional practice, and by this stage you should be independently discovering new techniques using the myriad of tutorial sources. The theoretical component of level 2 examines the recent past and predicts the future. In recent years graphic design theory has advanced rapidly and of particular note is the engagement of young designers who are actively joining the global debate on design.
You will spend time exploring the creative opportunities offered by motion graphics. Again, rapid developments in technology have empowered a new breed of designers who fearlessly translate their two dimensional designs into new kinetic outputs. You will explore storyboarding, sequencing and more.
You will study a number of compulsory modules: Design Practice; Contextualising Graphic Design 2; Craft and Digital Production; Motion Graphics; Design for Emerging Technologies.
Level 3
As you enter level 3 you will identify specialist areas of interest. Initially you will work on live briefs within your specialism and take a serious approach to portfolio development.
During the first half of level 3 you will identify a comprehensive design problem which you would like to investigate deeply through a Personal Project. At this level the programme demands focused and deeper research; therefore, to facilitate this, you will undertake an intensive period of research and preparation.
During the second half of level 3 you will move this research forward in practical outcomes whilst maintaining a reflective approach to the processes involved. Before you leave the programme you will investigate and put into place a package that will help with your career progression. We call this Professional Practice and Self Promotion, but it does not only apply to those individuals who want to immediately gain employment but also to those who are moving onto higher levels postgraduate study.
You will study a number of compulsory modules: Professional Practice and Self Promotion; Advanced Design Practice; Personal Project Planning and Research; Personal Project.
Special features
All teaching staff are practicing professionals with extensive experience in the graphic design industry.
The course has a strong vocational bias and uses real and simulated design briefs ensuring you develop a good understanding of professional principles and practice in the industry.
The department has excellent IT facilities with industry-standard software.
Careers and professional development
This course will help you to progress in your career by providing you with the industry-standard qualification and specialised education to develop your skills and knowledge to a professional level.You can go on to work as a general graphic designer or specialise in one of the many disciplines the course offers, including editorial, packaging, moving image and advertising design. Graduating students may also wish to consider a freelance career in print or web design.
University of Brighton
Graphic design communicates, it touches everything that we do, everything we see. From luggage label to record label, headline to road sign, kid's book to text book, billboard to skateboard, film title to beer bottle and bar code to web site - graphic design is all around us.
Graphic design starts with an idea - this course will develop your understanding of the discipline intellectually, as well as practically.
Course structure
You can choose to take a three-year BA(Hons) degree or a four-year MDes integrated masters-level qualification.
Year 1 introduces you to the basic concepts of visual communication within graphic design. Through a series of studio projects and workshops in computing, letterpress, photography and book arts, you will begin to develop your own visual language.
Year 2 introduces the key concepts of sequential communication, focusing on self-initiated, collaborative, experimental and independent ways of working. You will also begin to explore the creative industries via a personal and professional development programme, while your own practice is enhanced through critically analysing the work of others.
In year 3 you will build upon the creative and analytical abilities you have developed.. The focus of this year encourages you to move towards a more self-directed programme of study. You will work on set and self-initiated projects, prestigious competition briefs and live industry projects, whilst establishing professional practice links.
In year 4, you will establish an advanced awareness of the professional world through working with practitioners and industry specialists. This will be within a framework of in-depth research activity that will inform your practice. The emphasis is on themes - personal, commercial and professional - that relate to your research, work and ideas.
Syllabus
Year 1Specialised core skills and studio practice workshops- Life Drawing- Printmaking- Computing for Image-making- Letterforms, Word and Image- Photography- Book Arts- Cultural and Critical Studies
Year 2Integrated contextual and professional modulesPersonal and Professional DevelopmentCultural and Critical StudiesExtension StudiesLive Briefs - Analogue and Digital Animation - Letterpress - Web Design - Screen-based Graphics- Video Editing and Production
Year 3Self-initiated projectsLive BriefsCultural and Critical Studies
Year 4Self-initiated projectsCultural and Critical StudiesMajor research project
Career and progression opportunities
Our graduates are working across the diverse range of disciplines within the contemporary creative industries. You may choose to work for a design consultancy, an advertising agency, a publishing company, or for any company or organisation that employs the use of a graphic designer or art director. Graduates are working for organisations that include Apple, the Royal Mint and the BBC. Many graduates go on to postgraduate studies.
Bucks New University
Why Graphic Arts?To flourish in the contemporary design landscape during the current economic climate, you need flexibility and a wide range of graphic skills. Our Graphic Arts course has evolved with this in mind. Our graduates flourish in a wide range of disciplines right across the graphic design spectrum, reflecting the way in which the industry has been transformed. We will prepare you for these new workplace realities by delivering a broad range of projects encompassing both new technologies and established skills, enabling you to develop your own graphic voice and unique selling point.Our teaching team consists of seasoned professionals who all have an active profile in their specialist disciplines. The proximity of London allows us to attract designers from the capital for blocks of workshop-based sessions in fields as diverse as bookbinding, branding, typography and ethical design. You will be informed about what moves the industry and when it happens, ensuring that when you graduate you can hit the ground running.
Studying Graphics at Bucks gave me the freedom to develop my own ideas, while learning aspects of the design process that are up-to-date and relevant. Being guided by practising design industry professionals from varying backgrounds gave me an unmatchable insight into different areas of design and led me to where I am today.Alice Reese, graduated 2008, Zag BBH
Watch our short film
Key features of the course:The curriculum is enhanced by:
study tours (New York and Barcelona in 2010)
strong industry links
live briefs, from companies such as Puma and Williams Murray Hamm
critiques and blocks of workshop-based sessions
placements with companies such as Wallpaper, Dragon Rouge, Rankin, Quarto Books, Metropolis, Holmes & Marchant.
What will I learn?First year is about changing the way you see the world. It is about opening your eyes and encompassing new experiences. It is about not accepting things at face value and always asking why? It is a time when you come to terms with lateral thinking and problem solving and learn to take an idea further than you ever thought possible. It is also a period in which you shed your inhibitions and find your voice. You will learn how to project your personality to influence and persuade others.
It is broad-based and aims to give students an orientation within the scope of the programme. Students work on conceptual briefs that will stretch them intellectually, whilst developing methods of research and investigation which will inform future work. In addition, a diverse skills-based module enhances whatever skills a student joins the course with.The programme is hard work but is hugely diverse, stimulating and also great fun. You will get the opportunity to work on live briefs and come into contact with many industry practitioners.Second year is when students begin to acquire skills and insights, which will prepare them for the future. Problem solving and ideas remain core, with a greater emphasis on appropriateness of solutions. Contact with industry is encouraged and there may be the possibility of work experience. Also at this point, you will be able to choose from three distinct options: graphic design, screen based media, and illustration, each guided by a specialist tutor.
Several major events take place in this level - Professional Practice week, when as many as 25 speakers take part in a week of lectures, workshops and seminars. The New York trip in February is a line-up of 20 or more visits to agencies, design, film and multi-media companies. Typical visits include: workshops, talks, portfolio reviews, presentations and critiques. We can guarantee a New York experience that you wont forget.By the time students reach the third year they are more self sufficient and directed. This is a time to explore personal interests and negotiated briefs are the mainstay of the final year. International awards and competitions are integrated into the programme. The student experience culminates is a final self-set project requiring a substantial body of highly personal, experimental work, in readiness for the final exhibition and the national stage.Teaching and the course:All staff on the course are drawn from industry and come with extensive contacts. The course team has, over the years, developed strategies to successfully combine the academic requirements of a degree course with the commercial realities of industry. The continuous dialogue between tutors and industry ensures the course is not only current but is also in on future developments. A key factor to the success of this course is the informal and cooperative relationship between staff and students.The Graphic Arts course embraces a wide range of disciplines from right across the graphic design spectrum. The title acknowledges the way in which current design disciplines overlap, encouraging students to master a broad range of skills, encompassing old and new technologies, to realise their ideas.What are my career prospects?The course prepares students for successful careers in the creative industries at an international level, be it in print-based or motion graphics, web design or illustration. Jobs in these fields include magazine designer, freelance illustrator, web-designer, animator, or creative director. The course also has a proven record of placing graduates in key London positions. Recent graduates are now working at Puma, Penguin, Zag, Native, Leo Burnett, Petrol, Exposure New York, Mother, and other first-rate design businesses worldwide.
Application information: Your interview and portfolioApplicants will be interviewed with their portfolios. The purpose of the interview is to ascertain your suitability for the course you have chosen, your individual motivation and interests and whether Buckinghamshire New University is right for you. We want you to impress us with your sparkling personality, surprise us with your boundless creativity and convince us that you are worth investing in. You should be highly motivated, passionate, confident and articulate. Your portfolio should be exciting with lots of surprises. It should also evidence unquestionable creativity with an ability to problem solve. Examples of your work and final pieces are also great to see, as they will show your sensitivity to materials.
Canterbury Christ Church University
Introduction
BA (Hons) Graphic Design gives students the opportunity to develop the professional skills and theoretical understandings needed to produce creative, visually stunning, industry-standard design and illustration for print and digital display.
The programme is designed for those who have an active interest in graphic design but may not necessarily have studied it in the past.
The graphic design industry has seen major changes over the last decade as a result of the digital revolution. Today it is an exciting and multidisciplinary field of visual communication embracing typography, advertising, photography, image manipulation, page layout, illustration, drawing and printmaking. BA (Hons) Graphic Design covers all of these aspects, giving students practical experience of the technologies and processes involved.
Students acquire skills in the use of professional software such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash and Indesign, on both Apple Mac and PC platforms. Students competencies are extended through an understanding of a range of other skills such as animation, web design, video production and photography, according to the modules they select.
BA (Hons) Graphic Design has both Apple and Adobe Certified Training Centre status and the taught content builds upon these professional benchmarks. The programme offers students the opportunity to obtain Apple Pro User and Adobe Certified Expert qualifications alongside their degree.
