Graphic Design with Foundation Year

This course is offered as four-year programmes, including an initial Foundation Year. The Foundation Year will allow you to develop your academic study skills and build confidence in your abilities, identifying your own strengths and development needs for progression onto an undergraduate programme.

Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?
With a history of delivering industry-standard graphic design education for more than 30 years, Buckinghamshire New University is the perfect place to start your creative career. As a well-established course, we have built up an excellent network of Alumni. Many are now in senior positions in the design world, both nationally and internationally, whom we can call upon.

Led by our enthusiastic and dedicated team of design practitioners and experienced academics, you’ll benefit from their industry knowledge and network of professional they bring to the course. And with London only a short journey away, you can take the opportunity to visit some of the world’s best exhibitions, galleries, and museums for inspiration.

What facilities can I use?
You’ll be encouraged to explore both traditional and current mediums to craft your design solutions, you can do this through our;

silkscreen equipment
plotter cutters
letterpress equipment
photography studios
litho equipment
laser cutting
3D printing technology
Adobe Creative Cloud

The Graphic Design course itself is situated in an open plan studio alongside the Creative Advertising course, meaning you get to experience how a working advertising and design agency would run in the real-world.

What will I study?
Studying on the course will help prepare you for this continually expanding field. Not only will we support you as an individual in the development of your visual and creative problem-solving skills, but we also equipped you with the knowledge and confidence to enter and negotiate your career in this challenging, but exciting field.

Over the course of the degree, you'll be given lots of opportunities to explore the diverse world of graphic design and its practice, including vital skills in creative problem solving, research methods, team working, project management, presentation skills, design strategy, art direction and independent learning.

Through practical hands-on, project-based learning you'll explore the fundamental core aspects of the subject like typography, narrative structure, hierarchy, layout and composition, information design, image creation and conceptual thinking skills.

You’ll develop your historical perspectives, research, and writing skills and gain the academic grounding on which to develop critical understanding and practical application. As well as this you'll explore the many workshop facilities and equipment our design department has to offer, from laser cutting and letterpress printing, to photography and the Adobe Creative Suite. Our experienced technical instructors will be there in your workshop sessions to support you with your activities and help bring your ideas to life.

We always encourage our students to take risks in their work and learn to challenge established languages and processes through questioning and individual experimentation. All our modules on this course reflect this ethos, they are in place to help you form and consolidate presentation, critical and strategic thinking, and complex problem-solving skills, whilst at the same time developing and refining practical design abilities.

Foundation year
Research and Development in Art and Design
Collaboration in Creative Practice
Visual Experimentation
Contextual Studies: Ideas, Concepts, Intro to research & writing
Portfolio
Project - Creative Realisation

Year one Modules
Core Modules
Critical and Historical Thinking
Design Processes
Design workshops
Projects
Conceptual Thinking

Year two Modules
Core Modules
Design Research and Theory
Professional Studies for Graphic Design and Illustration
Applied Graphic Design Studies 1: Editorial
Applied Graphic Design Studies 2: Branding
Industry Brief

Year three Modules
Core Modules
Creative and Professional Development
Professional Practice
Personal Projects and Commissions
Dissertation
Final Major Project

At the centre of this course is studio-based activity. You’ll spend a significant amount of time in the Graphic Design studio working on both individual study and group tuition. On the course you are pushed to explore your own style, which you’ll build into your own distinctive portfolio that demonstrates your unique strengths and interests for prospective work opportunities after graduation.

During your time with us you'll study modules that are centred around your own career aspirations and, through guest lectures from industry specialists, seminars and live industry projects,

We also aim to provide masterclasses and industry brief opportunities for you to apply your knowledge, skills and understanding into real-world contexts, whilst gaining feedback from current industry-leaders.

Individual and small group tutorials led by industry professionals, are not only to support you throughout the degree but more importantly to prepare you the professional world afterwards with an outstanding portfolio and a network of employers.

You’ll also be assessed though; 1:1 or small group tutorials, Portfolio and presentations, written assessments, sketchbooks, group critiques and self-directed study.

At the end of your studies, you’ll have the chance to take part in the graduate Art and Design Showcase exhibition at the University. In addition, students are offered the opportunity to put forward work for the D&AD New Blood exhibition in central London where a selected group of students are also invited to attend.