London College of Communication’s MA Graphic Design course allows you to research visual language and consider its impact on both the design industry and wider society.

This intensive programme helps you to focus on your particular graphic design interests and builds on graphic design skills and knowledge acquired through previous experience or study. Students on the MA Graphic Design course are conceptually motivated – concerned with research into visual language and its impact on the operations, functions and consequences of design in relation to both the design industry and wider society as the drivers and users of design.

In return, you are expected to be passionate about the subject of graphic design and its wider relationship to visual communication, and to endeavour to challenge accepted orthodoxies and preconceptions.

You can expect...

You can expect to develop new methods of design research through theoretical and practical investigation. Practical project work will introduce you to the principles of design and visual grammar, while lectures and seminars will enable you to reflect upon research methodologies and the issues affecting contemporary graphic design practice. You will consider current debate influencing the discipline and your own position within this context. From these firm foundations you will then begin to explore personal areas of interest and research.

The course gives you the opportunity to participate in hands-on workshops that will allow you to acquire skills and experience to inform your practice. You will also have the chance to develop your visual vocabulary and explore the rhetoric of design. The knowledge you acquire throughout your time on the course will help to prepare you for your final major project and your future move into the professional design world or doctorate level study.

Tutors on this course...

Tutors on this corse include Principal Lecturer, Dr Russell Bestley. He has co-authored and designed a number of publications and his specialist interest includes graphic design research methodologies, information design and the history of popular culture. (link to full profile on ‘At A Glance’ page here)

Vanessa Price is a Lead Tutor on the course and a print-based Graphic Designer whose awards have included the Oberon Award for Book Design, the Folio Society Award for Book Illustration and nomination for the Arts Foundation Fellowship Award.

Tony Credland is a Lead Tutor on the course and a print-based Graphic Designer. He was a co-organiser of the ‘Cactus Network’ and he is active in grassroots politics in London. He recently co-edited the book ‘We are everywhere; the irresistible rise of global anti-capitalism’.

What our students say ...

"After completing the MA course I felt ready to face the real world again - this time equipped with a little more design integrity. From working closely with tutors and having to regularly present ideas, my design confidence has grown." Alex Swain, former student and Graphic Designer

"I now work for WD Partners in Columbus, Ohio, which has offices all over the U.S. and world. I help design environments with meaningful design using many of the same research tools I learned on the MA Graphic Design course. Word and image, narrative and systematic research has become a big help. I absolutely love what I do and who I work for and would never have been able to achieve such a wonderful position without my background from LCC. It is the best decision I ever made.” Meghan Coleman, former student and Graphic Designer

"The strength of the MA Graphic Design course in LCC lies in the research methodologies that I learned and applied throughout the year. The flexibility of the course gives you the freedom to investigate a design topic of your interest and still get the support of knowledgeable tutors. " Alya Karame, former student and Graphic Designer

This course is taught within the School of Design at LCC.

Phase 1

• Unit 1.1 Design Literacy
• Unit 1.2 Research Methods (Visual Research)
• Unit 1.3 Major Project Proposal

Unit 1.1 Design Literacy

This practice-led Unit is intended to introduce you to the programme of study, your fellow students and the appropriate manner of working while studying on the course. Design Literacy involves a progressive series of practical projects that allow you to examine the form and function of graphic design artefacts and approaches. The Unit places emphasis on applying essential visual research methods to help you to develop a personal approach to both practical and theoretical components of your work. In the articulation of visual language you will have the opportunity to re-examine some fundamental and defining design principles and to consider their relationship to meaning and understanding. The intention is to provide you with an opportunity to re-assess and re-evaluate your own practice to date.

Unit 1.2 Research Methods (Visual Research)

This Unit is intended to provide an understanding of the significant debates, ideas and theories that have shaped contemporary graphic design and visual culture, together with a range of theoretical and conceptual methodologies for the analysis and production of design work. Drawing on a series of lectures, presentations, key readings and related contextual studies, you will investigate the significant issues which have shaped contemporary design discourse and debate them with your course tutors and peers. The basis for these studies will be not only commentaries and opinions generated from within the practice but a range of wider ideas and theories from related disciplines. The Unit will re-enforce the critical foundations of your own practice and, in particular, it will inform the development of your Major Project in Phase 3 of the course.

Unit 1.3 Major Project Proposal

Research methods studies across Phase 1 of the course enable you to develop a personal and critical point of view through investigating, documenting and evaluating visual, verbal and textual information from a wide range of sources and applying those findings to the construction of a carefully defined Major Project Proposal, which details the work you will undertake in Phase 3 of the course. You will be expected to develop a rigorous foundation for your Major Project Proposal by stating a clear research question that is based on key aspects of your chosen subject or issue. Your Major Project Proposal will include the identification of the field of study, the rationale for your particular focus, suitable and effective methods for testing your ideas and reference to audience, materials and media, historical and contemporary precedents. It will also draw on relevant theoretical models and the relationship to a wider cultural and social context.

Phase 2

• Unit 2.1 Workshop Options Project
• Unit 2.2 Design + Rhetoric
• Unit 2.3 Research Methods: Major Project Definition
• Postgraduate Diploma (Exit Award)

Unit 2.1 Workshop Options Project

The Workshop Options Project provides opportunities for you to pursue studies that enhance your specialist interests and to acquire skills and knowledge that may additionally inform your personal practice and the development of your Major Project. Two Workshop Option projects are undertaken, Option A and Option B. Information regarding these Options and their availability is published through the course Blackboard sites and in separate postgraduate Workshop Options overviews and briefings.