CONTENT AND STRUCTURE
BA (Hons) Graphic Design is designed to offer progression from introductory graphic-design skills and understandings at year one, through increasing subject expertise and specialization at year two, to student-led, professional-standard project work at year three.
YEAR 1
Year one provides a comprehensive introduction to the essential software applications, creative contexts and professional practices related to digital design. Students share a common first year with the two other Single Honours digital design programmes at the Broadstairs campus, BA (Hons) Web Design and BA (Hons) Video and Motion Graphics.
All students study:
Video and Animation
Graphic Design and Imaging
Introduction to Web Design
Multimedia Design Contexts
Visualizing Graphic Design and Imaging
YEAR 2
In year two BA (Hons) Graphic Design students build their expertise in graphic design by taking two specialist modules:
Advanced Graphic Design
Independent Project
In addition they select from a number of complementary modules in the following areas:
Advanced Digital Imaging
Contextual Theory
Exhibition and Curation
Marketing and Advertising
3D Graphics
Photography
Industry Skills
YEAR 3
In year three students develop further their specialist expertise by working on a large, industry-equivalent project that demonstrates professional graphic design skills. All students take:
Major Project
Students also choose modules from a selection focusing on:
Written or Practical Dissertations
Portfolio Development and Industry Awareness
Further information about options within degree programmes can be found here.
Learning and Teaching
BA (Hons) Graphic Design is delivered within the specialist facilities of the Universitys Broadstairs campus by academically and industry-qualified staff. Learning and teaching methods are designed to meet the objectives of each module. Core theoretical knowledge and understanding is acquired through lectures, seminars tutorials and individual study. Professional skills are acquired and developed in workshops that simulate the professional work environment.
Students benefit from technical support and have access to a wide range of the latest digital media equipment including Apple Mac and PC computing suites and professional studios. Students can book equipment including HD solid-state video cameras and digital SLRs to complete their project work.
Methods of Assessment
A variety of assessment methods is used, as appropriate to test the achievement of the learning outcomes of each module and to best reflect the demands of the creative and cultural industries. The understanding of theoretical concepts is typically assessed through written essays, reports and presentations. Professional skills are assessed through the production of individual projects produced to professional design briefs. There are no examinations on the programme.
Important Information
Applications are made through UCAS. Entry requirements are typically 240 UCAS points including CCC at A2 Level, see the entry requirements page for more information. However, all applications, including those from mature and international students, will be considered on an individual basis according to qualifications, background and experience. Applicants have the opportunity to demonstrate their suitability for their chosen programme through an interview and, where appropriate, the presentation of a portfolio of relevant practical work.
Employment Opportunities
BA (Hons) Graphic Design gives students the opportunity to acquire a range of practical, theoretical, creative, social, technological and managerial skills and resources appropriate for employment in the exciting and multi-disciplinary graphic-design industry. It also equips students for employment in the wider creative sectors and would provide a strong foundation for those intending to start their own companies.
The programme offers the opportunity to obtain Apple Pro User and Adobe Certified Expert qualifications alongside the degree; such qualifications should enhance students employment opportunities.
University of Central Lancashire
This programme of study is focused on generating creative ideas for a range of challenging briefs. In the first two years, students are taught how to develop their visual language skills in problem solving, through creative thinking and exploring the use of words and image. Students generate ideas for a wide range of graphic design applications covering corporate identity, branding, advertising, packaging, direct mail, magazines, brochures, editorial and many other forms of print based media. All final year graphic design students exhibit their work in an end of year degree show, which is open to the public in June each year. See also Advertising, Design.
Course Content
This programme of study is focused on creative thinking. In the first two years students are taught how to develop their visual language skills through problem solving, creative thinking and the exploration of type and image. Students are exposed to a wide range of graphic design applications including branding and identity, packaging, editorial and advertising.
Computer lessons are scheduled to enhance the studio work and contextual studies relates to industry practice and theory. At the end of the 2nd year, some students are able to take a year out in industry before completing their final year. They will have the opportunity to be recommended by tutors to companies for consideration. However, placements are not automatically available to all students, as the highest standards are demanded by placement companies. In the final year, students work on personal projects and competition briefs which are exhibited in the degree show and contribute to their portfolio of work, ready for job interviews.
Course at a Glance
Year 1
Graphics IntroductionCreative ThinkingHistorical Contextual StudiesPlus one elective module
Year 2
Visual CommunicationIdeas in ContextContemporary Contextual StudiesPlus one elective module
Year 3
Honours ProjectExternal ProjectPersonal ProjectContextual StudiesDesign Futures
Assessment:
Each brief is critiqued at a given deadline and verbal feedback targets weaknesses and strengths. Advice will be given if more work is required in order to pass. All work is assessed at the end of the modules.
Learning Environment:
The learning and teaching strategy is designed to challenge existing methods of generating ideas and problem solving by setting briefs that stimulate creative thinking and encourage risk taking. Each brief sets out a specific design problem and will be taught through lectures, group seminars, practical demonstrations, one to one tutorials and critiques, followed by guided self-study.
Careers:
We have an excellent employment record with previous graduates working for some of the UKs top Graphic Design agencies whilst others have established their own creative design companies. Many graduates have successful careers within the wide area of Graphic Design, from advertising agencies to multi-disciplinary design groups.
Additional Information
The Graphic Design BA(Hons) degree course at UCLan, Preston is one of the most established and successful courses of its kind in the country. In its 35 year plus history, it has consistently stood for excellence in Design and is recognised for its relevance to industry and employability. Its belief in the power and importance of ideas has meant that those students who graduate from the course remain consistently employable.
Today the course offers placement opportunities to many of its students many of whom spend a year working in top agencies across London and the North West.
The success of the course is also evident through its collection of awards. In the last ten years alone it has collected over 80 awards both national and international, including D&AD (Design & Art Direction), Roses Awards, RSA (Royal Society of the Arts) and the Chartered Society of Designers student of the year.
The development of The Disciples of Design (www.thedisciplesofdesign.co.uk) by staff and alumni has allowed us to reinforce our ethos by creating an online community of students and designers, many of whom are ex-students.
University of Chester
Graphic designers are at the forefront of the digital communications revolution and create the 'packaging' for all kinds of products and information including websites, advertisements, public education, newspapers, magazines and corporate reports. Graphic designers are the key to effective and successful communication in society today.
The programme is a dynamic combination of specialist knowledge, practical skills, creativity and critical awareness, and prepares graduates for the challenges of creative thinking and the development of their own individual visual language that are demanded by today's intensively competitive and global marketplace.
The continuing demand for innovative, high quality graphic design offers our graduates a range of exciting and rewarding employment opportunities within the creative economy - an area in which the UK is a world leader.
Why study Graphic Design Combined?
Creative and challenging experiences
Hands on learning environment with industry standard production facilities
An emphasis on professional practice and skills acquisition
Creative risk-taking and experimentation
Students enter national and international design competitions
Live external projects
National and international field trips
Opportunity to study abroad through the University's Erasmus and USA exchange programmes
Year 2 professional placements
The opportunity to study a combined honours degree
Features:
There are a number of strands running through the programme that develop all the key attributes for a professional career in Graphic Design. There is the development of the skills needed to visualise creative ideas and to use professional digital and non-digital production technologies. Design projects offer an opportunity for personal lines of enquiry as well as to experiment and devise an individual visual style.
The exploration of relevant contemporary practice via its cultural and theoretical roots offers insight into developments that influence the world of design. The development of skills and competence in digital and other media allow designs to be realised through from initial concept to final production. The development of appropriate study skills and research methods enable students to engage with design theory and to express ideas in writing as required by an honours degree programme and industry.
The programme is delivered by enthusiastic staff who are active in both the design industry and research into graphic design practices, ensuring that the programme content remains current and relevant.
First year modules encompass:
Introduction to Graphic Design (double module)
Visual Communication
Introduction to Typography (double module)
Design Contexts
Second year modules encompass:
Design and Communication
Writing for Design
Design Research Methods (double module)
Interactive Design (option for combined honours programmes)
Experiential Learning in Design or Work Based Learning
Final year modules include:
Design Discourse
Professional Practice (double module)
Corporate Design
Design Research Project (double module)
Assessment is universally via coursework or projects. These activities normally incorporate an "interim crit" which provides formative feedback on work in progress.
Responding to this feedback assists students to perform to the best of their abilities in the formally assessed part of each module and contributes to either progression to the next year of the programme or towards the classification of their degree.
Graphic designers provide creative communication solutions for a huge range of organisations in the fields of media, publishing, advertising, brand management, public relations and corporate communications.
The programme provides a unique combination of knowledge, skills and practice suitable for gaining employment within design or the creative industries, or to commence individual professional practice.
Graphic Designers work at national and international levels and graduates pursue careers in design consultancies and agencies or as effective and successful freelance practitioners.
Many BA Graphic Design students go on to study Design at a postgraduate level.
Coventry University
Learning to be a graphic designer is not a solo activity. Its dual functionality involves working and taking briefs from clients, interpreting strategic objectives and translating them into powerful concepts to communicate the client's key messages to their target audiences.
On this Graphic Design course we'll teach you how to do this through team and individual assignments, supported by live projects, work placements, student exchanges and visits from practitioners in industry.
An opportunity to work on live projects
You can undertake commercial placement opportunities
We have strong links and working relationships with industry professionals
Special Visiting Lecturer programmes
Industry experienced staff combine skills from a variety of commercial design sectors
Award winning graduates
Careers lie in graphic design, multimedia design, advertising, illustration, animation and increasingly, film and television. Other opportunities include progression to postgraduate studies at MA level. Many of the skills are transferable; some graduates go on to work in management, production and other areas within the creative industries.
