Graphic Design

Develop your understanding of graphic design and visual communication, solve challenging design briefs and prepare for your future career.

Push boundaries and challenge existing thinking by developing innovative design solutions alongside 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.

You’ll learn about information design, visual identities, packaging and promotion, cross-platform advertising and design for the web, as well as experience design systems.

Learn about graphic design and visual communication and solve challenging design briefs.

Benefit from our close connections with creative agencies, graphic design studios and publishers.

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

Showcase your work at our final-year Graduate Showcase, and local and national exhibitions.

Join an art school whose students and alumni have a rich history of winning national and international competitions.

Take advantage of access to all our facilities, supported by expert technicians.

Careers

People with a background in graphic design play a key role across the creative industries.

As a student, you’ll challenge preconceptions and boundaries, work on a range of projects in different media, and produce a standout portfolio when you graduate.

You’ll work with industry through projects, placements and live briefs, growing your network, which could result in offers of work before you even graduate.

Our students 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.

There are plenty of opportunities to get your work seen, too. At the end of your final year at ARU, you’ll take part in our Degree Show and could be selected to produce publicity materials for the event – the perfect launchpad for life as a graphic designer.

Cambridge is the perfect place to start your graphic design career – a creative hotspot that’s home to thousands of established businesses and start-ups. Our students have gone on to work at Drench, Filofax, Nash Matthews, Onespacemedia, Coast Digital, Workshop Creative Agency, Conscious Communications and Piranha Designs.

Our BA (Hons) Graphic Design will prepare you for a career as a graphic designer, as well as for design-related roles in creative agencies, social 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.

Teaching

You’ll start by getting to grips with the design process, creative problem-solving, typography, web design, and industry-standard applications and specialist software.

You’ll also look at design history, developing your research, analysis, and writing skills.

You’ll then build upon and test your new knowledge and skills by working on a range of projects that reflect the processes and practices of the workplace.

In your final year, you’ll also develop your professional portfolio website as part of your Major Project, and either complete an independent Research Project or go out on placement.

*=optional.
Year 1: Graphic Design: Histories and Ideas; Introduction to Type Media; Introduction to Web Design; Graphic Design Ideation and Iteration; Graphic Design Process and Application; Into ARU.

Year 2: Conceptual Thinking and Practice; Graphic Design: Media Specialisms 1; Conceptual Progression and Development; Graphic Design: Media Specialisms 2; Professional Studies in the Creative Industries; Ruskin Module.

Year 3: Graphic Design: Final Project; Working in the Creative Industries *; Research Project *.

This is a hands-on, practical course and our assessment is based on the coursework you complete for each of your modules. This includes completed project work as well as accompanying material such as sketchbooks.

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.