Graphic Communication BA (Hons)

In the first year, the curriculum is shared across related graphics courses, enabling you to gain a broad grounding in the discipline before going on to specialist units in your chosen field in the second and third years. In your common first year, you will explore the fundamentals of design. With a focus on process, you will explore techniques, technologies, and research-inspired design as you work on individual and team projects. The course expands to cover a huge range of experimental processes, platforms, and technologies, meaning that you will build a strong portfolio demonstrating your design skills and innovative practice. This unit also introduces theories and ideas of design and visual culture and teaches you how to use them in your practical work.

40 credits

In this unit, you will explore and experiment with techniques, materials, and media. You explore the fundamental principles of visual communication and develop skills in typography, printing, layout, photography, design research, idea generation, and storytelling. You’ll learn technical skills in various design-related software such as InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Figma, and After Effects. You’ll be introduced to essential skills in organising and presenting complex data and information using typography, illustration, infographics, and wider graphic language, as well as how people view, process, and act on the wealth of visual information they receive every day.

80 credits

The first week of each academic year is called Wayfinding week. It’s an opportunity get your bearings, establish new connections and, after your first year at Norwich, re-establish old ones. Your course team will talk you through the year ahead and explain the expectations for the year. We’ll help you navigate new encounters and identify areas to focus on as you progress through your course.

An important element of Wayfinding Week is taking part in our annual ‘Make it Manifest(o)’ project. Your course team will introduce the project in which we’ll ask you to consider your hopes and vision of the year ahead at Norwich and work with students in other year groups to bring your ideas to life. The project culminates in a celebratory display of work across the campus.  The project will help you to develop your critical creativity through different approaches, concepts, and mediums. You’ll encounter diverse perspectives and build friendships and networks within our university community.

Interchange weeks are opportunities to step away from your disciplinary studies and engage in projects, workshops, visits and talks that extend your knowledge and understanding of the world. Whether you learn a new skill or take part in a global challenge project with students from other courses, you will come away with new insights to take back to your course. Interchange is part of the schedule for all Norwich students with sessions held across and beyond the campus led by university staff, visiting lecturers and students.

This unit will develop your ability to creatively respond to graphic communication design challenges through real-world problem-solving exercises. You’ll apply professional practice skills to live projects and competition briefs, navigating the needs of different audiences and the complex demands of commercial design practice. Typography, copywriting, imagery, motion, and print applications lie at the heart of all your work, exploring printed and digital formats, including books, journals, magazines, motion graphics, social media campaigns, websites and apps. You will examine cultural, social and theoretical contexts underpinning contemporary graphic communication design and discover emerging themes that will begin to inform your creative practice.

80 credits

This unit will introduce how collaborative work can help you focus and enhance your creative thinking, exposing you to new processes and approaches. You’ll have the chance to work with fellow students and external agencies to generate solutions for a range of project briefs. You’ll increase your focus on understanding varied themes and the role of audiences and other stakeholders in creating targeted and clever ideas-based solutions for organisations and brands, charities and social causes, design for good/change and campaigns. Students will evaluate their outputs by adopting various roles and exploring alternative perspectives, recognising their value in enhancing their work. Projects are supported by a range of sessions and workshop activities, including opportunities for developing technical skills, engaging in research, typography, motion/screen design software, branding, and copywriting.

40 credits

The first week of each academic year is called Wayfinding week. It’s an opportunity get your bearings, establish new connections and, after your first year at Norwich, re-establish old ones. Your course team will talk you through the year ahead and explain the expectations for the year. We’ll help you navigate new encounters and identify areas to focus on as you progress through your course.

An important element of Wayfinding Week is taking part in our annual ‘Make it Manifest(o)’ project. Your course team will introduce the project in which we’ll ask you to consider your hopes and vision of the year ahead at Norwich and work with students in other year groups to bring your ideas to life. The project culminates in a celebratory display of work across the campus.  The project will help you to develop your critical creativity through different approaches, concepts, and mediums. You’ll encounter diverse perspectives and build friendships and networks within our university community.

Interchange weeks are opportunities to step away from your disciplinary studies and engage in projects, workshops, visits and talks that extend your knowledge and understanding of the world. Whether you learn a new skill or take part in a global challenge project with students from other courses, you will come away with new insights to take back to your course. Interchange is part of the schedule for all Norwich students with sessions held across and beyond the campus led by university staff, visiting lecturers and students.

This is the first, and shorter, of the two units that make up your final year of undergraduate study. You will work on several set and self-initiated projects, including competition briefs and client briefs set by designers in the industry. You will continue to advance your core skills in 2D and 3D design, specifically in typography, layout, image usage and editing, print/physical, and screen based digital technologies. You will deliver a research report related to your studio practice, exploring the dialogue between contextual issues, cultural theories, and debates within the discipline. Group and individual tutorials will provide stimulating and supportive sessions to help you develop your research ideas and those of others.

40 credits

This unit will allow you to deliver final major design projects, embracing the entire design process and demonstrating your approach to, and engagement with, graphic communication. This will form a significant part of your portfolio, showcasing your exploration of new and traditional media within contemporary graphic communication design. Throughout your course, you will have access to regular industry talks from some of the highest-profile designers, studios, and agencies anywhere in the world. At the end of the year, you’ll have the opportunity to display your final year project as part of our degree show, Grad Fest, which allows you to showcase your work to our network of industry professionals and prospective employers.

80 credits

The first week of each academic year is called Wayfinding week. It’s an opportunity get your bearings, establish new connections and, after your first year at Norwich, re-establish old ones. Your course team will talk you through the year ahead and explain the expectations for the year. We’ll help you navigate new encounters and identify areas to focus on as you progress through your course.

An important element of Wayfinding Week is taking part in our annual ‘Make it Manifest(o)’ project. Your course team will introduce the project in which we’ll ask you to consider your hopes and vision of the year ahead at Norwich and work with students in other year groups to bring your ideas to life. The project culminates in a celebratory display of work across the campus.  The project will help you to develop your critical creativity through different approaches, concepts, and mediums. You’ll encounter diverse perspectives and build friendships and networks within our university community.

Interchange weeks are opportunities to step away from your disciplinary studies and engage in projects, workshops, visits and talks that extend your knowledge and understanding of the world. Whether you learn a new skill or take part in a global challenge project with students from other courses, you will come away with new insights to take back to your course. Interchange is part of the schedule for all Norwich students with sessions held across and beyond the campus led by university staff, visiting lecturers and students.