Graphic Design - BDes (Hons) - Full time

The Graphic Designer brands the world we live in and creates innovative visual languages which can be applied across many design genres in today’s visual culture, a fast paced realm of converging media, communication, rapid technological advancement and unprecedented crossover among the arts, popular culture and commerce. This course offers a broad design education, drawing on a rich theoretical and practical history and is forward thinking in the way visual language is applied to a wide spectrum of design disciplines in professional practice. This exciting course aims to emphasise the importance of ideas and originality of content as key elements.

As a graphic designer, you'll help shape the world around you. More and more, designers are working in diverse industries to create our visual environment, from branding and packaging to book covers, clothing and signage. Sharing its first year of content with the Product Design and Interior Architecture courses, this course will expose you to design in its broadest sense - including media, motion and spacial applications - and you'll study and create work that transcends the 2D format. You'll have the opportunity to apply your learning on an optional one semester work placement. Additionally, you can broaden your design horizons by undertaking this placement abroad, at one of our linked EU universities. This course has introduced a placement scheme with StudioLR. Students on this course have won a substantial number of design awards over the past year, receiving 11 commendations and one category winner at the Roses Creativity Awards. This national recognition of Edinburgh Napier Graphic Design students culminated in Melissa Preston winning a Yellow Pencil at the prestigious D&AD student awards, the design industry’s equivalent of the Oscars. We believe in giving you the skills you need to successfully operate as a professional graphic designer. As such, you'll develop a wide range of skills during this course. You'll work on conceptual thinking, design sketching techniques, illustration, and the use of digital media. In addition, you'll learn verbal and visual communication techniques, effective client liaison, team working skills and business and marketing principles. packaging design branding advertising design management exhibition design web design editorial design merchandising Professionally accredited by: This course has been awarded the Creative Skillset Tick, the industry kitemark of quality, following a rigorous assessment process by experts working in the Creative Industries. The Creative Skillset Tick is awarded to practice-based courses which best prepare students for a career in the industry. View Full Screen

What's involved Based over four years, the course will involve lectures, tutorials, laboratory sessions and independent study. Year 1 Foundation Design 1 & 2, Introduction to Graphic Design, Design and Digital Media, Option (Design Toolkit) Year 2 Interactive Interface 1, Graphic Design Studio 1 & 2, Design and Aesthetics, Design and Business, plus one optional module. Year 3 Interactive Interface 2 & 3, Graphic Design Studio 3 & 4, Design and Urbanism, Professional Practice. Alternatively you can spend the second half of the year undertaking a supervised work placement or overseas study module. Year 4 You will undertake a major project and a dissertation, you will also study one module in Media Production and enter work into competitions.

Requirements at a glanceEntry to the courseTypical year 1SQA HigherBBBB A LevelBCC Irish Leaving CertificateB2, B2, B2, B2 at higher level, including Art. Must have English at Ordinary level A2. Subjects requiredHigher Art or Graphic Communication or Product Design (B) / A-Level Art or Graphic Communication or Product Design (C) Higher / A Level / ILC English or other literary subject. Typical year 2SQA Advanced Higher A LevelBBB HNCB in Graded Unit in related subject Typical year 3HNDB in Graded Unit in related subject Other entry requirementsAs part of the selection process suitably qualified applicants will normally be invited to attend an interview/audition.Typical Entry requirements indicate the minimum qualifications with which students are normally accepted. Competition for places varies from year-to-year and achievement of the typical entry requirements does not always guarantee a place.Fees Table2012/3 2013/4 Scotland £1,820 £1,820 European Union £1,820 £1,820 Rest of UK £6,500 £6,630 Overseas £11,250 £11,700 Fees displayed are correct at the time of publication but the University Court reserves the right to make changes in fees at any time, and without notice, before or after the student's admission to the University.Tuition fees are reviewed annually and will rise each year during your programme of study, at least in line with inflation.