COURSE CURRICULUM

MA Graphic Design offers a stimulating environment for designers to expand and challenge their existing knowledge while preparing for advanced professional or academic futures. The course encourages a deep engagement with the discipline through a structured yet flexible framework that supports personal growth, experimentation, and theoretical exploration. The program consists of three progressive units, starting with Framing Graphic Design Practice, which focuses on critically examining your design approach. In this phase, you explore communication theories from the cognitive humanities, such as frame theory and conceptual metaphor theory, and apply these frameworks to your practical assignments. This encourages a return to the core principles and language of graphic design, helping you reassess conventional communication assumptions and identify potential areas for further exploration.The second unit, Scoping the Challenge Space, shifts the course into a more self-directed mode. Here, you conduct intensive experimentation and research—both primary and secondary—to define the parameters of your final project. This culminates in the development of a formal Learning Agreement outlining your project's direction. The final unit, Resolving the Solution Space, brings together all prior learning, combining theory, research, and creative practice into a cohesive body of work. This project is shared and discussed through presentations with peers and staff, enhancing your ability to communicate your ideas professionally.Throughout the course, you maintain a Reflective Journal to document your practice and career intentions. The program is designed to be responsive to emerging trends and challenges in the field of graphic design, ensuring your work remains relevant and forward-thinking. Whether you aim to pursue a career in the design industry or continue your studies at the doctoral level, the course provides a comprehensive, critically informed foundation to support your ambitions.