Graphic Design BA Honours

In your first year, you'll build a strong foundation in graphic design by exploring typography, design thinking, and a range of media, including photography, digital illustration, and printmaking. Through four modules, you'll engage in hands-on projects that emphasize experimentation, the design process, and critical thinking, drawing on both contemporary and historical ideas.

This module develops your abilities in industry-relevant communication tasks or assets related to illustration or graphic design or fashion communication and styling or advertising, public relations and branding or digital media.

It will equip you with a range of digital and/or analogue practices, analytical approaches and tools by which to create, curate, direct and produce content required to deliver impactful communications achieving the required objectives. The module also encourages the exploration of individual style through a series of introductory projects and to explore possible career trajectories in the creative industries.

This module introduces you to design disciplines, such as design thinking, life drawing, digital design, moving image, video editing, photography, design for print, and styling. Through hands-on exploration, you will develop a diverse set of practical and technical skills applicable across different design fields, focusing on process, production, and presentation. You will engage with the latest tools, technologies and processes enabling you to develop adaptability and technological agility. You will learn the skills, knowledge and literacies needed to thrive in this environment. Also, you will learn to critically evaluate the design processes and develop appropriate solutions to communication briefs, resulting in project-specific outcomes that demonstrate your creativity and proficiency in design. 

This module encourages innovation through the exploration of design methods and cultivate conceptual thinking and creative confidence. It will enable you to generate creative ideas adept at addressing diverse communication challenges. Emphasis on visual communication ensures that you will understand the principles of design across various formats. Through hands-on exploration, you will learn to respond imaginatively and effectively to given design briefs by sourcing reference material, applying technical skills, and developing skills in experimentation and reflection.

This module introduces you to the position of illustration, design, brands, and media in contemporary society and issues of equality and responsible production and consumption. It fosters critical understanding of images, texts, and objects in various contexts.

This module extends and deepens your understanding of the relationship between your developing practice and the practices that have developed at other times and at other places. Additionally, it equips you with transferable skills for autonomous learning at degree level encouraging exploration of theory and practice fostering independent research and reflective practice. Engagement with academic and contemporary media resources will enable you to develop critical and practical vocabularies in preparation for the second and third years of your degree. 

In your second year, you'll refine your skills, tackle live and experimental briefs, and explore specialist areas like advertising, editorial design, branding, and web design. You'll develop your unique creative voice, strengthen problem-solving abilities, and transition toward independent learning and professional practice, preparing for your future career.

The module teaches graphic design principles and practical skills through engaging briefs, preparing you for real-world challenges. 

This module will: 

• Provide opportunities for you to apply design skills through design briefs, ensuring a hands-on and practical learning experience 

• Foster a creative mindset essential for success in contemporary design practice 

• Enhance your proficiency in design fundamentals, including branding, typography, layout, and conceptual thinking, emphasising their relevance in design practice 

• Develop your skills in deadline management and effective presentation techniques through practical design projects.

Through practical projects and guided workshops this module provides a platform for you to experiment with different disciplines, fostering your growth and development as you navigate towards their individual specialisations. 

This module will: 

• Cultivate individual approaches to visual communication and exploration of diverse graphic design disciplines 

• Encourage the identification of broad areas of interest for potential specialisation within the field 

• Develop specialist skills necessary for effective work in various creative workshop areas 

• Introduce you to emerging technologies shaping the future of graphic design, fostering adaptability and innovation. 

Instilling social responsibility and forward-thinking design concepts in, this module emphasises design's role in shaping positive societal and environmental impacts and empowers you to become agents of change in the industry. 

This module will: 

• Foster social responsibility and forward-thinking design approaches 

• Investigate the positive impact of design on society and promote ethical design practices that contribute to social and environmental well-being 

• Encourage exploration of various design futures, encompassing social design, sustainable design, inclusive design and ethical design. 

This module focuses on fostering professional skills and enhancing employability. 

The module will: 

• Integrate you into the design industry, fostering professional practice, and emphasising employability skills 

• Provide you with opportunities to engage with real-world design projects and industry professionals 

• Equip you with effective communication, collaboration, and project management skills essential for successful professional practice 

• Introduce you to diverse career paths within the graphic design industry, promoting a comprehensive understanding of potential roles and opportunities. 

In your final year, you’ll focus on professional-level visual communication and building an individual portfolio. Through self-directed projects in branding, advertising, and interactive media, you’ll refine your creative style. You'll have full access to exceptional facilities and digital tools, to help you build a diverse and polished portfolio. You'll even have opportunities to participate in industry competitions, and with expert staff and technicians providing support along the way, you will graduate feeling well prepare for an exciting and creative career. 

This module fosters critical thinking, creativity, and theoretical engagement in graphic design through practical activities, to refine your skills, translate concepts into designs, develop proposals, and gain autonomy and confidence in navigating the field. 

This module will:  

• Empower you to deepen your understanding and refine skills within specific areas of interest in graphic design whether physical, digital or both  

• Emphasise critical thinking, creativity, and theoretical engagement in exploring subject-specific interests  

• Cultivate advanced practical and theoretical skills through activities centred on experimentation, refinement, finishing and design proficiency 

• Foster critical inquiry and research skills for broadening theoretical understanding in chosen subject areas of graphic design, including the development of project proposals. 

