Graphic Design BA(Hons) Degree

Course outline

Stage 1

• A Word in Your Eye (40 credits)
• Design Process (40 credits)
• Difference & Identity (40 credits)
• Narrative (20 credits)  

Stage 2

• Consumerism (40 credits)
• Typography (20 credits)
• Self Initiated Assignments (40 credits)
• Graphic Intervention (20 credits) 

Stage 3

(Running from 2012/13)

• Journeys (40 credits)
• Dissertation (20 credits)
• Destinations (40 credits)
• Transitions (20 credits) 

Tell me more about the BA(Hons) Graphic Design course

 BA(Hons) Graphic Design award information form (100.88 KB)

The strength of the course is its industrial contacts - from our extensive visiting lecturer series, which attracts some of the top names in the industry, study trips to London and Amsterdam to visit many leading design consultancies, to our designer led workshops, that give you the chance to learn first hand from visiting designers.

Second year work placement opportunities offer you the chance for further professional experience. Live projects, professional practice workshops, and showcase events provide more understanding of the industry and prepare you for life after graduation.

We are proud of the high percentage of our students who gain employment as designers, many of whom are working for some of the top creative design consultancies in the UK and abroad. The breadth of opportunities delivered by the course enable you to take control of your own direction, whether you are aiming towards postgraduate study, employment in multidisciplinary companies or more specialist consultancies in digital moving image, interactive design, branding, editorial design or packaging.

By choosing to study for a degree in Graphic Design at Falmouth you will:

• Join a course that has produced over 150 national and international student design award winners in the past six years, including first prize Yellow Pencils at the D&AD Global Student Design Awards, Royal Society of Arts winners, successes in the ISTD awards, Young Creative Network awards and a Silver Cube in the Art Directors Club, New York Awards.
• Develop design skills across a range of disciplines demanded by the industry, allowing you to gain expertise in branding, packaging design, editorial, interactive design, advertising, digital moving image and more.
• Be continually encouraged to develop your ideas, take risks and to think both laterally and imaginatively so that you can understand and fulfil the needs of a wide range of design challenges.
• Present your work to the industry through the D&AD New Blood exhibition and our own exclusive annual event at the Royal Society of Arts in London.
• Benefit from being taught by enthusiastic and dedicated staff whose primary focus is teaching and who can collectively provide expert guidance across the wide range of specialisms within the subject.
• Be based at the inspiring Woodlane Campus, with its dedicated design studios.
• Be part of an ambitious well-structured course with a proven track record of its graduates succeeding at the highest level in the design industry.
• Have the opportunity to go on self-funded study trips and gain work placements with one of our many industry contacts.

To find out more about the course, see more of our work, and for a full list of recent achievements visit our course website: www.graphicsfalmouth.com

How is the course taught?

Focused around a vibrant studio-based experience, the course is divided into a series of units that cover important themes within the world of design and contain briefs to be tackled in both visual and written form.

Weekly group tutorials, seminars and regular individual tutorials provide the platform for feedback; presenting work in progress, critiques and developing your confidence in discussing your work and contextualising our role as designers within society. Your final degree classification will be based on your final year's work.

Assessment

• Coursework and studio assignments
• Dissertation in your final year

Facilities

The course is based on the Woodlane Campus and benefits from the full range of central learning resources across the University College. Immediate facilities include:

• Large, open plan dedicated design studios
• Woodblock type and printmaking facilities
• Wireless networking
• Central IT facility providing both Mac and PC platforms, industry standard software and printing facilities.
• Extensive library facilities including thousands of books, DVDs and periodicals

Projects

You will work on a diverse range of projects, from ‘quick fire' one-day projects to more immersive projects that can extend for several weeks. Some will deepen your understanding of particular specialist areas, others will provide the platform for you to decide the most appropriate media routes appropriate for the message. Whatever the project, self initiated, tutor set, externally set by visiting professionals or international student competitions you will learn the guiding principles of a creative design process, giving you the confidence to tackle any design challenge.

Recent live projects undertaken by Falmouth's BA(Hons) Graphic Design students include:

• Designing the bus livery for Truro's Park & Ride scheme
• Brand identity for Falmouth School
• NHS poster campaign, to raise awareness of dementia in Cornwall
• Awareness campaign for St.Petroc's Society
• Promotional catalogues for Falmouth's BA(Hons) Textile Design and BA(Hons) Fashion & Performance Sportswear Design courses
• Designing books and book covers for Green Books
• Designing a brand identity for Falmouth Energy Week

Guest lectures/workshops

The course is extremely pro-active in developing as many external contacts within the design industry as possible. Each year we run a visiting speaker programme which attracts some of the top names from the world of graphic design. Last year the following designers provided lectures for our students:

