Graphic Design

Develop your understanding of graphic design and visual communication, solve challenging design briefs and prepare for a career as a designer with our BA (Hons) Graphic Design degree.

• Benefit from our close connections with a number of creative agencies, graphic design studios and publishers, including Cambridge University Press, CPL, The District, and Onespacemedia, who will set you "live briefs" as well as providing lectures and one-to-one feedback.

• Graduate with a professional portfolio, showreel or website, ready to go out into industry.

• Show your talent to the public and industry reps at our final-year Graduate Showcase, and local and national exhibitions.

• Enter national and international competitions, as well our as own – our school’s students and alumni have a rich history of winning top prizes.

• Receive dedicated support from our expert technicians, who'll show you how to use the latest tech and facilities or find that design solution.

• Take advantage of access to all our facilities, including our Printmaking Studio and Futures Lab.

With its vibrant studio culture, our Graphic Design degree will encourage you to push boundaries and challenge existing thinking by developing innovative design solutions as well as a keen understanding of professional practice. You’ll experiment with print-based design as well as digital commercial practices including site-specific, interactive, motion graphics, mobile media, app design (UX/UI), web and multimedia work.

While studying our BA (Hons) Graphic Design degree, you’ll develop your skills in information design, visual identities, packaging and promotion, cross-platform advertising and design for the web, as well as experience design systems. Working in our dedicated Graphic Design Mac suites and base room, you'll bounce ideas off other student designers while receiving guidance and support from the course team, all of whom have worked in the design industry for clients including Tesco, Lotus Cars, Manchester United, Saatchi & Saatchi, The NUS, and the UK Film Council.

You’ll also work closely with a number of graphic design studios, including Cambridge University Press, CPL, The District, and Onespacemedia, who will set your live briefs as well as providing lectures and one-to-one feedback, ending with a final review that can often lead to work placements, internships and long-term professional relationships. Our students recently took part in a live brief with the University of Cambridge Museums (UCM), creating an identity for their relaunched Bridging Binaries LGBTQ+ Tours across online and offline promotional platforms.

Our course options allow you to take a placement year as part of your course as well.

You’ll also enter design competitions, including Penguin Random House Student Design Awards and D&AD. There’s even the chance to study abroad for a semester, with funding on offer to help cover the costs.

As a Graphic Design student at ARU, you’ll have access to all our facilities including:

Dedicated Mac and PC suites with the latest software including Adobe Creative suite
Wide-format printers and scanners
Ruskin Gallery, a professional digital art gallery
Life drawing studio
Specialist printmaking workshop including etching, screen-printing, and lithography
3D workshops for physical media including wood, plastic, metal, and clay
Photography and media facilities including darkrooms; studios; film processing; digital printing suite; video editing; and professional equipment loans.

Our BA (Hons) Graphic Design will prepare you for a career as a graphic designer, as well as for design-related roles in digital graphics, online media, communications and marketing, publishing, and advertising. Our students have gone on to work with design studios or media and communication companies, producing advertising, corporate identities and promotions, packaging and branding, informational design, editorial and book design, web designs and interactive media.

Year 1 core modules: Graphic Design Process and Application; Graphic Design: Histories and Ideas; Graphic Design Ideation and Iteration; Introduction to Type Media; Introduction to Web Design. Year 2 core modules: Design Practice 1; Design Practice 2; Graphic Design: Media Specialisms 1; Graphic Design: Media Specialisms 2; Professional Studies in the Creative Industries; Ruskin Module. Year 3 core module: Graphic Design: Final Projects. Year 3 optional modules: Working in the Creative Industries; Research Project. Modules are subject to change and availability.

Assessment is ongoing and includes one-to-one feedback, group crits and class design presentations, so you can be sure you’re receiving structured, insightful feedback throughout your degree course.