BA (Hons) Visual Communication - Graphic Communication

The Graphic Communication pathway Communication will enable you to realise your potential as a creative practitioner and a problem-solving designer. You will gain professional knowledge of design, brand identity and advertising, user experience, motion graphics, expressive design and web design.

You are taught in studios and workshops developing live briefs. We offer studio visits, professional portfolio advice and one to one tutorials. We aim to provide you with a varied and professionally designed learning experience using state of the art facilities. Many of our graduates are now working with leading design groups and advertising companies.

Our graduates are creative visual problem solvers, design mavericks and thought leaders, feeding employment markets in the creative industries and the third sector on international and regional platforms.

What's covered in the course?

• You will receive an introduction to all four Visual Communication routes – graphic communication, illustration, film and animation and photography – before studying the graphic communication pathway in more detail.
• Graphic Communication is taught from a ‘media neutral’ perspective, where you will work in negotiation with your peers and academic staff to define your own unique place within the creative industries and beyond.
• You will be exposed to a vibrant and dynamic visual culture, exploring the discipline of integrated advertising, brand design, corporate communications, publishing and editorial design, typography, web, motion graphics, information design and wayfinding.
• Our end-of-year awards are sponsored and presented by high profile names, with most award winners offered placements which have led to permanent employment.
• The course balances visual, technical and creative flair with an awareness of the realities of the commercial world, giving you real professional credibility.

Why Choose Us?

• This course is recognised by Creative Skillset - identifying the programme as a centre of excellence where the course demonstrates industry standards of quality. This accreditation acknowledges the course as effectively equipping students with the skills and knowledge that employers need today.
• You will learn from experienced staff with years of industry experience, including practising designers, illustrators, photographers, animators and film-makers, specialists in visual communication history and theory, as well as dedicated technical support staff.
• The School is internationally recognised for its visual communication education and research - the first School in Europe to own MILO motion capture technology, offering nine axes of portable, precise, rigid and completely repeatable camera motion.
• We have exceptional levels of employer involvement, with visiting professionals supporting lectures, workshops and seminars, with masterclasses, career advice, mentorship and placement opportunities.
• You will get the chance to put your work on show to potential employers using We Grow Cherries, the School’s online talent pool.

Employment Opportunities

Graphic Communication embeds transferable skills, developing trans-specialists and portfolio practitioners, with graduates working in many fields within the creative industry and beyond. Haley Branson is a leading wayfinder for Arup Architects and a professional member of the Sign Design Society. Mackenzie Stevens is a Digital Brand Designer for HF Contracts. Graphic Communication students who have developed fashion brands include Lee Tims from P&Co, Dorian Rose from REAL, Tom Davis from Custom Clothing, Rishi Bhardwaj from Felt and Dan Tuck from Note Apparel.

Graphic Communication graduates are highly imaginative inter-disciplinary creative practitioners. Through problem-centred learning our graduates develop transferable skills that open up a wider range of employment opportunities beyond the traditional scope of the creative industries. Originality underpins the subject philosophy with students originating all their own creative content and skills (art direction, copy writing, photography, illustration, type design and motion graphics).

Placements

This BA (Hons) course supports fully directed study and the development of individual practice. There are opportunities for field trips and study abroad that will add value to the degree course.

Birmingham Institute of Fashion & Creative Art

You can now gain a prestigious British degree while completing all or part of your studies in China, thanks to a new collaboration with a leading Chinese university.

Birmingham Institute of Fashion and Creative Arts (BIFCA) is a joint venture between Wuhan Textile University and Birmingham City University, combining the expertise of a leading Chinese university with a British institution established in 1843.

The UK is recognised as a world leader in the creative arts and BIFCA offers a superb opportunity to gain a prestigious British degree, with the option of studying either all four years here in China, or two in China and two in the UK.