Graphic Communication

We teach you the critical, technical and aesthetic skills necessary to become a professional graphic communicator: designer, typographer, illustrator, or image­maker. You’ll discover the varied and complex nature of design practice.

You’ll graduate as a strategic thinker, innovator and maker, having produced creative and challenging outcomes across a range of media or within your chosen specialist area.

Year 1
You’ll study carefully structured studio modules examining the core aspects of graphic communication, typography and image. You’ll learn to conceptualise, produce and critique type and images. Attending specialist workshops will help you develop practical skills.

Workshops include: drawing, screen­printing, letterpress, etching and lithography, photography (analogue and digital), motion graphics, and animation (analogue and digital). You’ll gain an awareness of the industry through a Professional Contexts module, and a contextual framework through a Historical and Critical Studies module.

Year 2
You’ll explore interactive media in the context of type and image. You can choose to focus on graphic design, illustration or interactive media, or keep an interdisciplinary approach. A Professional Context module will help you consider and develop your professional identity as a practitioner and your Historical and Critical Studies module will prepare you for your dissertation.

Year 3
You’ll produce of a series of portfolio projects. Live briefs provide experience of dealing with clients and real production problems and solutions. Portfolio clinics conducted by professional designers help you consider and prepare your portfolio before graduation, and career workshops help you get ready for career networking, opportunity finding or further advanced study.

You’ll be assessed in two ways, firstly during your studio modules there’ll be critiques, advice and commentary from your tutor or peers about your work (formative assessment). Secondly after you present your research and you final design outcomes you’ll receive from your tutor written feedback with a mark (summative feedback).

You’ll learn through a variety of methods including: directed technical workshops; lectures; small group seminars; and, most frequently, through the practice of making in specialist tutor led studio sessions. Working in studio sized groups with a dedicated specialist tutor, you’ll develop typography, image making and illustration skills. By responding to set design problems and participating in the frequent studio critiques with tutors and peers, you’ll develop strong critical and reflective abilities.

Self directed learning is facilitated through materials on Minerva – Bath Spa University’s Virtual Learning Environment – and other web based resources. You’ll also have access to our specialist art and design library.

You can choose to apply to study abroad on a placement for one semester during your second year at a European university as part of the Erasmus program. Our course is linked with Universities in Lucerne and Leipzig. We have students study at Non-European exchange programmes Japan, Australia and the USA. We also have links in China.

We offer an international study trip to first and second year students. Past destinations have included: New York, San Francisco and Las Vegas, Cuba, Iceland, Amsterdam, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Morocco, and Beijing. You’ll have a chance to meet and talk with internationally acclaimed designers, illustrators, design writers and curators in their studios.

There are also visits to museums and galleries. Additionally each year will have a nationally based study day trip, typically to London, to review key exhibitions.

We have good industry links. These include a final year personal portfolio review session, where you’ll benefit from real industry advice on your portfolio and presentation techniques from established practicing designers and illustrators.

Our graduates become graphic designers, art directors, illustrators, animators, interactive media designers. They work across the full range of creative media industry including advertising, motion graphics, photography, and digital and print publishing.

We encourage our students to participate in design competitions and our third year students must develop one competition brief as part of a final year portfolio. Past students have had success with D&AD New blood as well as other national competitions.

Each year final year students can be nominated for sponsored awards: The Ripe Prize for Graphic Communication Project of the Year; and The Emtone Prize for Outstanding Graphic Communication Student of the Year.

The preliminary and intensive Integrated Foundation Year in Art and Design is designed to develop your ideas, skills and confidence in readiness for progressing to year one of your degree programme.

This year provides you with the opportunity to identify, apply for, and secure professional experience, normally comprising one to three placements over a minimum of nine months. Successful completion of this module will demonstrate your ability to secure and sustain graduate-level employment.

By completing the module, you'll be entitled to the addition of “with Professional Placement Year” to your degree title.

Before your Professional Placement Year, you'll work to secure your placement, constructing a development plan with your module leader and your placement coordinator from our Careers and Employability team.

On your return to University for your final year, you'll submit your Placement Portfolio, detailing your development on your placement, for assessment.

The course is based at theBath School of Art and Design campus at Sion Hill in well equipped studios dedicated to the Graphic Communication course. These are located close to the specialised Art and Design Library and other technical and digital workshop facilities.

You’ll have access to a range of resources, designed to ease work flow and facilitate creative and experimental practice. This includes access to both traditional analogue to cutting edge digital technology. Our studios feature new Mac computers, connected to digital printing including b/w and colour. Large format colour printing is available in the adjacent technical workshop.