The course attracts people who are passionate about art and design, eager to take up the challenge of a career in visual communications and possess an insatiable curiosity about industry standard software. Additionally you will need to think conceptually, have an organised approach and be reasonably skilled in drawing.On the course there is an emphasis on developing original ideas and communicating them clearly and effectively. You will question the role of the graphic designer, engage in practical and theoretical subjects including:
Typography
Electronic editing
Digital and analogue image generation
Photography
3D space
Contextual studies
Professional practice
Semiotics
Rhetoric
Writing
Research
In addition to image-making, typographic design and problem solving, you will also study the psychological and social aspects of communication. You will have the opportunity to undertake a 20-week professional placement during the second year of the programme.
We are committed to providing you with state-of-the-art expertise and professional experience within a broad spectrum of the industry, in order to satisfy the requirements of potential employers.
Croydon College
PROGRAMME CONTENT/STRUCTURE
If you are interested in Graphic Design and would like to dig deeper, to see how graphic works, what graphic design is used for and how it is constantly changing in an ever changing world then the Graphic Design Degree at Croydon Higher Education College is right for you.
Croydon Higher Education College has a long and proud tradition of teaching Graphic Design at Degree Level.
Our Graphic Design Degree serves two equally important functions. Firstly, to teach you what technical skills that are required to work as a professional graphic designer and secondly to explore the surrounding cultural, commercial and social issues that inform your work.
The course teaches you the fundamental principles of graphic design, what skills you will need to work as a professional graphic designer, concept development and so on. Technical workshops will teach you how to use design software to a professional standard such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, In-Design and so on.
Our students regularly comment upon how extremely useful and extensive our technical facilities are. A fully networked suite of G5 Apple Mac computers are available - bookable up to five days a week. We have a print area unrivalled in many other universities and art schools that give you the opportunity to work in screenprinting, etching, relief print and letterpress with expert technical support. You will also be given technical support using professional photographic equipment both traditional and digital and have access to dark rooms and our professional photographic studio.
Over three years you will work upon a series of creative briefs that are written and designed to broaden your understanding of graphics and to stretch your technical and conceptual skills.
Throughout all three years of the programme you will receive professional technical guidance on all practical creative aspects to graphic design such as the correct use of software to layout design, typefaces, imagery and so on. The lecturers and tutors who work upon the course are practising graphic designers with years of industrial experience. Also, technical support staff are available to ensure that your work is professionally finished.
As you progress through the course, you will gain an increasing amount of control over the type of projects and specialist areas that you wish to focus upon. Through regular discussion with your academic tutors, creative outcomes to briefs can be tailored to ensure that you leave with a portfolio that reflects your professional aspirations and areas of interest.
In level one, you will investigate the fundamental principles of graphic design such as the relationship between text and image, how to communicate using icons, symbols and other imagery. You will be encouraged to improve upon your existing skills and techniques whilst investigating new ways of working, other image making processes and so on.
Specialist areas investigated in level one include how to build a brand identity, advertising a brand and promoting a product. Typography and the letterform is also investigated in level one, questioning why certain typefaces are suitable for some uses and not others. The relationship between drawing, illustration and graphic design is another area that is considered. The editorial design module focuses upon the relationship between text and image, page layout, grid systems, legibility and experimental compositions.
Level two focuses upon the real professional world of graphic design. You will work upon a series of specialist briefs written in conjunction with industry practitioners giving you the opportunity such as brand development, advertising and editorial design. Each module contains practical work such as logo design, image making and graphic design for web etc. Work experience and international studies modules also allow you to focus on graphic design in terms of the reality of working as a contemporary graphic designer whose work is often viewed by thousands, if not millions of potential customers and consumers.
Students in level three of the course, focus upon the use of graphic design to solve problems. The final module - Final Honours Project, has two equally important elements i.e. a dissertation and an accompanying creative project. Subjects are wide and varied, and include themes such as the use of information design to aid social mobility, the future of graphic design within advertising, children's book illustration, how graphic design can be used to promote healthy lifestyle choices, or even how graphics have changed since the explosion in broadband internet access.
PROGRESSION/CAREERS OPPORTUNITIES
Many of our students continue to enter into graphic design and related creative industries. Recent graduates have gone on to work in areas as diverse as information design, branding, advertising, television and editorial design. Companies such as Channel 4, Future publishing, Glue, Saatchi, Endemol (producers of television programme Big Brother) and other respected companies employ our students. Also, many of our students have gone on to work freelance or set up their own design companies such as Cog Design creating graphic design solutions for the BBC, the Docklands Museum etc., and Redraw who have recently completed a brand identity for The Organic Juice Company.
Post-graduate study is also an option. Some students opt to further their investigation and research of graphic design at post graduate level.
ASSESSMENT STRUCTURE
The department uses a range of assessment methods including the use of visual and verbal presentations, critiques, creative work, reports and essays. Formative assessment provides you with information on your ongoing performance in a module and enables you to reflect and adapt to aid personal development. Summative assessment takes place more formally at the end of a module and is formally recorded on your transcript.
UCA Epsom
Graphic Design influences every aspect of people's lives and communicates a multitude of messages through a multitude of media. From the commercial, radical, political, religious, scientific or intensely personal, visual design helps us cross the road, buy products or services, prevent the spread of illness and challenge injustice. Throughout history this practice has had a profound effect on the development and exchange of global culture and carries enormous power and responsibility.
Key study topics include:
Developing and sustaining your work as a practice
Exploring new forms of communication and technology
Live briefs
Digital and analogue print process including; screenprinting, intaglio and letterpress
Moving image, motion graphics and interactive
Comprehensive programme of specialist workshops including CS4, layout, bookbinding, typography, narrative and practical research.
BA (Hons) Graphic Design is a three-year, six-semester course of study that is conceptually driven, practice-based and student-focused. You gain not only an understanding of the core graphic languages, techniques and processes, but also the emerging audiences for them. The ongoing debates and theoretical backdrop to the dynamic media landscape ahead is constantly assessed and re-assessed.
There are dedicated studios and both digital and analogue process areas and a tutorial team of current practitioners with ongoing experience in:
Graphic design
Illustration
Branding
Advertising
Film and television
Print and web-based media.
Added to this are renowned visiting speakers, studio lecturers and varied experts who contribute to our workshop culture.
Theoretical appreciation of the subject area runs throughout the first five semesters, delivered by contextual studies tutors, up-to and including completion of a single, or double, dissertation in Year Three.
You are encouraged to find a distinctive proactive voice, adding to and refining your skills while reviewing your progress through discussion and personal blogs. The course embraces work that is interdisciplinary or multi-vocational, such as the commercial and client-based, alongside work of a more authorial and personal nature.
Self-direction grows year-on-year and there are constant connections made to the vibrant creative industries in London, which is only 35 minutes away. Our record of winners in prestigious competitions including the RSA (Royal Society of Arts) and D&AD (Design and Art Directors) Awards speaks for itself.
Syllabus
Year 1
This introductory level is based on exploration and active participation, building a personal creative language which you refine later. This is where our welcoming creative community begins, with playfulness and individuality nurtured during a range of project work. Studio experiences run parallel to independent experimentation and discussion, critique and presentations all play their part.
Semester 1
Studio practice 1A: creativity and play
Independent practice 1A: experimentation.
Semester 2
Studio practice 1B: production & consumption
Independent practice 1B: exploration.
Contextual Studies
Mapping the modern: introduction to design, visual & popular culture since 1900
Ways of seeing, ways of knowing: introduction to research, analysis and interpretation.
Year 2
By this level your individual creative identity is clearer. You are helped by tutors to experiment even further and discuss still more passionately, while seeking the strongest solutions to practical graphic design project briefs. Individual working processes are tested against external contexts and settings, including the practical challenges of work placement opportunities, external competitions, exhibitions and publications. Contextual Studies continue, and subjects for the final dissertation are considered.
Semester 3
Studio practice 2A: methods & madness
Independent practice 2A: interrogation.
Semester 4
Studio practice 2B: audiences & contexts
Independent practice 2B: implementation.
Year 3
This level is driven by your ability to express and articulate. Your skills are refined and underpinned by a strong theoretical knowledge, adding to work and working process that is mature, professional and personally satisfying. Levels of the highest technical production are encouraged alongside innovative thinking. In Semester Six, having completed your written dissertations, you pick up real creative speed as you prepare for possible destinations in the design industry, related creative areas or postgraduate study.
Semester 5
Studio practice 3A: external positioning
Independent practice 3A: articulation.
Semester 6
Independent practice 3B: summation & production.
Successful completion of all three stages of study leads to the award of BA (Hons) Graphic Design.
You benefit not only from an excellent Mac and PC computer studio, with up to the minute software, but also an ongoing programme of workshops including bookbinding, letterpress, intaglio and screenprinting, as well as continuing focus on the value of typographic knowledge.
Digital and analogue SLR and VCR cameras are available, alongside photographic studios with darkroom and digital processing equipment.
Industry contacts include:
Eye magazine
Creative Review magazine
Why Not Associates
Le Gun
Vaughan Oliver
Tomato
Nina Chakrabarti
NB Studios
Brian Webb
BBC
Neoco
EHS 4D
The Design Museum.
Graduates work in:
Editorial design
Art direction
Branding
Web design
Print and digital publishing
Book arts
Freelance illustration.
Moving image.
University of Cumbria
Why study with us?
Its a sad truth that at many other institutions, students rarely see their tutors due to huge group sizes and often have limited access to studio space and resources happily were very different! We know that small year groups are best and so we recruit around fifty students each year. This means that you see us regularly and receive a massive amount of regular tutor support and feedback. We also believe that you should work from a studio base. In our case this is a huge, dynamic, well equipped, modern, multi-functioning space in which all years of our course happily mix, share ideas and inspire one another.