This module provides an opportunity to deepen expertise and specialisation within specific areas of graphic design, such as branding, moving image, UI/UX and emerging technologies.  

The module will: 

• Support the extension of your complement of specialist skills in graphic design and visual communication to pursue creative problem-solving projects 

• Foster advanced technical proficiency and creative innovation 

• Nurture the development of individual graphic design styles to meet industry and postgraduate study standards. 

This module will equip you with the practical skills, industry knowledge, and professional mindset necessary for success in the fast-paced and competitive world of graphic design. 

The module will: 

• Prepare you for the demands of professional practice in the field of graphic design 

• Develop professional skills through practical activities and real-world projects 

• Enhance your ability to communicate effectively with clients, manage project timelines, and deliver high-quality design solutions that respond to client feedback 

• Provide opportunities to participate in design competitions and expand their professional networks. 

This module focuses on guiding you through your major project, encouraging reflection and critical evaluation to extract insights, develop strong design skills, and prepare you for success in the graphic design industry. 

The module will: 

• Enable you to reflect on your learning journey and demonstrate your skills and creativity through a final major project 

• Encourage critical evaluation of your final major project to identify key lessons learned and insights gained 

• Guide you in conceiving, planning, and executing a final major project showcasing understanding of design principles, techniques, and concepts 

• Foster critical thinking, creative problem-solving, and effective communication through design 

• Equip you with the readiness to enter the professional world of graphic design, equipped with skills, knowledge, and confidence to succeed in a competitive industry.

Michael Wright - Programme Leader and Lecturer in Graphic Design 

Programme Leader and Lecturer in Graphic Design. After graduating in BA (Hons) in Graphic Communication from University of Northampton in 2016, Michael worked as a self-employed designer, work­ing across; branding, print and web design for a range of companies in different sectors. Michael has developed an interest in social design, experimental design and print making and is recently completed his MA in Design for Social Innovation and Sustainable Futures from London College of Communication. Currently teaching, whilst combining social impact research with design practice.

Claire Lewis - Director of Programmes and Lecturer in Graphic Design 

Director of Programmes and Lecturer in graphic design with a particular interest in typography and letterpress. Graduated from Staffordshire University followed by postgraduate studies at the London College of Communication. Currently combining teaching with professional practice.

Janet Ameer - Lecturer in Graphic Design 

Lecturer in graphic design. Following postgraduate studies at Saint Martins School of Art, worked for several leading London design groups and as creative director of Revolution. Currently working independently as Ameer Design Limited specialising in identities, literature and design for print.

Billy Kiosoglou - Lecturer in Graphic Design 

Lecturer in Graphic Design. After graduating with an MA in Communication Art & Design from the Royal College of Art in 2001, Billy set up design studio Brighten the Corners with partner Frank Philippin. Billy has worked with numerous clients in the corporate, public and publishing sectors, including the Goethe-Institut, Department for Education, Frieze Publishing, The German Post Office, Reed Business Information, Vitra Design Museum and the artist Anish Kapoor. He has been awarded a Yellow Pencil at D&AD, Gold Cube at ADC Global, Gold Nail at ADC für Deutschland, and the Grand Prix at Tokyo TDC. His work was also selected for the Designs of the Year exhibition at the Design Museum in London. Billy taught at Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, London College of Communication, Chelsea College of Arts and Brunel University before taking on the role of Lecturer at Middlesex University.

You'll work in small groups alongside tutors and technicians in specialist studios. You'll engage in hands-on-workshops, seminars, and project-based learning. The course is structured into two semesters, each with two 30-credit modules and up to three days of classes per week. Learning combines practical projects, discussions, and independent study, allowing you to explore design principles, emerging technologies, and creative trends while developing real-world skills.

Whether you are studying full or part-time – your course timetable will balance your study commitments on campus with time for work, life commitments and independent study.

We aim to make timetables available to students at least 2 weeks before the start of term. Some weeks are different due to how we schedule classes and arrange on-campus sessions.

• During your first year, your weekly timetable will typically consist of 6 hours of teaching per module across 3 days.
• Each of the 4 modules per year has 72 hours of teaching and 228 hours of independent study.

Our excellent teaching and support teams will help you develop the skills relevant to your degree from research and practical skills to critical thinking. And we offer free 24-hour laptop loans with full desktop software, free printing and Wi-Fi to use on or off campus, even over the weekend.

Assessment is an integral part of your learning, providing both grades and valuable feedback. You'll receive regular evaluations on your work, with opportunities to reflect and improve.

• Formative Assessments: Ongoing feedback during the learning process to help you enhance your performance, including verbal, written, and peer reviews.

• Summative Assessments: Final evaluations measuring how well you’ve achieved the learning outcomes for a project or module.

These assessments ensure continuous development and a clear understanding of your progress.

To help you achieve the best results, we will provide regular feedback.

Constructive feedback from staff will be given in the form of an assessment sheet or an audio recording, which will be given to you once your project has been assessed. It will usually provide comments and suggestions under a number of headings, so you can see clearly which were felt to be the strong aspects of your work and where it was thought to be capable of improvement.