Course overview:

The MA Visual Communication course is about communicating small and big data in visual ways – graphic design, visual communications, infographics.

This specialist programme reflects the dynamic contemporary practices within the creative industries. It stimulates you to create challenging solutions to real-world design issues to create innovators and leaders in the field of visual communication. You identify the key transferable skills to help you create or respond to career opportunities or undertake further research.

You consider branding, graphic design, illustration, marketing, user experience, new media and future technologies – exploring and visually representing important information. You explore scenario building, fore sighting and future proofing as important factors in establishing the direction of your work and potential developments in design, communication and cultural industries. This course prepares you, as a creative individual, for professional practice in developing new business ideas, products, systems and artefacts. And it provides a stimulating environment to support high-level enquiry into emerging and future aspects of creative practice, through individual and collaborative action. You benefit from existing work that staff are doing around interactive technology and social design.

How you are assessed

We use a variety of assessment methods throughout the modules, as specified in the module handbooks. These are primarily in-course assessments, where you submit work during the module rather than sit timed exams at the end.

The modules are generally project based and primarily assessed through appraising a portfolio of work, often accompanied by a verbal presentation. Design work is largely developmental – you are assessed on the process you use to achieve your solutions as well as the result, so it is essential that you provide clear evidence of your development work.

Career opportunities

When you graduate you can go on to a range of design-related employment, develop new enterprise propositions or receive project funding to take your ideas to market. Further study at doctoral level is also an option.