Our course is carefully structured, starting at first principles, allowing you to develop rapidly using innovative project briefs, technical workshops, frequent studio lectures, practical demonstrations and visits from professional designers.
We love graphic design and, after studying with us, were sure youll feel the same. More importantly, youll be using that passion to produce exciting design across a wide range of traditional and digital media, showing your skill, commitment, versatility and creativity to potential employers.
What can this course lead to?
Our purpose is to help you graduate as a flexible, fully prepared, highly motivated, professional designer. In fact, just the type of person the creative industries are crying out for.
Our graduates go on to work for national and international design and advertising consultancies, new-media agencies, TV companies, publishing houses and newspapers.
Our reputation for excellence in the teaching of typography and magazine design means that each year a number of our graduates are head-hunted by the major magazine publishing houses including Future Publishing, IPC and Cond Nast.
Others graduates have established themselves as self-employed designers or developed design-related careers in marketing, styling and design management. For example, Dan Sutherland was grabbed by MTV upon graduation, producing many outstanding examples of animated motion graphics. He was subsequently head-hunted by RED Design in Brighton and has recently designed a website for Carla Bruni-Sarkosy (the wife of the President of France)...
Upon graduation Fredrik st and Magnus Berg returned to their native Sweden to start their own multi-disciplinary design company Snask. Only two years after graduation they recently won the contract to produce all of the graphic design work for Swedens capital city, Stockholm.
Rick Banks joined London agency SEA Design and recently moved to This Is Real Art but more importantly, he is the genius behind the typographic card game Type Trumps sold in famous museums and galleries around the world.
Arlene Graham wonderfully demonstrated the ease and skill with which our students can cross subject boundaries by winning the top student award in the prestigious Roses Advertising Awards 2010. Student work
I came because the tutors seemed to genuinely believe in the values and processes they teach. You also have an aircraft hanger full of Macs. New Year 1 Student (October 2010)
When I looked around the campus and its studios I knew this was a great place to study and looking at the quality of work coming from the course it was an obvious choice. New Year 1 Student (October 2010)
Ive never been surer about making the right choice of course its brilliant and the tutors are fab! Year 2 Student (2010 anonymous feedback survey)
The feedback was incredibly helpful and the majority of what I have learnt came from this. Year 2 Student (2010 anonymous feedback survey)
Working outside my comfort zone has been a creative and enjoyable experience. Year 3 Student (2010 anonymous feedback survey)
"The feedback and guidance was strong throughout the year. Year 3 Student (2010 anonymous feedback survey)
Course summary
Put simply, our aim is to give you the experience, confidence and creative skills to allow you to stand out from the crowd when you graduate. Were good at what we do and we have a fantastic record of getting students into work. Youre with us for three years, but its what you achieve after you graduate thats really important.
During Year One, working closely with staff in a professional studio environment, we build your confidence and help you develop your ideas by looking at all aspects of design through a series of imaginative briefs that address core themes, issues and technical skills. These themes are further explored in an integrated design theory module. We are renowned for our teaching of drawing (including life drawing) and typography and you also develop your two-dimensional and moving image skills using our state-of-the-art digital resources and technical workshops.
We are radically different from most universities as we provide you with extensive feedback and advice while your project work is ongoing (not simply waiting until a module has finished) and by running projects that reflect the pace of the real world. For example, our first year students complete over twelve studio projects per semester and receive feedback on each one as it is presented. Sadly most students have to make do with a sector average of only four projects!
In Year Two, you tackle a series of wide-ranging design problems. You gain specialist skills as you cover corporate identity, illustration, marketing and promotional work, information, book, magazine, film, TV and web design. This includes designing and building your own online portfolio crucial in the transition from study to employment. You also work with professional designers, travel to design studios and visit relevant exhibitions. By the end of the year your experience, skill and ambition should ensure you have developed a strong sense of your chosen area of graphic design.
Year Three allows you the freedom to explore a personal approach to design, which helps you build a portfolio appropriate to your career goals. Work will include a range of international competitions, tutor-set projects and live outside briefs. Ultimately you develop self-negotiated projects giving you the opportunity to show the design world just how good you are. A professional development module supports your transition from student to professional and includes a work placement, which can help you to successfully launch your career as a practicing designer.
Not quite ready for Year 1?
Many of the students we accept on to Year 1 of the course have normally studied for a Foundation Diploma or a National Diploma in Art and Design (or equivalent). Some applicants from other backgrounds (for example school leavers or people returning to education) may need further time and support to help them progress to degree level education this is where the Foundation Entry (known as Year 0) comes in.
This specialist, preparatory year, will provide you with an extensive range of underpinning practical, technical and theoretical skills. You experience a wide range of project work and have extensive inductions into virtually all of our technical workshops. The pace is fast, the projects are fun and successful completion of Year 0 gives you automatic progression to Year 1 of the BA (Hons) Graphic Design course. You will be able to hit the ground running! Find out more by clicking here.
Resources and facilities
We are immensely proud of our fantastic, huge and well-equipped studio space. It contains over eighty Mac workstations, small tutorial and lecture spaces, staff offices, and lots of space for student work bases. It also has the advantage of having an in-house reprographics department for all your printing needs. The benefits to you of working alongside students from all years of the course are immense and the mix creates an inspiring, dynamic, stimulating and continually changing environment.
Unlike most other universities we also believe you should be able to exploit any technical areas your project work may require. We make sure you have access to computer training labs, animation suites, printmaking studios, moving image editing suites, wood, metal and plastic workshops, textile studios, photography studios and even our ceramics department! One of our students even transformed a caravan into a travelling contemporary design gallery...
Please feel free to browse the photos in our course gallery of the studio, campus and resources our students use and enjoy on a daily basis.
Additional contact information
If you think we might be the course for you, but would like a little more information, then please follow this link. Here you can find out much more, including what our interviews are like (very friendly) and the kind of work we would like to see in your portfolio (wide-ranging).
De Montfort University
Summary
One of the most popular UK graphic design degrees
Our graduates work for Next, George, Warner Music, Mamas and Papas, Appetite, Inter-Varsity Press, and Tom-Tom
Topics include advertising, creative book-making, editorial typography, information design, interactive media, packaging, photography, sustainable design or TV graphics
Close links with major graphics companies
Work on live client briefs and national and international competitions
Build your own professional portfolio
In the first year, you will explore and establish your skills through projects in graphic communication with an emphasis on creativity, visualisation, graphic literacy and problem solving. In the second year, you will develop an individual pathway within graphic design. Negotiated projects, competitions and industry projects (for example Young Creatives Network) alongside specialist options help develop your personal creative, academic and practical skills and achieve your potential.
In the third year you will work on a series of major personal projects to build your portfolio, as well as acquiring professional skills. You will also undertake real live design briefs from industry and participate in international competitions including The International Society of Typographic Designers. You will get a unique opportunity to experience what it takes to be a successful graphic designer and graduate with a portfolio demonstrating your capabilities and talents.
The course has a vibrant studio culture. Teaching is through workshops, seminars, team and individual tutorials and interactive lectures from leading practitioners and experts. Choose from a wide range of specialist topics in professional graphic design and develop personal critical skills through a series of critiques and presentations of work to tutors, peers and industry experts. You have contact with tutors through lectures, tutorials and studios, and you are also expected to engage in independent study. Although the balance of time will vary depending on the course and level of study, you will typically have 15 hours contact and undertake 25 hours of independent study each week.
Excellent specialist facilities include Mac-equipped computer suites, openaccess multi-purpose studios with excellent natural lighting, digital imaging equipment, dedicated drawing and visualisation studios and large photography and printmaking workshops.
You will work on a live project brief, set by real clients in the third year, plus industry competition briefs in the second year (Young Creatives Network). You are encouraged to seek work placements in graphic design during the summer and there is an option to undertake a longer work placement lasting up to a year.
Our graduates work throughout the graphic communication industry as staff designers, consultants or freelancers in areas such as information design, advertising and promotional design, and interactive and multimedia design.
There is also the opportunity to proceed to postgraduate study. Graduates work for brands and companies such as Next, George, Warner Music Group, Mamas and Papas, Appetite, Inter-Varsity Press, and Tom-Tom.
The best thing about the course is its many links to the creative industry. Tom OCallaghan, BA (Hons) Graphic Design, freelance graphic designer.
You will undertake commercial design briefs and are encouraged to participate in award schemes including ISTD and the RSA Student Design Awards. Students have had work commended by the YCN for four consecutive years, with two students receiving ISTD membership.
Doncaster University
Course Description
The course structure enables you to realise a professional identity within the graphic design and associated media industries, and aims to help you to achieve your full potential by developing and challenging conventional design theories through experimental and practical applications.
Contemporary graphic design requires an appreciation of all forms of visual communication, and you will be shown, through demonstration and explanation, how to continuously expand and develop your skills by undertaking challenging project briefs, often in collaboration with local and regional business organisations.
Essential tools of the trade such as the layout pad, computer, and other more traditional materials will be introduced and discussed in detail to challenge you and diversify your thinking during the conceptual and developmental design stages of each project brief.
