
Alexis Taylor
Subject Leader - Art & Design
Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology
UCAS Code:
W210
Level:
Undergraduate
Duration:
3 years full-time / 4 years full-time (with Foundation)
Starting:
September
Fees UK:
Full Time 22/23: £9,250
Integrated Foundation Year 22/23: £9,250
Fees International:
Full Time 22/23: £14,000
Integrated Foundation Year 22/23: £14,000
Location:
Waterside
For questions regarding study and admissions please contact us:
study@northampton.ac.uk
0300 303 2772
This programme was previously titled Graphic Communication BA (Hons)
Graphic Communication Design BA (Hons) explores the communication of ideas and messages to diverse and evolving audiences through a dynamic range of media that highlights the potential of what design can achieve.
Studio culture is at the heart of the Graphic Communication Design programme, naturally fostering the creativity, collaboration and debate that inspire personal perspectives on design. Students experiment with a range of traditional processes and emerging technologies to challenge established conventions of image-making and meaning.
Through engaging with real-world problems, social issues and commercial scenarios students develop critical, reflective and professional skills that will prepare them for the ever-changing creative industries.
Updated 03/05/2022
On Graphic Communication Design BA (Hons) you will have access to specialist resources, regular guest lecturers and industry contact, as well as the opportunity to work with live briefs and competitions. In recent years, several of our students have either been shortlisted or have gone on to win international design competitions, such as Penguin Random House Design awards, You Can Now (YCN), and Design and Art Direction (D&AD).
Display and showcase your work during your Graphic Communication Design degree. We have had students participate in D&AD’s industry graduate degree show ‘New Blood’ in London
At the University of Northampton, we support you to achieve your career in graphic communications with the Northampton Employment Promise. If you complete your studies with a 2:2 degree classification or higher, along with one of our Employability Plus Gold or Changemaker Gold certificates, we will secure you a three-six month paid internship or support you into postgraduate study if you haven’t secured full-time employment within a year of your graduation. HP Laptop and software included with this course. Terms and Conditions apply.
Graphic Communication Design BA (Hons) provides you with the vital skills and knowledge needed to further your understanding of communication design, working in the creative industries, or even progressing onto postgraduate study. You will learn through studio practice, specialist media workshops, lectures and seminars to help you understand contemporary graphic design practice. Our dedicated studios are designed for efficient learning and practice in digital media, printmaking and photography.
As well as active learning and studio practice, this Graphic Communication Design course delivers a selection of design briefs; some will be set by your tutors, some you will decide yourself and others will be real-world design competitions. There will be opportunities to work on live industry projects throughout the course, attend design conferences, receive industry feedback on your work and develop portfolios, as well as the opportunity to travel with us on our international cultural trips. We regularly host visiting speakers, industry specialists and creative agencies giving you practical learning and advice from the professionals.
For the fourth year in a row, our students have been listed in the Penguin Random House Design award and in 2019 our very own Toby Clarke beat hundreds of fellow designers to win the prestigious national prize.
Toby was named winner of the Adult Non-Fiction Cover Award at the Penguin Random House Design Awards 2019. He was chosen as the winner by judges who were impressed with his inspired new cover design for Owen Jones’ bestseller, The Establishment and How They Get Away With It. Read the full story here.
Students, Matthew Barnard, Elliot Lee and Carly Ayre were three of the only 30 students listed for the Penguin Random House Design award 2017 in the Adult Non Fiction Cover and Children’ Cover shortlists. Matthew and Elliot have come up with striking covers for Truman Capote’s ‘In Cold Blood’, while Carly has created a bright design for The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend. You can find out more on the Penguin Design Award Website.
Students on this course are regularly shortlisted and commended through the multiple international design competitions we enter – including in You Can Now (YCN), Design and Art Direction (D&AD), and Penguin Random House Design awards. D&AD also provides students with a London-based industry graduate degree show opportunity, New Blood. We have strong industry partnerships with companies such as Stocks, Taylor Benson, The Met police, Whitworths, Engine Creative, Silverstone, Verto, Toxic Creative, The NN Gallery, The Northampton Music Festival and Creative Folks.
The New Blood Awards are an invaluable introduction to the reality of working in the creative industry and gets your work seen by some of the biggest names in the creative industry. Winning students get awarded the highly coveted D&AD Pencil. Students on our BA Graphic Communication course have been regular winners over the last four years.
Please note the modules shown here relate to the academic year 21/22. The modules relating to the academic year 22/23 will be available from June 2022.
Schedule
Your taught study will be a combination of lectures, seminars, workshops and technical demonstrations, usually for 15 hours per week, depending on your level of study. In addition, we recommend that you spend around 10 hours per week in self-directed study time. You will have access to technical facilities and studies outside of taught time.
Assessments
You will be assessed through a range of graphic design assignments, including portfolio presentations, essays, dissertation and self-assessment.
Standard entry requirements apply. A typical offer would be BCC at A-Level or DMM at BTEC. A Foundation Diploma in Art and Design will also be accepted.
Applicants are interviewed and are requested to provide a portfolio of their own work in Art and Design. International students may submit their portfolio electronically. Students with a relevant HND or Foundation Degree with a suitable profile of achievement may be admitted onto year two or three.
For more more information on how to make an application, please visit our How to Apply page.
If you are an International student and would like information on making an application, please see our How to Apply page.
