The BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design course at London College of Communication is renowned for it's experimental approach to graphic design.

Our course produces graduates who can take control of individual research in pursuit of their aims. This comprehensive programme comprises six interrelated pathways:

Design for Typo/Graphic pathway
Design for Advertising pathway
Design for Information pathway
Design for Illustration pathway
Design for Interaction and Moving Image pathway
Design for Print pathway

You can expect to study in a culturally diverse and forward thinking educational environment, enjoying a wide range of teaching and learning experiences including practical workshops, seminars, lectures, events, exhibitions and live projects.

The course is delivered by active and enthusiastic professionals from a wide range of disciplines in art, design and communication, creating a climate of debate, analysis and innovation.

We seek to produce graduates whose understanding of visual language means that they will be a confident, influential and proactive participant in an increasingly diverse design community. We view the course as a journey on which you will be guided through a multiplicity of practical and theoretical experiences, informed by subject expertise, contextual, professional and social awareness.

You will develop a creative language and broad visual vocabulary which isadaptable to the needs of specific audiences as well as enabling personal exploration and the pursuit of individual lines of enquiry. You will be expected to be passionate about graphic design and to challenge 'design orthodoxy' and preconceptions.

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

Download course leaflet (PDF 140kb)

Year 1

Year 1 is common to all students and will orientate you to the course and School, its facilities, staff, philosophy and ethos as well as raising your awareness of a range of design principles and media associated with the subject, both practically and theoretically. These include research methodology, image and narrative, typography, semiology, colour theory and developmental and presentation skills.

Besides studio based activity you will also be introduced to printmaking, photography, letterpress and relevant aspects of IT and 3D.

Later in the year you will have the chance to experience aspects of the pathways in order that you can make an informed choice of pathway, following a period of reflection and tutorial guidance, prior to entry to year two (a list of Pathway descriptions follows in the next section).

Studio, Visual Culture and Theory (VCT) and Personal and Professional Development (PPD) units all relate to each other and give you a broad context in which to place your work.

There are many lectures from internationally recognised alumni and visiting speakers throughout the year that you may attend. If English is not your first language you will have access to the College and University language centre.

Throughout the year, and the course, you will be given both academic and pastoral tutorial support. Additionally the College offers a network of support for disability, learning and personal issues.

Assessment will take place at the end of each term and at the end of the year.

Year 2

Year 2 encourages exploration and application of your chosen pathway using key principles, introduced in the first year, and pathway specific methodologies introduced in the second year.

You will be able to access relevant facilities and resources introduced in the first year. You will have experience of working independently and collaboratively in the studio as well as VCT and PPD units.

During the year you will also undertake a cross College elective unit which will offer you the opportunity to study a completely different or complementary subject to your pathway.

In the course of the year you will be briefed on the possibility of doing a placement year in industry between the second and third years. This qualifies you (should you be successful) for the Diploma in Professional Studies.

Towards the end of the year you will be introduced to, and prepare, for the final year of the course when you will be required to generate your own proposals for the dissertation and self-initiated project.

Year 3

The Final Year is the culmination of your studies and focuses on the synthesis of innovation, methodology and philosophy in the realisation of personal goals and the solving of individually identified problems in relation to your pathway.

Through PPD you will be offered information on professional and postgraduate options both from internal staff and visiting speakers.

The year ends with the final summative assessment but also an exhibition of your work either within the College or at external venues in London.

Our students have a wide variety of options available when they leave college. The significant percentage seek employment in the design industry either in the UK or abroad. Additionally, a number continue onto postgraduate study in courses in which they can pursue subject based research or teaching qualifications.
 

You will need two A-levels/Foundation course and three GCSEs (grades A-C) plus a portfolio of work to demonstrate your ability to succeed in this specialist area. Alternatively, applications will also be considered from applicants with five GCSE passes who have completed a Foundation course in Art and Design, or EDEXCEL/BTEC/ABC Diploma in graphics or a related subject and a 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.

Portfolio advice

We will be looking for the following:

• Visual vocabulary - Work which shows your compositional skills and use of line, shape, form, scale, space, light, colour, texture and time
• Ideas generation - Work which shows your ability and to generate and develop ideas as well as the quality of the ideas and expression of conceptual thinking
• Research and its application - The research needed to support your ideas which is usually included in sketchbooks
• Examples of materials and media exploration and experimentation in realisation of concepts
• Contextual awareness and its influence on the portfolio
• Understanding & application of subject knowledge and context
  

Will I need to attend an interview?

You will be invited to attend a portfolio review and will be asked to leave your work for the day. Portfolios, and your application statement, are looked at by a team of staff from across the course who consider them in light of the criteria above. We may ask staff from other courses to consider your portfolio if we think that your work is better suited to another course. This process ensures that you and your work are considered by the maximum number of staff and that you are placed on the course most appropriate to you.

Please apply through UCAS.

NON-EU INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: If you are an international student and you are unsure of how to apply please contact the International Office first before applying - call +44 (0)20 7514 8138.