Course Content / Structure
You will examine the current world of graphic design and develop personal skills in all of the following essential areas:-
Advertising and the promotion of brands using all available forms of sensory communication
Art Direction and how graphic design, photography and illustration is used to transmit specific brand messages and values
Branding and the tools needed to present a coherent and unified brand identity to a specific target audience and/or end user
Editorial/Print design for books, magazines and periodicals; when traditional knowledgeabout printed elements including colour, typography, layout, imagery and art direction combine with skills in digital application to produce exciting and considered design proposals
Print Reproduction and an appreciation of how artwork should be prepared fordigital reproduction
Professional Practice and the management and presentation of successful graphic design to specific target audiences and/or end users. An appreciation of local, regional and global graphic design/branding practice will also be addressed. Portfolio development and salesmanship skills will also form a core element of this area of study
Typographic design and how the letterform is applied as a visual identifier of particular brands, products and/or services
Website design and the translation of brand onto online media applications
The BA (Hons) Graphic Design Course Structure is as follows:
Year 1 Modules
Visualisation
Historical/Contextual Studies 1
Design Processes/Theory
Computer Applications for Design
Studio Practice
Year 2 Modules
Historical and Contextual Studies 2
Business Practice
Advertising
Brand Identity and Design
Editorial Design
Typographic Design
Year 3 Modules
This final year of the course requires learners to compile a body of work including a professional portfolio and a practical exhibition. In order to achieve this you will study
the following modules:
Dissertation
Externally Set Briefs
Final Major Project
In addition, all three year groups will participate in the following:-
Educational visits
Live briefs
Visiting lecturers from industry
Course Assessment
Your progress will be assessed via formal critiques with written feedback at the end of each project. You will be formally assessed at the end of each year and in the final semester, when you will demonstrate your skills through the production of a major project.
The Course
In order to undertake and complete this programme of study you must be able to demonstrate a competent command of written, visual and verbal communication appropriate to this level of study.
University of Dundee
Are you a creative thinker? Artistic? Interested in design related challenges? Then the Graphic Design Course at djcad is the course for you. In this course we will challenge you with a range of design briefs, set either by tutors or by external professionals that will enhance and inform your creative outcomes.
Why study Graphic Design at Dundee?
Graphic design is about the visual communication of ideas. At Dundee we will challenge you with a range of design briefs, set either by tutors or by external professionals, which will enhance and inform your creative outcomes. Your learning experience will be supported by lectures, tutorials, workshops and visits to design agencies.
We will help you to develop your drawing and computer-aided design skills. Throughout the course you will use research, analysis, evaluation and self-criticism, which will assist you to arrive at the best possible solutions to design challenges. You are encouraged to maintain a keen interest in current trends and developments. By the end of the course you will have acquired the skills that you need to support your success within the design industry.
Skill development
We will help you to develop your drawing and computer-aided design skills. Throughout the course you will use research, analysis, evaluation and self-criticism, which will assist you to arrive at the best possible solutions to design challenges. You are encouraged to maintain a keen interest in current trends and developments. By the end of the course you will have acquired the skills that you need to support your success within the design industry.
Placement scheme
You will have the opportunity to participate in an established placement scheme with design agencies across the UK, and you will also present your work at an end-of-year exhibition.
'New Blood'
Final year students gain valuable experience and exposure within the graphic design world by taking part in 'New Blood' - a showcase of the best graduates in graphic design, visual communication, advertising and other commercial creative arts.
At the end of the course you will be able to:
understand the graphic design process
demonstrate an effective personal visual vocabulary
understand historical and contemporary influences on design
use computer aided design from initial concept to final outcome
cohesively answer a design brief
Who should study Graphic Design?
You are:
creative
artistic and innovative
attentive to detail
a strong communicator
interested in developing your computer and drawing skills
You want to:
Learn how to design for print and screen
Develop your computer aided design skills
Learn how to answer a design brief
Student exchange
Students can apply to take part in a student exchange for a period of one or two semesters to a European or international partner institution: destinations include France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Scandinavia, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA. You will have the opportunity to participate in an established placement scheme with design agencies across the UK. You will also present your work at an end-of-year exhibition.
Level 1
Students can enter Graphic Design after successfully completing our Art and Design (General Foundation) course (apply for course WW12) or on successful completion of a recognised Foundation Course or equivalent (apply for course W210).
Level 2
tutor set briefs
typography
design for print and screen
computer aided design
life drawing
design history
In Level 2 you will apply and develop your skills.
Visual Thinking Experimental and Experiential: This module will introduce you to starting out as a graphic designer and designing for print. You will learn a range of communication methods and will begin to understand how to use word and image together. At this stage you will also develop your drawing techniques.
Ideas and Concepts: We will encourage you to improve your technical ability by investigating both traditional and digital graphic design processes. You will learn about screen-based design and will explore visual mediums, materials and techniques. You will continue to develop your life drawing skills.
The Creative Design Process: You will learn how to execute your ideas by using a mixture of low tech and high tech processes. You will gain an understanding of typefaces, letterform, print and screen requirements, screen promotion and the structure and workings of a typical design consultancy.
Introduction to Computer Aided Design: We will teach you how to use Computer Aided Design (CAD) in the context of design for print and screen.
Design History, Theory & Practice: You will learn about the historical and contemporary context of design.
Level 3
In Level 3 you explore.
tutor-set briefs
typography
design for print and screen
live project work
national competitions
design history
business studies
work placement
cultural experience / foreign trip
Graphic Design: Communication The Bigger Picture: This module will ask you to respond to design challenges outlined by external design practitioners. You will use advanced typographic and graphic skills to effectively answer the brief. We will also introduce you to the role of the designer in contemporary society.
Design History, Theory and Practice: This module will focus on design futures and professional practice.
Level 4
self-directed programme of study
professionally endorsed national competitions
dissertation
end of year graduate exhibition
national graduate exhibition in London
In Level 4 you create.
Creative Solutions Professional Standards: This module focuses on a self-directed programme of work. You will use your creativity and technical ability to showcase a comprehensive range of graphic design solutions. You will have the opportunity of working on your own personal project, entering the International Society of Typographic Designers Student Assessment Scheme and the D&AD Student Awards.
Design Dissertation Research Outcomes in History, Theory & Practice.
Progress is monitored as an integral part of the teaching process. Module tutors will conduct an assessment of completed work and supporting studies at the end of each part of the module and aggregate these assessments to provide a final mark for the module.
Careers
With the wide range of skills that you will develop on the design programmes, you will be prepared not only to practise as a designer in your chosen field but also to meet the challenges of a variety of different career paths. Recent graduates have been employed in a wide variety of fields of work including:
Freelance design
Packaging design
Branding
Digital based media
Advertising
Television & motion graphics
animation
TV/theatre set and exhibition design
games industry
business
arts management
architectural and interior design
lighting design
landscape design
sound
CAD
teaching
Placements, live project work and participation in national and international competitions all hone the employability and aspirations of our students. Students have found employment with many major design studios and organisations such as:
BBC
Sky TV
Nokia
Audi
Chanel
XBox 360
Wolff Olins
University of East London
Designing a future to meet the challenges in the workplace of a new century.
What is Graphic Design?
Graphic Design is a generic term given to visual communication in the public domain. Based originally in print media, the practice has moved from being paper and book publication orientated to new digital media platforms. Graphic Design is associated with most aspects of information design and advertising. During the 20th century, the term 'Graphic Designer', has been applied to mean a creative professional who is responsible for producing visual material seen in the public domain. The ability to work, with other designers, creatively and flexibly, across a number of media is increasingly apparent and in demand, by employers, and by those who wish to establish freelance practice.
Graphic Design at UEL
The programme is 'Discourse and Practice' based. It delivers teaching of skills as integrated with theory, seminars and visual assignments that have written reports and presentations, included within the studio environment. Students choose to develop their skills during level one of the programme, towards the 'classic' skills of typography and design publication. Protocols and spatial considerations of web-site work and interactive graphic design are developed at level 2. In level 3, the final year, the student identifies and proposes a body of visual independent work, with the support of their programme tutors. This programme actively taps into its London location and the new designers working here and opportunities for 'live' research offered by the capital.
Programme structure
The programme can be studied full-time for 3 years or in a part-time mode. It has a modular structure that enables students to study it as a Single, Major, Joint or Minor honours programme. This allows combinations to be built with its sister programmes in Digital Arts and Visual Communication and also other programmes in the School of Architecture and The Visual Arts and also the University as part of our Combined Honours menu.
Learning environment
The learning environment is centred on the individual, with Learning outcomes directly aligned with the assessment criteria, and following headings outline the components within the teaching and learning strategy.
Group Projects
Programme work where you work as part of a team with a group of your peers
Studio Project work
Studio based work undertaken by an individual or group of students in collaboration with project tutors. It includes an intro briefing, discussion on progress and development of ideas
Professional Practice
Students are encouraged to develop a strong ethos and understanding of professional practice; this can take the form of work placements, study visits, exhibitions, international exchanges, visiting professionals talks, etc.
Self-Initiated work
These are structured projects based on your own written proposal, agreed and discussed with your programme or module tutor with agreed aims and outcomes.
Seminars
These are small mixed sessions (from one or more area, or year group), discussing a project or contextual issue and sharing views and experiences.
Lectures
Group teaching of your year or with other year groups at the same time, usually around a particular topic delivered by one or more tutors
Workshops
Practical demonstrations and hands on learning takes place, as well as facilitation of your own self-initiated projects. Introductory workshops are normally undertaken in relation to project work as part of the module. Later in the programme, project proposal forms identify your needs and these are agreed with your pathway staff and the technical demonstrators. These are available in keeping with access and entitlement as well as satisfying Health and Safety requirements.
Study visits
These are trips to external venues such as museums or relevant places often as part of a module or project but can be whole year groups with tutors identified as responsible for the visit.
Assessment
The programme has a mixed menu of 20 and 40 credit modules which vary in their assessment. Students will be required to present work for assessment in the form of exhibition, portfolio presentation, oral presentation or in the form of an evaluative learning journal, report or essay.
20 credit modules are assessed at the end of each semester and 40 credit modules are assessed at the end of each year, with the marks from year 2 and 3 used to formulate the final degree award.
Work experience/placement opportunities
The programme contains a professional practice module, which enables students a variety of opportunities to undertake or engage in aspects of the professional arena. This includes visits from renowned professionals and can include any work placements, international exchanges or exhibition opportunities, study trips. These are monitored through a self evaluation/ learning journal of the experience.
