At our School you will find a total focus on your creative development
Nationality: British
Course: Drama Foundation
Where is she now? Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), London
BA (Hons) Graphic Design & Illustration
The three year BA (Hons) Graphic Design & Illustration degree will teach you not only to develop dynamic ideas, and the skills to execute them, but will also re-kindle and encourage your natural curiosity about information and knowledge, through exposure to a wide range of subject matter.
The degree provides a strong work-related experience with students increasingly specialising in one of the two areas (graphic design or illustration) over the three years of study.
Find out more about:
Course content
Entry requirements
The teaching approach
Work placements and careers
End of Year Exhibition
A typical week on the course
Student work
Course Content
Year 1 - concepts, ideas and skills
The first year is ideas-focused, emphasising design thinking, generation of ideas and problem solving, with workshops providing hands-on media and software experience.
- Design Studies: design process | media application | digital process | typography | production techniques | photography | printmaking
- Imagery: drawing | divergent thinking | illustration process | alternative solutions | presentation and communication skills
- Cultural & Critical Studies: introduction to analysis in design | development of visual language
Year 2 - process and practice
The second year focuses on projects related to the creative and cultural industries, emphasising professional constraints and expectations. It includes live projects, pitching and work-related experiences and you will develop design production knowledge. You will benefit from our collaboration with external partners including a design school in Moscow.
- Design Studies: Challenge conventions | professional design practice | industry related projects | live briefs | design placement
- Imagery: contemporary practice | creative process | design solutions | application for illustration | alternative concepts | presentation and communication skills
- Negotiated project
- Cultural & Critical Studies: explore aesthetic and theoretical frameworks used in graphic design and illustration
Year 3 - professional practice
- Compete in the real world: The final year is focused around the professional portfolio with national competitions, an emphasis on professional standards of working and support from staff whose experience best matches student interests.
- Immediate employability: The year is focused firmly on ensuring that you emerge as an immediately employable creative, able to work to professional standards from day one.
- Learn from international professionals: The staff team is drawn from nationally and internationally recognised designers and illustrators who bring their research and professional interests directly into the student environment.
Find out more about the Course modules in detail.
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- You must have completed Foundation level study and have an IELTS score of 5.5 (or equivalent).
- You will also be asked to submit a portfolio of work.
IELTS less than 5.5? You will be assessed by the school and may still be accepted, but will be required to attend additional English Language lessons until you reach the required level.
Portfolio?
Your portfolio is the chance to show us your skills and your passion and as a guide we would like to see the following:
- taught and personal work
- drawing skills (from direct observation and reference)
- personal ideas and areas of interest
- experimentation with a range of different media and materials
- a breadth of interest in and exploration of a range of art and design disciplines
- research and ideas in sketch books or note books
Teaching on a programme like this consists largely of project based work supported by appropriate ‘skills’ based workshops.
Students tackle a huge variety of briefs ranging in complexity and time scales. Some projects will take many weeks to complete whilst others will be solved within a matter of hours.
There’s also a huge variety to the pattern of learning experiences with some projects being team based and others are worked on individually.
Tutorials and seminars include one-on-one, small groups and medium sized groups for workshops and lectures.
Active participation is expected at our lively and fun end of project crits where students are asked to explain and defend their work with keen interaction from their colleagues.
CSVPA’s annual arts festival is the biggest event on the School’s calendar and the opportunity for you to present your work in a public exhibition. The opening of the exhibition usually coincides with our annual fashion show (where BA and Foundation Fashion students show their latest Collections), and is a sell-out event.
This year, our BA Graphics students launched a design magazine as part of their end of year project. View images from the magazine
Over the past nine years we’ve been working with the top names in design and industry who have, and continue to, collaborate with us as sponsors, mentors and external lecturers.
Work placements are actively encouraged and students apply for placements as well as full-time employment. Course tutors have numerous high-profile links with industry and students find placements within a range of businesses and agencies in and around our dynamic local region.
Careers
Encouragement is given to the development of versatility, leading to a wide range of career opportunities in design and illustration in the fields of corporate identity, marketing and publicity, advertising and publishing as well as freelance illustration.
Our new e-Prospectus allows you to:- watch videos
- browse student work
- read detailed information about
the programme, including course
outlines and timetables
- view our staff profiles
- find out about our state of the art facilities
- watch our students talk about their
experiences ...and more!
(nb the site may take a few seconds to load, and uses Flash technology)
“Because the tutors are always around, we get loads of one-to-one time with them, and they’ve adapted the syllabus to suit our needs. I’m applying to Parsons in New York to do my third year – without CSVPA and their belief in me this just wouldn’t have been possible.”
