Graphic Design MA

Course structure

You will learn a combination of analogue and digital techniques which may include motion graphics, user experience design, editorial design, branding, typography, narrative systems, gamification and art direction.

The course will be delivered through practical workshops, guided and independent study, critical reflection and writing, lectures, presentations and study trips over three semesters.

Part-time students take the same key modules but over two years.

Some modules are specific to this Graphic Design MA, whilst others are shared with other postgraduate courses, enabling you to meet and work with peers outside of your immediate subject.

Semester 1

Design Landscapes

This module encourages you to orientate your graphic design practice, enabling students who have entered from a variety of creative disciplines to focus on what they see their role as a graphic designer being. It considers your ambitions as a designer, using design principles as a starting point to compare, contrast and question.

This contemporary and international perspective will help to ensure the curriculum is decolonised and inclusive. This module is taught as a series of studio-based talks and short catalyst projects where you critically test a variety of practices and skills.

Major Project – Development

The first part of the major project is both practical and research focused. Research module elements are shared with the Sequential Design/Illustration MA and the Art and Design by Independent Project MA through a series of talks, seminars and self-led research interest groups that feed into your practical work.

This is beneficial in getting you to engage in independent research and develop an understanding of a broad range of design research.

Studio practice will develop your ideas and research interests into a series of tests and development projects. This is taught through a series of workshops, group and one-to-one tutorials. 

You will have a formative tutorial halfway through the module.
You submit a portfolio of work with a referenced reflective journal of your process and a proposal for resolution in the form of a pitch presentation to the group, with room for questions and debate.

This means you get both summative feedback from tutors and peers and formative feedback at the end of the module.

Semester 2 

Major Project – Resolution

The second part of the major project continues to be both practical and research focused. Research modules are again shared with other courses through a series of talks, seminars and self-led research interest groups that feed into your practical work.

Studio practice will build on the development of previous work. There will be a strong emphasis on research-led practice, run through a series of group and one-to-one tutorials and critiques.

This module culminates in the MA Show, an exhibition of your practical work, where you consider how best to present and articulate your design practice to an audience.

Professional Development

Throughout the course there are a series of professional practice events and talks, enabling you to further consider fields of design practice you may be interested in engaging with post education.

This module sees you consolidate your research and practical work and orientate yourself within a professional setting, considering how best to present your work with relevance to your independent design practice.

Research Presentation

You begin your Research Presentation by reflecting on your show, and through your research-led design practice, you will be asked to consider your research practice and how you can share this publicly.

Semester 3

Research Presentation (cont.)

This module  culminates in a symposium and publication of your interests. You'll work together with fellow students to design, curate, edit and identify a concept for the publication and symposium.

The symposium will be an assessed event where you engage with and present your research either as a talk, workshop, lab or seminar session – using the process that feels best for your practice.

Professional Development (cont.)

This module is assessed as a portfolio and can be submitted as a website, digital PDF or showreel. You will also be asked to submit a statement articulating how you see yourself as a practitioner and how this has been developed into a portfolio to present to potential employers and clients.

Facilities

You will work in postgraduate studio spaces alongside fellow visual communication students, encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration and conversation between other courses and external partners.

Technical staff are on hand to assist you in the workshops and facilities available to you include:

• one of the country's best-stocked art and design libraries
• the internationally important Design Archives with a wealth of graphic design and illustration material
• dedicated graphic design studio
• letterpress printing workshop (dedicated technician)
• book arts workshop (dedicated technician)
• Techhub featuring laser cutting, plasma cutting, CNC 3-axis milling, CNC routing, 3D body scanning, portable 3D scanning and rapid prototyping
• department print bureau.

Meet the team

Our team of practitioners and specialists, as well as experienced technicians, will guide you in mastering your specialism within the field.

Gavin Ambrose, course leader

Gavin is a practicing graphic designer who works with clients on diverse and engaging social, cultural and environmental projects. His practice, Studio 245, works within graphic design, print and environmental design with the aims of culturally enriching our environment and field of vision and embracing new ways of learning. He teaches through activities focused around workshops and activity led sessions aimed at empowering learners.

This method is based, in part, on the teachings of Jean-Pol Martin, who pioneered the LdL method of teaching (Lernen durch Lehren or Learning by Teaching) where peers are encouraged to teach one another.

Since 2005 Gavin has authored and designed a series of books on design and design theory for Bloomsbury Press London and New York which have been translated into multiple languages.

Gavin is a registered PhD supervisor at the University of Brighton, and this presents an opportunity to advance higher level study and research.

Read Gavin’s full profile

Lizzie Finn

Lizzie Finn has a commercial background in graphic design and illustration for the fashion and music industries. After graduating from Central St. Martins, her use of textile materials in the context of visual communication attracted clients including Vitra, Vogue, Channel 4 and The Victoria and Albert Museum. Lizzie has exhibited her work internationally and has spoken at design conferences in Tokyo, Sydney, Oslo and Steven’s Point, Wisconsin.

Before joining the University of Brighton, she was course leader for Illustration and Visual Media at The London College of Communication, University of The Arts London and has taught at Chelsea College of Arts and Winchester School of Art and run workshops related to her practice at Fabrica in Italy and Ecal in Switzerland.

Lizzie Finn’s practice and research reflect her continued interest in creating images which incorporate a convergence of visual languages and references from varied sources. Recent projects have focused on constructing assemblages in fabric, thread and other materials.

Read Lizzie’s full profile.

International requirements and visas

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Visas and immigration advice

Course fees

Scholarships, bursaries and loans

We offer a range of scholarships for postgraduate students. Bursaries and loans may also be available to you.

Find out more about postgraduate fees and funding.

What's included

You may have to pay additional costs during your studies. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. A summary of the costs that you may be expected to pay, and what is included, whilst studying a course in the School of Art are listed here.

• For most courses you will need to budget for the cost of specialist materials, equipment and printing and are likely to spend between £50–£300 per year.
• Costs in your final year of study are very likely to be higher than in earlier years as you bring together your final body of work and portfolio, and you may need to budget between £200 and £1,000.
• For some courses you may also need to budget up to £100 for specialist personal protective clothing which, with care, will last for the whole of your course and beyond.
• For most courses you will have the opportunity to attend field trips and off-site visits, for example to galleries, exhibitions and studios both in the UK and overseas. These are optional and are not required to pass your course. The amount spent would be based on location and number of trips taken, and typically range between £100 and £700 across the duration of your course.
• You will have access to computers and necessary software at City campus and at other locations across the university. However, many students choose to buy their own hardware – usually a laptop, software and accessories. The amount spent will depend on your individual choices but this expenditure is not essential to pass any of our courses.
• Course books and a wide range of magazines and journals are available in the university libraries. You do not need to have your own copies, but if you wish to, you should budget up to £200 over your course to buy them.
• For courses in which there is an optional placement year, you will need to budget for living costs (rent, food, travel etc) in that city/country, as if you were on site at the university.

You can chat with our enquiries team through the Stay in touch panel at the end of this page if you require further information. Or check our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as more information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status

Info

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2020–21.

Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK/EU students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee.

You can find out more about our fees in the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full-time or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

Local area

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

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