Project work
Project work, both individual and as part of a group forms a major aspect of the programme. Project led modules cover topics including designing typefaces, documenting and preparing presentations based upon photography and typography, designing websites, layouts and presentations for magazine, editorial and 'fanzine' projects and group presentations based upon a series of linked lectures and evaluation
Added value
The programme is sited in a purpose built, new Architecture and Visual Arts building on our landmark Docklands Campus. This is in turn situated in the creative heartland of London, an area of exciting new media activity and also and area about to undergo dynamic regeneration and change as preparation for the 2012 Olympics. The campus is adjacent to Excel, Canary Wharf, Docklands airport and the new international rail terminus for Europe at Stratford. East London also represents the quintessential multicultural environment on the doorstep of 2000 years of cultural history.
IS THIS THE PROGRAMME FOR ME?
If you are interested in...
Typography
Photography
Video Film/DVD practice, scripting and directing
Web Design
Interactive Design
Design, Cultural and Critical Theory
Corporate identification and brand identity
Art Editorial Design, Design Publishing Page Layout and Computer-editing
Advertising and Campaign strategies
Information Design
If you enjoy...
Speculation
Working with a particular visual media
Recognising and following advertising and media
Having an awareness of brand identities
Creatively exploring a visual media
Working individually, but also to be able to work in teams
Contributing to challenges of communication in the public domain
Having an interest in applying skills in media practice to 'real' outcomes
Words, Language and word/image relationships
Copywriting and developing a creative copy interest
Moving and sequential image and film
Paper and the printed page
Letterforms
Typeface Designing
'Cover Art' and graphics applied to music, posters and flyers
Digital editing and composition
If you want...
To develop and apply visual skills within a range of graphic media;
to be equipped to join other creative practitioners in stimulating future employment within the Design profession;
to participate actively in group working, at University and in practice;
to be able to, potentially, contribute to the growing visual culture, based in London;
to be prepared to meet the practical and intellectual challenges of future demanding design assignments or project assignments;
to work in an area that contributes to establishing the nature of future visual practice, in communication, and in relation to culture, attitudes and fashion;
to enjoy, and be rewarded for, working in a media or skill in which you excel;
to broaden and add to the existing body of knowledge of visual and graphic communication.
Your future career
Graduates can gain student membership of the Chartered Society of Designers, participation in D & AD competitions and workshops, a placement and/or exchange and 'live' projects and working with professional designers, provides a breadth of experience. This is likely to give entry to a graphics career as an assistant or freelance designer, as an editor in a 'facilities house' or production company, an art editor or magazine designer, a corporate designer, art director, or advertising creative.
How we support you
UEL provides a comprehensive range of support services for students which includes: residential/student finance advice/careers advice/study skills development/IT/learning resources. The programme provides strong personal tutor guidance and professional advice related to the practice. Visiting artists, designers and other professional practitioners regularly visit the programme and study trips to working environments are an important component.
Bonus factors
East London environment offering unrivalled access to the most important creative resources, as well as good transport links and cheapest accommodation in London. There are regular visits from important professionals who live and work locally.
Outcomes section
Programme aims and learning outcomes
What is this programme designed to achieve?
This programme is designed to give you the opportunity to:
provide practical, historical and theoretical understanding of Graphic Design.
provide a platform for students to access their imagination and develop their creative identity.
establish key transferable and employability skills.
develop a multi-tasking and multi-skilled approach to professional practices.
What will you learn?
Knowledge
Typographic History and Culture
Graphic Design: twentieth century influences and issues
2D and 3D working methodologies and media
Graphic Design and Production
Managing research in Graphic Design
Team practice and negotiation
Thinking skills
Self reflection/analysis and critical awareness
Creative thinking and invention.
Visual research skills.
Subject-Based Practical skills
Typographic design, classification of typefaces and their uses
Layout design, working with word/image composition and meaning
Editing and structuring text and image relationships, in applied contexts
Typefaces and drawn Letterform development
Documenting research and process
Skills for life and work (general skills)
Time management (participation, working to deadlines etc.)
Working within groups (collaborative, work experience)
Interpersonal skills (Client awareness, etc.)
Structure section
The programme structure
Introduction
All programmes are credit-rated to help you to understand the amount and level of study that is needed.
One credit is equal to 10 hours of directed study time (this includes everything you do e.g. lecture, seminar and private study).
Credits are assigned to one of 5 levels:
0 - equivalent in standard to GCE 'A' level and is intended to prepare students for year one of an undergraduate degree programme
1 - equivalent in standard to the first year of a full-time undergraduate degree programme
2 - equivalent in standard to the second year of a full-time undergraduate degree programme
3 - equivalent in standard to the third year of a full-time undergraduate degree programme
M - equivalent in standard to a Masters degree
Credit rating
The overall credit-rating of this programme is 360 credits.
Typical duration
The expected duration of this programme is 3 years when attended in full-time mode or 6 years in part-time mode. It is possible to move from a full-time mode of study to a part-time mode of study and vice-versa, to accommodate any external factors such as financial constraints or domestic commitments. Many of our students make use of this flexibility and this may impact on the overall duration of their study period.
How the teaching year is divided
The teaching year begins in September and ends in June, but some programmes also allow students to join at the start of Semester B, in February. A student, normally registering for 6 modules in one year (3 modules in each Semester) would do so in a full-time attendance mode of study and a student registering for up to 4 modules in one year (2 modules in each Semester) would do so in part-time attendance mode of study.
What you will study when
This programme is part of a modular degree scheme. A student registered in a full-time attendance mode will take six 20 credit modules per year. An honours degree student will complete six modules at level one, six at level 2 and six at level 3.
It is possible to bring together modules from one field with modules from another to produce a combined programme. Subjects are offered in a variety of combinations:
Single - 120 credits at levels one, two and three
Major - 80 credits at levels one, two and three
Joint - 60 credits at levels one, two and three
Minor - 40 credits at levels one, two and three
Modules are defined as:
Core - Must be taken
Option - Select from a range of identified modules within the field
University wide option - Select from a wide range of modules across the University
The following are the core and optional requirements for the single and major pathways for this programme
Programmesummary
Aims & learningoutcomes
Programmestructure
Teaching, learning &assessment strategies
Quality and standard
Further information
Apply online
Assessment section
Teaching, learning and assessment
Teaching and learning
Knowledge is developed through
Workshops and demonstrations
Tutorials and seminars
Professional practice talks
Exhibitions and Gallery visits
Thinking skills are developed through
Tutorials and seminars
Independent, creative practice
Project work
Practical skills are developed through
Workshop introductions
Projects based on genres
Professional practice talks
Study visits
Skills for life and work (general skills) are developed through
Professional practice talks
Work placements
Group projects
Study visits
Assessment
Knowledge is assessed by
Oral presentation of ideas during seminars, tutorials and at the end of each module.
Portfolio and research folder presentation at the end of each module.
Breadth and Depth of research work
Thinking skills are assessed by
Oral presentation of ideas during seminars, tutorials and at the end of each module.
Portfolio and research folder presentation at the end of each module.
Innovation and lateral thinking displayed in realisation of work in relation to research material
Practical skills are assessed by
Continuous monitoring of workshop progress
Presentation of portfolio at the end of each module
Skills for life and work (general skills) are assessed by
Participation in workshops, seminars , tutorials and meetings
Time management in relation to meeting project deadlines etc.
Engagement in professional practice components of the programme, placements, group activities etc.
Programmesummary
Aims & learningoutcomes
Programmestructure
Teaching, learning &assessment strategies
Quality and standard
Further information
Apply online
Quality section
How we assure the quality of this programme
Before this programme started
Before this programme started, the following was checked:
there would be enough qualified staff to teach the programme;
adequate resources would be in place;
the overall aims and objectives were appropriate;
the content of the programme met national benchmark requirements;
the programme met any professional/statutory body requirements;
the proposal met other internal quality criteria covering a range of issues such as admissions policy, teaching, learning and assessment strategy and student support mechanisms.
This is done through a process of programme approval which involves consulting academic experts including some subject specialists from other institutions.
How we monitor the quality of this programme
The quality of this programme is monitored each year through evaluating:
external examiner reports (considering quality and standards);
statistical information (considering issues such as the pass rate);
student feedback.
Drawing on this and other information, programme teams undertake the annual Review and Enhancement Process which is co-ordinated at School level and includes student participation. The process is monitored by the Quality and Standards Committee.
Once every six years an in-depth review of the whole field is undertaken by a panel that includes at least two external subject specialists. The panel considers documents, looks at student work, speaks to current and former students and speaks to staff before drawing its conclusions. The result is a report highlighting good practice and identifying areas where action is needed.
The role of the programme committee
This programme has a programme committee comprising all relevant teaching staff, student representatives and others who make a contribution towards the effective operation of the programme (e.g. library/technician staff). The committee has responsibilities for the quality of the programme. It provides input into the operation of the Review and Enhancement Process and proposes changes to improve quality. The programme committee plays a critical role in the quality assurance procedures.
The role of external examiners
The standard of this programme is monitored by at least one external examiner. External examiners have two primary responsibilities:
To ensure the standard of the programme;
To ensure that justice is done to individual students.
External examiners fulfil these responsibilities in a variety of ways including:
Approving exam papers/assignments;
Attending assessment boards;
Reviewing samples of student work and moderating marks;
Ensuring that regulations are followed;
Providing feedback through an annual report that enables us to make improvements for the future.
Listening to the views of students
The following methods for gaining student feedback are used on this programme:
Module evaluations and feedback questionnaires
Student representation on programme committees (meeting 3 times year)
Year group meetings (up to 4 per semester)
Module and Group seminars
Tutorials
Personal Project proformas
Students are notified of the action taken through:
circulating the minutes of the programme committee
providing details on the programme notice board
Group meetings
Web CT publication
Web CT publication
Listening to the views of others
The following methods are used for gaining the views of other interested parties:
Questionnaires to former students
Industrial liaison committee
Placements Officer
Discourse with visiting practitioners
Feedback from exhibitions etc.
