Illustration MA

This unit launches your master’s study experience at Norwich, immersing you in contemporary illustration practices and theories. The focus will be on developing skills that inform and expand your creative practice through purposeful visual storytelling and communication. Research-led projects will immerse you in contemporary and core mark‐making skills building your confidence in conceptual and practical problem-solving. You will experiment with mixed media processes and materials, exploring the boundaries of illustration alongside related fields. The unit includes observational drawing, character development, and emerging technologies such as AR/VR/AI. Iterative experimentation and critical reflection will strengthen your working methods and refine your practice within broader conceptual and ethical frameworks.

This unit focuses on the advanced technical skills essential for idea generation, problem-solving, and practical development in illustration. You’ll experiment across a range of media and processes, enhancing your practice for effective communication. Both individual projects and group collaborations will be explored, with regular presentations and discussions supporting critical reflection and analysis. Through project work, you’ll investigate innovative technical processes, expanding communication and creating advanced creative solutions. Developing content using contemporary and emerging media platforms and technologies, you’ll engage in practice-based research to push the boundaries of different media environments. The unit includes observational drawing, colour theory, Adobe Suite, animation, mixed media, and emerging technologies like AR/VR/AI. Through continuous technical experimentation and critical reflection, you will enhance your knowledge in the emergent skills required to imagine and realise effective illustration for a range of audiences.

This unit encourages exploration of leading practices and emerging research in illustration through reflective analysis and interactive sessions. You’ll develop a critical understanding of your discipline within socio-economic, political, ethical, and cultural contexts, exploring themes like design history, identity, visual language, design psychology, semiotics, and media theory. You will be supported in developing a variety of research approaches, utilising discursive interaction to inform your inquiry methods and push your creative boundaries to inspire new perspectives on illustration.

This unit focuses on professional-level technical skills essential for idea generation, problem-solving, and practical development in illustration. You will experiment with various media to support personal and professional growth, building from the ‘advanced technical skills’ unit. Through individual and group projects, you’ll refine technical processes and explore innovative solutions to enhance your creative capabilities. The unit includes observational drawing, colour theory, composition, Adobe Suite, animation, motion graphics, type and lettering, mixed media, and emerging technologies like AR/VR/AI. Individual and group projects will refine your technical skills within illustration and enhance your problem-solving abilities, allowing you to fully develop and apply advanced creative thinking in practical contexts.

This unit enhances your knowledge of leading practices and emerging research in illustration. By developing effective research and reflective strategies, you’ll improve your comprehension of methodologies and gain insights into creative communication within socio-economic, political, ethical, and cultural contexts. Building on the ‘dialogue, debate, and domain knowledge’ unit, you’ll explore themes like design history, identity and representation, visual language, design psychology, Gestalt psychology, semiotics, consumption, globalisation, and media theory. You’ll refine your research approach by formulating relevant questions and examining interdisciplinary boundaries. Through rigorous analysis and research-led projects, you will enhance your ability to integrate conceptual understanding with practical problem-solving, positioning yourself as a critically engaged and reflective practitioner.

This unit forms the culmination of your master’s study, in which you will design, develop, and execute an individual or collaborative major project. Through careful planning and organisation of activities, time, and resources, you will create a research question, design a viable project to test your hypotheses, and work towards innovative outcomes with feedback from tutors and industry professionals. Throughout this unit, you will continue to deepen your understanding of the historical, theoretical, cultural, technical, and economic contexts surrounding your discipline. Indicative fields of study may include editorial, documentary, animation and moving image, visual communication, and new forms for illustrative practice. Identifying relevant industries, audiences, and stakeholders, you’ll explore challenges related to social and environmental sustainability your project aims to impact. Research-led practice will enhance your ability to synthesise experiments into complex creative outcomes that reflect your chosen pathway and express an original, personal and professional identity.