• Sir John Hegarty, Partner, BBH, world-wide advertising agency
• Jim Sutherland, Partner, Hatrick Design, London
• Conny Freyer, Partner, Troika, London
• Steve Haskins, Partner, So Design, Bristol
• Bob Mytton, Partner, Mytton Williams
• Becky McOwen-Wilson, Creative Director, Geronimo, London
• Gordon Young, Visual artist
• Vaughan Oliver, V23
• Patrick Miles, Design Director, Blueprint, London
• Adrian Shaughnessy, Shaughnessyworks, London
• Jonathan Barnbrook, Barnbrook Design, London
• Craig Oldham, Senior designer, Music, Manchester

Additionally we hold a ‘graduate day', giving our current students ‘first hand' information regarding the immediate experiences of our latest graduates. Last year graduates joined us from the following consultancies: Hike Design, EMI Records, Allies Design, Applied Information Design, Smith & Milton, Wire Design, Original BTC, Nixon Design

In the second year of the course we provide a series of workshops that are run by leading design companies, providing the chance for you to select a workshop relevant to your areas of interest. Last years contributors were:

• Dan Aldridge & Adam Cole, NBC Universal, London
• Tim Balaam & Rose Reeves, Hyperkit, London
• Tara Hanrahan, Thomas Matthews, London
• Will Perrens & Jenny Cobden, Atwork, London
• Craig Oldham, Music, Manchester

Work placements

The course has developed an extensive range of contacts in the industry in order to provide placement opportunities for our second year students. Co-ordinated by our own placement tutor, we offer a variety of opportunities, many of which are with leading design consultancies across the country. Here are a selection of some of the companies who took students on a placement last year:

• Universal Studios, London
• Coley Porter Bell, London
• Purpose, London
• Gendall Design, Falmouth
• Smith & Milton, London
• Brand Union, London
• Open Agency, London
• Music, Manchester
• Unreal, LondonSparkes Studio, London
• Nixon, Penzance
• Fabrica, Italy
• Bray Leino, Plymouth
• ASHA, Cheltenham

Meet the students

Below you'll find websites for some of our graduates:

• Alex Turvey
• Craig Oldham
• Philip Skinner

To view the work of our current graduates please visit: www.fromfalmouth.co.uk

Answers and advice about the course

If you have any queries about the course you can contact Programme Leader, Jon Unwin: jonu@falmouth.ac.uk

For further information about BA(Hons) Graphic Design at University College Falmouth, please email admissions@falmouth.ac.uk or telephone Admissions on 01326 255763.

Our student mentors are now on Facebook. To chat to a mentor about the course, living in Cornwall, or what to expect at Falmouth, check out the Graphic Design group. You need to join the group before you can post. Our student mentors have already done the first year of the course... so ask them anything you like!

Graphic Design Facebook group

If you're not Facebook you can still speak to a student mentor. Email your name and the course you're starting to: studentmentorenquiries@falmouth.ac.uk and we will be in touch with you.

Open Design: UCF for design tutors

At our first Open Design event in February, Heads of Department and Pathway Leaders from Foundation level courses around the UK spent the day with design staff and students at University College Falmouth, learning more about our facilities and courses.

Click here for more information and to register for the next Open Design event

Career opportunities

Recent graduates are now working for some of the leading design consultancies nationally and internationally; large and small, specialist and multi-disciplined. A number of graduates have also set up their own consultancies or gone on to study at postgraduate level. Job possibilities include:

• Packaging design
• Branding
• Advertising
• Television graphics
• Interactive design
• Exhibition design
• Magazine and book design
• Animation

Entry requirements

A minimum of 220 UCAS points, equivalent Level 3 qualifications or relevant experience. Successful applicants will be able to demonstrate experimentation, emerging strengths in drawing and mark making and creative idea generation skills supported by research and informed enthusiasm for the subject.

For information regarding interview and portfolio advice please visit: www.graphicsfalmouth.com

Please see our How to Apply page for more information.

For further information about BA(Hons) Graphic Design at University College Falmouth, please email admissions@falmouth.ac.uk or telephone Admissions on 01326 255763. 

Interview and selection process

All suitably qualified applicants will be invited to interview.

The interviews will last for approximately three hours and will include a short talk by teaching staff, a tour of the department and an individual interview. During the individual interview, you will be expected to present your portfolio and sketch books and discuss your passion for the subject.

A portfolio can contain a broad range of art and design work, rather than purely graphic design work, and should demonstrate your strengths and interests.

We would like to see evidence of your visual language skills in the quality of your drawing and mark-making, your use of composition, colour, letterforms, and materials. We would also like to see evidence of your understanding of design process through investigation, ideas generation, experimentation, lateral thinking and visual development. We also expect you to be able to critically reflect on the needs of a project and find diverse sources that inspire and inform your projects and your study.

At this stage it's not all about ‘brilliant' work. We are looking for students with potential, enthusiasm and who enjoy collaboration with others as part of the design process.

Interviews will be held in February and March 2012.

Location: Woodlane Campus

Related courses

• 3D Design BA(Hons)
• Digital Animation BA(Hons)
• Illustration BA(Hons)