Edinburgh College of Art
Graphic Design is an ideas-based discipline concerned with the creation of visual material, often uniting text and imagery. Work is designed to be printed, projected, read or seen in specific contexts, and to communicate to an often wide and varied audience. Graphic designers must be flexible in their working practices and in the way they generate ideas and solve problems creatively.
The technology involved is constantly evolving, allowing greater freedom and control over individual design elements such as typography, image and sound. With such potential for creative output, the quality of the initial idea and the thinking behind it assumes greater importance.
Graphic Designers must challenge the status quo, cross boundaries, think backwards from the future and develop powerful and novel solutions. They should observe and be culturally and historically aware in order to demonstrate understanding, openness and receptivity.
At the College, the emphasis is on providing opportunities to develop your ideas, and we encourage bold, lateral thinking coupled with a clear understanding of process, technique and business. Our aim is to produce innovative, emotive, enduring and aesthetic design from students who learn through intense sustained involvement with the design process.
Each of our four-year BA (Hons) degrees in art or design share common elements of study during your first year. Subsequently, you will be introduced to graphic design principles and practical specialist processes including screen-printing, letterpress, calligraphy, bookbinding, drawing and digital techniques. You will begin to develop approaches and a visual vocabulary that will be used throughout your career.
Through varied projects you will explore the design process in greater depth addressing the cycle of analysis, interpretation, trial solution, and resolution. You will have opportunities to work on commercially viable projects, produce litho work, take part in industry visits, obtain work experience within a design agency and continue with practical specialist processes.
Projects allow for greater exploration and you will identify your own personal direction and style. Competitions and live projects let you compare your work with that of your peers, engage in dialogue with clients, respond to feedback and gain genuine experience of production. Emphasis remains firmly upon innovation and creativity through the process of problem solving.
Professional PracticeProfessional Practice is also embedded throughout all programmes and at all levels at the College to ensure that you develop the necessary range of intellectual, professional and contextual skills in order to maximise the opportunity for success in your chosen career after graduation. The Professional Practice course provides an introduction to aspects of working in the visual communication industries and starts our students on the process of researching and planning their careers.
Context Context covers the multidisciplinary field of visual culture that runs through all degrees within the School of Design. Imaginative research, analysis and communication are central to Context studies. Students are encouraged to explore the intellectual, social and historical contexts that shape creative practice in media, design and the visual arts and learn how to effectively communicate this knowledge through a range of written, oral and image-based forms. Context lecturers are situated within the School of Design and the Context modules constitute, on average, one day per week of study time each semester.
The department, located in the modern Evolution House, has one large studio where each student has their own workspace. You will also use the College's digital design workshop, Q Digital. The print workshop has a large collection of wooden and metal type and a letterpress printing machine, manufactured in 1831, which stills sees a great deal of use. This stands alongside other traditional equipment including silk screen and proofing presses.
In addition to regular feedback through tutorials and group crits, there is a formal mid-year review of project work (Formative Assessment). Students are also assessed at the end of each year (Summative Assessment).
The degree award is based on the final year programme of work and each student presents a selection of final graphic design projects, a visual research portfolio, a portfolio of professional practice and work in Visual and Cultural Studies.
Head of Graphic Design: Zoe Patterson
Zoe studied Graphic Design at Newcastle Polytechnic (now University of Northumbria) and graduated with her BA (Hons) in Graphic Design in 1988.She started teaching at Edinburgh College of Art in 1997 and was appointed to the role of Head of Graphic Design in 1998. Prior to teaching at the College, she was a practising graphic designer and taught briefly at Glasgow School of Art. In 2002, Zoe spent the summer on a teaching exchange in Australia lecturing and providing consultancy work at Griffith University Queensland College of Art, Brisbane; The University of New South Wales, Sydney; and The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne.
Zoes professional experience in the UK and abroad includes working with high-street names such as Marks & Spencer and WH Smith as well as with high-profile public bodies for whom shes delivered exhibition-related design, such as National Museums Scotland, the Pier Arts Centre in Orkney, the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh and the Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto. Most recently, Zoe helped design and curate Open Here, an internal exhibition of Graphic Design and Illustration work organised as part of the 2008 anniversary celebrations of 500 Years of Printing in Scotland.Zoes professional focus at the College is on learning and teaching, industry liaison, and graphic design. Her aim is to ensure students never say if only.
Career prospects open to graduates are wide and varied. Many will work within a design agency or in a freelance capacity in areas including brand/corporate identity, exhibition design, computer/screen-based work, packaging, publishing, advertising and promotion. Graduates of graphic design also move into many other areas across the creative field, combining their specialist skills with advanced IT skills for example, and working in the mutlimedia, digital gaming, film, television, the media and within educational industries.
Graduate Profile - Jane Stockdale BA (Hons) Visual Communication (Graphic Design), 2003. www.janestockdale.co.uk
Jane now works as a freelance photographer and graphic designer, with clients including MTV, Adidas, EMI, Lodown magazine and Saatchi & Saatchi. Her work Explosion was featured on the front cover of November 2008s Creative Review magazine.
Of her time at the College, Jane says: Edinburgh College of Art was a great playground in which to experiment, have a laugh, make loads of mistakes, collaborate and create as much work as possible.
Edinburgh Napier University
Why choose this course?
As a graphic designer, you'll help shape the world around you. More and more, designers are working in diverse industries to create our visual environment, from branding and packaging to book covers, clothing and signage. Sharing its first year of content with the Product Design and Interior Architecture courses, this course will expose you to design in its broadest sense - including media, motion and spacial applications - and you'll study and create work that transcends the 2D format.You'll have the opportunity to apply your learning on an optional one semester work placement. Additionally, you can broaden your design horizons by undertaking this placement abroad, at one of our linked EU universities.
What can Edinburgh Napier offer?
Our course is supported by industry leaders and recognised by the industry as a whole. We encourage this association through external lectures, optional industry placements and participation in competitions. Our students have a long history of success in national and international competitions. Being based at a multi-disciplinary campus means you'll be in close contact students and staff involved in other aspects of design, giving you access to a breadth of inspiration and expertise that can add further depth to your study. The course is supported by:
designated studio spaces for you to learn and practice in
an online working environment, giving you instant access to lecture notes, coursework, exams and reading lists
24 hour access to the 500-seat Jack Kilby computer centre, where you will have use of relevant software packages, plus unrestricted email and web access
access to our fully-networked library, offering an extensive collection of engineering materials and required course texts
specialist staff who are on hand to offer support in learning, language development or personal issues
our Library Information Service, which can provide a number of useful aids that will help develop study skills
a personal development tutor.
This course is based at Merchiston Campus in the lively Bruntsfield area of Edinburgh. The campus is well catered for by local amenities including cafes and bars, and is a short walk from the beautiful Meadows Park. Merchiston Campus is a unique blend of the past and present. It is home to modern computing facilities as well as the 13th century Napier Tower.
What's involved?
Based over four years, the course will involve lectures, tutorials, laboratory sessions and independent study.
Year 1
Foundation Design 1 & 2, Introduction to Graphic Design, Design and Digital Media, Option (Design Toolkit)
Year 2
Interactive Interface 1, Graphic Design Studio 1 & 2, Design and Aesthetics, Design and Business, plus one optional module.
Year 3
Interactive Interface 2 & 3, Graphic Design Studio 3 & 4, Design and Urbanism, Professional Practice. Alternatively you can spend the second half of the year undertaking a supervised work placement or overseas study module.
Year 4
You will undertake a major project and a dissertation, you will also study one module in Media Production and enter work into competitions.
Professional accreditation
Please ensure that if you are seeking a course which leads to accreditation with a professional body you have checked what the requirements are or have contacted us for specific advice. We cannot accept any responsibility if the course you select does not subsequently meet your requirements.
Falmouth University
The course at Falmouth was ideas-led, meaning that no matter what area of design I chose to focus on, the principles I learned would allow me to create a well thought out concept, solving the problem I had been tasked with. This is an approach that I continue to use in my professional career.
Ryan Tym, BA(Hons) Graphic Design graduate and designer at Brand Union
Why study for a BA(Hons) Graphic Design degree at University College Falmouth?
Studying Graphic Design at Falmouth means you'll be joining an award-winning course that has an enviable reputation within the design industry. We know what's needed to succeed in today's highly competitive market, and the nature of our career-orientated course is reflected in the high percentage of our graduates now employed as designers both in the UK and abroad. In 2010 the course was awarded Best stand at D&AD New Blood', an exhibition of the top graphic design and advertising courses in the UK and abroad.
Level 1
Great Expectations
Visual Language
Difference & Identity
Text & Image
Design to Change the World
Level 2
Consumerism
Propaganda & Persuasion
Globalisation
Contextualising Design Practice
Level 3
Negotiated Studio Assignments
Dissertation
The strength of the course is its industrial contacts - from our extensive visiting lecturer series, which attracts some of the top names in the industry, study trips to London and Amsterdam to visit many leading design consultancies, to our designer led workshops, that give you the chance to learn first hand from visiting designers.
Second year work placement opportunities offer you the chance for further professional experience. Live projects, professional practice workshops, and showcase events provide more understanding of the industry and prepare you for life after graduation.
We are proud of the high percentage of our students who gain employment as designers, many of whom are working for some of the top creative design consultancies in the UK and abroad. The breadth of opportunities delivered by the course enable you to take control of your own direction, whether you are aiming towards postgraduate study, employment in multidisciplinary companies or more specialist consultancies in digital moving image, interactive design, branding, editorial design or packaging.