Admission to this foundation programme is normally DEE at A-Level or MPP at BTEC. However, we would also like to hear from you if you have professional or industry experience instead, a range of other qualifications or self-developed subject knowledge that relates to the programme you wish to study.
All International and EU students applying for a course with us must meet the following minimum English language requirements:
For information regarding English language requirements at the University, please see our IELTS page.
Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 22/23 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.
Materials, Events and Visits
Materials for workshops and for Masterclasses, entry to competitions associated with your programme of study, and those visits that are necessary for your course are all made available at no additional charge.
We recommend that you budget for printing costs (approximately £50 per year for laser and large format printing) and any specialist design materials that you may require (£50 or more depending on materials).
There are optional trips, both within the UK and overseas: UK visits and Trips will cost approximately £50 per year. Overseas trips or visits will cost approximately £350 per trip
Display and exhibition materials for end of year shows in years 2 and 3 will cost approximately £40 per year. Year 3 – Your end of year summer show additionally requires contributions [or your own fund raising activities] to the catalogue and marketing materials costing approximately £30, along with a further contribution to exhibit at the D&AD New Blood Industry Graduate Showcase in London, approximately £25. If you would like off site access to the Adobe Industry Standard software packages, you can opt to pay £15 per month (student rate) for Adobe Creative Cloud and you may want to buy a laptop or desktop computer (from £400 upwards). We have our own suite of MacBooks to use in the design studios and access to iMacs however, if able, buying your own is recommended.
Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 21/22 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.
Materials, Events and Visits
Materials for workshops and for Masterclasses, entry to competitions associated with your programme of study, and those visits that are necessary for your course are all made available at no additional charge.
We recommend that you budget for printing costs (approximately £50 per year for laser and large format printing) and any specialist design materials that you may require (£50 or more depending on materials).
There are optional trips, both within the UK and overseas: UK visits and Trips will cost approximately £50 per year. Overseas trips or visits will cost approximately £350 per trip
Display and exhibition materials for end of year shows in years 2 and 3 will cost approximately £40 per year. Year 3 – Your end of year summer show additionally requires contributions [or your own fund raising activities] to the catalogue and marketing materials costing approximately £30, along with a further contribution to exhibit at the D&AD New Blood Industry Graduate Showcase in London, approximately £25. If you would like off site access to the Adobe Industry Standard software packages, you can opt to pay £15 per month (student rate) for Adobe Creative Cloud and you may want to buy a laptop or desktop computer (from £400 upwards). We have our own suite of MacBooks to use in the design studios and access to iMacs however, if able, buying your own is recommended.
For information on the scholarships available to you, please see our scholarships page.
Our postgraduate courses are a great way to enhance the skills you have already learnt. Benefit from our 20% alumni discount on postgraduate fees to give yourself a CV that will catch the eye of employers.
The Integrated Foundation Year (IFY) offers a new and exciting route into studying for a degree, attracting ambitious and driven students who are willing to learn and advance.
If you have non-standard qualifications or do not quite meet the admissions requirements we can offer you a fantastic opportunity to study a four year programme which includes an Integrated Foundation Year. The Integrated Foundation Year will help you develop the theoretical/practical and academic skills you need, in order to successfully progress to the full award.
Featuring a reduced tuition fee in the first year, our four-year courses will enable you to successfully follow the degree pathway of your choice while gaining essential study skills. The foundation year of your chosen degree will be studied on a full-time basis and is aimed at supporting the transition to higher education. Years two, three and four are then studied as a standard degree programme.
Every year the Graphic Communication Design team invite guest speakers, industry professionals and creatives into our studios to talk to our design students. In recent years we have had Adrian Shaughnessy, Ken Garland, Alan Moore, Jonathan Barnbrook and Malcolm Garrett to name but a few, along with practical workshops and Industry led portfolios reviews.
You will be taught through a variety of methods such as;
You will be assessed through a range of graphic design assignments, including portfolio presentations, essays, dissertation and self-assessment.
Yes, we suggest looking up the following titles for some inspiration:
Books:
Magazines:
Web:
Open Days give you the best experience and insight to courses, people and facilities that interest you. Make your choice easier and come meet us.
Subject Leader - Art & Design
Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology
Senior Lecturer - Graphics & Illustration
Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology
Senior Lecturer in Graphic Communication
Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology
Associate Lecturer (Graphics & Illustration)
Graphic Communication Design BA (Hons)
Senior Lecturer - Critical & Cultural Studies
Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology
Technical Demonstrator - Design
Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology
Senior Lecturer in Graphic Communication
After graduating in BA (Hons) in Performance and Visual Arts from the University of Gloucestershire in 2000, Trevor ran a successful multimedia design practice in Cheltenham, working across website design, print, branding, moving image, photography, music and sound for various established businesses (tech, retail, hospitality, recruitment, public services), start-ups and visual and audio artists.
Trevor is a practicing designer and musician, having recent national radio airplay with his latest music project ‘Call Me Zuko’.
A Graphic Communication Design degree can open up your career options. You will not be limited to one specific type of role, but rather be able to pursue numerous career paths. Our Graphic Communication Design graduates use their design skills to work in:
Throughout your time on the course, as well as post-study, we offer support to ensure you receive the guidance and information needed to succeed in your field of work.
When you study Graphic Communication Design at the University of Northampton, you will enjoy access to a number of different facilities and services to help you in your studies, including;
Our onsite printmaking workshop can enhance the creative practices of students on a variety of courses
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