Unit 2.2 Design + Rhetoric

This practice-led Unit is intended to allow you to test and refine your project work and ideas as you move towards the Definition stage of your Major Project in Unit 2.3. The Design + Rhetoric Unit enables you to openly explore graphic design project work which will inform your practical approaches to the Major Project in Phase 3. Building on the intentions and methods outlined in the Major Project Proposal submitted in Phase 1, you will continue to progress your programme of investigation into a subject of personal interest which is relevant to contemporary graphic design practice through a cyclical reflective process of research, experimentation and contextual study. Through this process you will realise a substantial and diverse body of work that you will document in the form of a designed and illustrated visual summary. This Unit will be conducted in parallel with Unit 2.3 Major Project Definition, allowing you to test ideas and visual communication methods relevant to the research question.

Unit 2.3 Major Project Definition

In this Unit students will write, design and produce a re-evaluation of the intentions and methods outlined in the Major Project Proposal submitted in Phase 1, in order to strategically plan the development of the Major Project towards its final resolution. A working model of the proposed project, based on contextual and theoretical studies (in Unit 2.3) and practical work (Unit 2.2), will be delivered formally at the end of Phase 2. You will participate in a formal presentation detailing the underlying principles and values of the proposed work, and outlining projected outcomes.

In Unit 2.3 you will also decide on the mode within which you intend to undertake your Major Project in Phase 3, either as a body of practical work supported by a written report (Unit 3.1 Major Project Resolution: Practical and Report) or as a written thesis supported by practical work (Unit 3.2 Major Project Resolution: Thesis). Your choice of mode will be determined largely by the nature of your subject and the appropriateness of the methods you have identified in order to address it, though you should note that these alternatives are not mutually exclusive. It is not normally acceptable to change modes after completing Unit 2.3, except by agreement with tutors.

Phase 3

• Unit 3.1 Major Project Resolution: Practical and Report
  or
• Unit 3.2 Major Project Resolution: Thesis

Unit 3.1 Major Project (Practical and Report)

The Major Project consolidates knowledge gained in the earlier units, enabling you to apply the work of the course to a practical resolution and to demonstrate your skills in defining, analysing and developing a substantial solution to a specified graphic design related problem. It will demonstrate both in content and form your advanced understanding of graphic design practice and theory. The research and documentation of the project is an integral part of the submission. Reflecting on the process, as well as the critical analysis and methodology of the research itself, the research should be conceptually integrated within the practical work.

Project topics are expected to be wide ranging (see Indicative Major Project Areas of Study below) and are an opportunity to fully investigate a practical design issue, underpinned by a critical report on the work produced. Topics must allow the opportunity to contextualise your work and your ideas politically, socially and culturally and to identify and apply appropriate media as a means of articulation. You will submit a final developed practical project resolution together with a visual summary evidencing supporting research and development, visual testing, materials and media investigations and key texts and theories employed in your work. You will also write, design and produce a report of 5,000-7,000 words, which critically reflects on the development of the project including research methodology, the testing of ideas and its relation to wider cultural, social and technological contexts.

Unit 3.2 Major Project: Thesis

This mode of the final Major Project is intended to provide the opportunity for a substantial and extensive body of writing in thesis form (12,000-15,000 words). This work consolidates the knowledge gained in the earlier Units, enabling you to relate the work of the course to a written resolution. The thesis will demonstrate your advanced understanding of graphic design practice and theory. It will show evidence of your skills in defining, analysing and developing a substantial research programme and responding critically to a defined design related problem.

Project topics are expected to be wide ranging and are an opportunity to fully investigate and apply the academic work of the course. Topics must allow the opportunity to contextualise your work and your ideas politically, socially and culturally and identify applicable theory, debate and discussion. Defining the project is very much part of the project itself. The thesis should be substantiated by means of practical examples and case studies. It should set out the intentions of the project, critically reflect on issues of context, technology and methodology analyse the results, draw conclusions and make recommendations.

All students leaving the course find their possibilities in the workplace have widened and are more focused on the area of communication they wish to pursue. It is anticipated that graduates from this course will establish their own studio practice, join the graphic design profession or pursue doctoral level study after completing their studies.

Further to the general entry requirements, a good command of English is essential. If you are applying directly from a BA Course, without experience of professional practice, you must be able to demonstrate a good knowledge of graphic design practice which will be supported by a good degree and portfolio of work.

International and EU students: If your first language is not English you should check you have achieved the correct IELTS level in English. Further information is available on our International Applications page.

Portfolio Advice

Your portfolio should cover your most recent commercial or academic activity, showing your aptitude and ability in design. This can be supported with documents showing your working processes and research (i.e. sketchbooks). Also include any other projects that indicate your personal areas of interest in the field of communication.

Important information: All applicants will be expected to submit an electronic portfolio on CD or via a website with their application form. This should include a maximum of six projects and supporting material as described above. These should be clearly annotated and organised.

Application deadline for UK/EU Students

Recruitment for this course is still OPEN.

Application route

You need to apply to this course through the College. UK and EU students should download this application form (PDF 4MB. International students should use the international postgraduate application form which is available to download on the International Office's web pages. Applications should be sent to Postgraduate Admissions, Central Administration Office, 5th Floor Tower Block, London College of Communication, Elephant and Castle, London, SE1 6SB.

Admissions enquiries

For enquiries about admissions please call the postgraduate admissions team on +44(0)20 7514 6569 email pgadmissions@lcc.arts.ac.uk (for UK and EU student enquiries) or v.gavulic@lcc.arts.ac.uk (for international enquiries).

Home/EU student fee discounts

If you have successfully completed a UAL undergraduate degree, PgDip or PgCert you will qualify for a £1000 discount from your tuition fees. For further information please contact pgadmissions@lcc.arts.ac.uk

AHRC Studentships

The AHRC has awarded the University a limited number of Block Grant Partnership Studentships for MA and research students. Find out more about AHRC studentships.