By choosing to study for a degree in Graphic Design at Falmouth you will:
Join a course that has produced over 150 national and international student design award winners in the past six years, including first prize Yellow Pencils at the D&AD Global Student Design Awards, Royal Society of Arts winners, successes in the ISTD awards, Young Creative Network awards and a Silver Cube in the Art Directors Club, New York Awards.
Develop design skills across a range of disciplines demanded by the industry, allowing you to gain expertise in branding, packaging design, editorial, interactive design, advertising, digital moving image and more.
Be continually encouraged to develop your ideas, take risks and to think both laterally and imaginatively so that you can understand and fulfil the needs of a wide range of design challenges.
Present your work to the industry through the D&AD New Blood exhibition and our own exclusive annual event at the Royal Society of Arts in London.
Benefit from being taught by enthusiastic and dedicated staff whose primary focus is teaching and who can collectively provide expert guidance across the wide range of specialisms within the subject.
Be based at the inspiring Woodlane Campus, with its dedicated design studios.
Be part of an ambitious well-structured course with a proven track record of its graduates succeeding at the highest level in the design industry.
Have the opportunity to go on self-funded study trips and gain work placements with one of our many industry contacts.
Focused around a vibrant studio-based experience, the course is divided into a series of units that cover important themes within the world of design and contain briefs to be tackled in both visual and written form.
Weekly group tutorials, seminars and regular individual tutorials provide the platform for feedback; presenting work in progress, critiques and developing your confidence in discussing your work and contextualising our role as designers within society. Your final degree classification will be based on your final year's work.
Coursework and studio assignments
Dissertation in your final year
The course is based on the Woodlane Campus and benefits from the full range of central learning resources across the University College. Immediate facilities include:
Large, open plan dedicated design studios
Woodblock type and printmaking facilities
Wireless networking
Central IT facility providing both Mac and PC platforms, industry standard software and printing facilities.
Extensive library facilities including thousands of books, DVDs and periodicals
You will work on a diverse range of projects, from quick fire' one-day projects to more immersive projects that can extend for several weeks. Some will deepen your understanding of particular specialist areas, others will provide the platform for you to decide the most appropriate media routes appropriate for the message. Whatever the project, self initiated, tutor set, externally set by visiting professionals or international student competitions you will learn the guiding principles of a creative design process, giving you the confidence to tackle any design challenge.
Recent live projects undertaken by Falmouth's BA(Hons) Graphic Design students include:
Designing the bus livery for Truro's Park & Ride scheme
Brand identity for Falmouth School
NHS poster campaign, to raise awareness of dementia in Cornwall
Awareness campaign for St.Petroc's Society
Promotional catalogues for Falmouth's BA(Hons) Textile Design and BA(Hons) Fashion & Performance Sportswear Design courses
Designing books and book covers for Green Books
Designing a brand identity for Falmouth Energy Week
The course is extremely pro-active in developing as many external contacts within the design industry as possible. Each year we run a visiting speaker programme which attracts some of the top names from the world of graphic design. Last year the following designers provided lectures for our students:
Sir John Hegarty, Partner, BBH, world-wide advertising agency
Jim Sutherland, Partner, Hatrick Design, London
Conny Freyer, Partner, Troika, London
Steve Haskins, Partner, So Design, Bristol
Bob Mytton, Partner, Mytton Williams
Becky McOwen-Wilson, Creative Director, Geronimo, London
Gordon Young, Visual artist
Vaughan Oliver, V23
Patrick Miles, Design Director, Blueprint, London
Adrian Shaughnessy, Shaughnessyworks, London
Jonathan Barnbrook, Barnbrook Design, London
Craig Oldham, Senior designer, Music, Manchester
Additionally we hold a graduate day', giving our current students first hand' information regarding the immediate experiences of our latest graduates. Last year graduates joined us from the following consultancies: Hike Design, EMI Records, Allies Design, Applied Information Design, Smith & Milton, Wire Design, Original BTC, Nixon Design
In the second year of the course we provide a series of workshops that are run by leading design companies, providing the chance for you to select a workshop relevant to your areas of interest. Last years contributors were:
Dan Aldridge & Adam Cole, NBC Universal, London
Tim Balaam & Rose Reeves, Hyperkit, London
Tara Hanrahan, Thomas Matthews, London
Will Perrens & Jenny Cobden, Atwork, London
Craig Oldham, Music, Manchester
The course has developed an extensive range of contacts in the industry in order to provide placement opportunities for our second year students. Co-ordinated by our own placement tutor, we offer a variety of opportunities, many of which are with leading design consultancies across the country. Here are a selection of some of the companies who took students on a placement last year:
Universal Studios, London
Coley Porter Bell, London
Purpose, London
Gendall Design, Falmouth
Smith & Milton, London
Brand Union, London
Open Agency, London
Music, Manchester
Unreal, LondonSparkes Studio, London
Nixon, Penzance
Fabrica, Italy
Bray Leino, Plymouth
ASHA, Cheltenham
Recent graduates are now working for some of the leading design consultancies nationally and internationally; large and small, specialist and multi-disciplined. A number of graduates have also set up their own consultancies or gone on to study at postgraduate level. Job possibilities include:
Packaging design
Branding
Advertising
Television graphics
Interactive design
Exhibition design
Magazine and book design
Animation
University of Gloucestershire
This course is all about ideas, skills and strong industry links.
Designers produce ideas in order to communicate, and the success of any project depends on the strength of the idea and the skill with which its executed.
Working in our spacious studios, youll have access to computers, printers and the internet in a professional studio environment. You will create ideas for branding, packaging and advertising, along with magazines, books and information design. Youll also explore digital and moving image and areas of more personal expression and self-authorship.
Through workshops you will learn new skills, explore all areas of the subject and develop your own personality and individuality as a designer. We will expect you to be hard working, ambitious and committed, passionate, curious and enthusiastic to take risks and to acquire knowledge and to express yourself in distinctive and imaginative ways and demonstrate your curiosity, ambition and attitude through your work.
Some of our modules
Ideas and Connections
Ideas for Moving Image
Advertising, Branding, Packaging Concepts
Professional Industry Practice
Self-Initiated Design
Industry Awards
Benefits
fantastic creative industry contacts
study within a design studio environment
the top visiting design/advertising practitioners
Career paths
the creative industries
branding and packaging consultancies
starting up your own creative consultancy
Are there any placements for this course?
Compulsory work placements in the creative industry in level 2.
How will the course be assessed?
Coursework.
Havering College
IS THIS COURSE FOR ME?
If you have a particular interest in a range of possible Visual Communication related areas then this is the course for you.This specialist course is validated by the Open University.
WHAT WILL I STUDY?
On the BA Hon's Graphic Design you will explore a range of visual communication related disciplines including Typography, Editorial Design, Branding and Corporate Identity, Advertising, Motion Graphics, Animation and Interactive Design. You will also explore design history and the whole course is underpinned by research on a number of levels. The course gradually develops through progressive levels of specialism at years 2 and particularly 3, reflecting the individual students interests and strengths. Work placements are encouraged at level 2 and at level 3 students stage and a London based Graduation exhibition is staged. There are live projects with local and London based agencies and visits from practitioners. In addition there are study visits to London and abroad with locations such as New York.
THESE ARE THE COMPULSORY SUBJECTS:
All modules covered are core to the programme.
WHAT ARE THE ENTRY REQUIREMENTS?
A level 3 qualification or equivalent of 3 A levels. All students will be interviewed with a portfolio.
WHAT CAN I DO NEXT?
You can enter employment in a range of alternative capacities or continue your education at post graduate level. Certain students have opted to teach and have undertaken a PGCE course on completion of their BA.
WHAT EMPLOYMENT DOES THIS RELATE TO?
Students have been chosen for major competitions such as the D & AD Awards and included in yearbooks such as the Association of Illustrators Images: Best of British Illustration. Past students are employed in many different capacities such as major London based Branding and Publishing Houses, Advertising, Graphics for the Fashion Industry, Graphic Designers for Large Architectural Practices and Motion plus Interactive Design.
HOW WILL I BE ASSESSED?
Assessment takes two forms. There is formative assessment and feedback during modules and summative assessment at the end. Modules are marked by two independent assessors and then internally, finally the course is externally verified. You will be encouraged to undertake self and peer assessment and efforts are made to ensure that the whole process is transparent and accessible. Grade profiles to date have been significantly above the national average.
University of Huddersfield
The Course
Graphic signs and signals are ever present, and increasing their noise in the human environment.This is what fascinates you; how to make graphic design work, how to make your message stand out amongst the clutter that prevails.This is not an easy prospect, but you are up for it; that is why you are contemplating three or four years of study on this course.We will encourage you to challenge convention, to trust your intuition whilst responding to your clients' demands. These are key qualities for success in modern graphic design.
Course Content
On this course you will benefit from our established industry links and state-of-the-art digital industry standard graphic design facilities. From a foundation in the essential elements of good design such as typography and layout, conceptual design and digital technology, you will develop your design skills through project and studio work. Year 1 *Conceptual Design *Typography and Layout Design *Introduction to Digital Technology *Creative Thinking *Researching the User *Business/Marketing Issues *Visual Culture Year 2 *Design Projects *Digital Image Development *Design Management *Promotional Strategies Year 3 sandwich *Optional 48 Week Work Placement Year 3 full-time/Year 4 sandwich *Major Design Projects *Research Report *Professional Development with Business Planning
Teaching and Assessment
You will experience studio-based design projects, workshop demonstrations and practical sessions. Your progress will be monitored through the application of continual assessment techniques for all aspects of study.
Placements
Get the practical experience you need, either in a placement working in the industry, or as a part of our study abroad programme.
Career Opportunities
Graduates have gone on to work in consultancies, agencies and design groups, both in the UK and abroad, as studio designers, design managers, stylists, art directors, product development co-ordinators, freelance designers, visual merchandisers and buyers. There are also opportunities for entry into teacher training.