Graphic Design MA

Why choose this course?

The course is taught by design practitioners and researchers, and enriched by national and international visiting tutors from a range of creative industries in an expanded mode of design. You will explore the role of graphic design as a tool through which to critically investigate current issues and contemporary visual culture, society, politics, identity, information, education, and technology. Your position as a designer will also be explored through design practice and theory.

You will develop your practice with specialist support through adaptable ‘Platform' groups such as Socially-Engaged Design, Visual Identity and Branding, Language and Publishing, and Interactive Design. These groups provide a lens through which to respond to briefs in each module, and develop your own research methods and practice through an Expanded Research Project.

You will be taught by a team of experienced design practitioners, educators, and published researchers. You will visit professional design studios and hear from inter/national guest speakers from industry, work on live projects, on competitions, and participate in workshops.

Underpinned by critical thinking, we work across design fields such as; speculative design, information design, social justice, sustainable design and branding, visual identity, design pedagogy, interactive design, film, photography, typography, exhibition design, user experience, (digital and print) editorial design. With an emphasis on process you will be encouraged to innovate, invent and inspire change in an expanded future-facing approach to the discipline.

We employ developmental models such as the Double Diamond (Design Council, UK, 2006) to help structure a holistic development of your research methods from initial observations and analysis, through seminars and reviews, and experimentation with media, to audience engagement. In this context, research is not only a working process but can also be considered an outcome in its own right. In a studio-based community of practice, you will work collaboratively in teams and individually, with local communities, third sector groups and other disciplines to discover new methods and meaning through design. Theory and practice are integrated in a critical examination of the media, methods, concepts, histories and future technologies of design.

The programme is structured around thematic areas of investigation (Platforms) which act as catalysts for a way of thinking, or a particular aspect of graphic design within each project; Socially Engaged Design, Visual Identity and Graphic Experience, Language and Letterforms, Interactive Design. Each Platform is adapted to the skills/expertise of applicants, the expertise of visiting lecturers and in response to the changing nature of the world around us. At the end of the course, you'll be equipped with a combination of creative and transferable skills, cognitive processes and methodologies that will help you to shape the future for business, culture and communities.

Please note: this course was previously called Communication Design: Graphic Design MA.

Apply for this course
Mode Duration Attendance Start date
Full time 1 year 2 days a week September 2023
September 2024
Full time 2 years including professional placement 2 days a week plus placement year September 2023
September 2024
Part time 2 years Contact the course leader for details September 2023
September 2024
Location Kingston School of Art, Knights Park
Contact us
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Reasons to choose Kingston University

  • You will build new ways of thinking and making in a studio-based community of practice with students from across the design school.
  • You will work with and through diverse media to challenge the norms of graphic design within changing social, political and cultural contexts.
  • Your design practice will be informed by deep research, critical thinking, experimental formats, future design and public engagement.
  • You will develop your practice through four platforms: Interactive Image, Graphic Identity and Experience, Social Design Activism and LetterForms.

The Art School Experience

As part of Kingston School of Art, students on this course benefit from joining a creative community where collaborative working and critical practice are encouraged.

Our workshops and studios are open to all disciplines, enabling students and staff to work together, share ideas and explore multi-disciplinary making.

Explore our world-class facilities
Two students collaborate on a design project.

What you will study

Project work will challenge you to develop and enhance your existing ways of working. You will explore the importance of research in underpinning your practice and will be encouraged to build your own visual language and ‘tools' in response to set briefs within each module. In the final stage of the course, you will propose and develop your independent major project.

This specialist pathway is part of the School of Design's postgraduate programme. The structure – shared with other postgraduate students – enables you to explore your individual specialist interests in graphic design within an integrated learning environment that provides a comprehensive understanding of the value and role of interdisciplinary methods and ways of working.

Modules

Optional placement year

You will be encouraged to develop your understanding of the relationship between words, pictures and their means of communication and transmission.

Core modules

Visual Grammar, Literacy and Intelligence

30 credits

This module explores the fundamental and underpinning aspects of communication design and the key skills related to visual thinking and is intended to introduce you to the expected ways of working whilst undertaking study on the course. The module places an emphasis on the nature of individual enquiry and the process of questioning. The primary focus of the module is problem finding, and simply put at this stage of the course: the point of a good research question is a better research question. You will be required to revisit the fundamental aspects of your practice through the exploration of form and context and their relationship to how meaning is established and importantly, communicated. This will build upon your existing ways of working and is a building block in the further development of your field of operation as designer on the course and your future career. The focus during this first module is upon visual grammar and how the essential elements of visual communication are related to the relationships between objects, patterns, and processes: the manner in which things relate to each other and the viewer/user.

Your understanding of form and the (inter)relationship between word and image; how meaning is established and communicated (context) will be explored through a process of de-thinking and re-thinking whereby established ways of working and developing ideas are challenged and (re)built upon. You will be expected to demonstrate through the visual documentation you produce how you have explored and tested your ideas.

Designing Research

30 credits

The aim of the module is to give you an understanding of the design research tools and methods that are available to you, to inform and support the development of your practical study, and to provide the basis of your further study on your course. Practical research methods are explored, with an emphasis on the development of creative and evidence-based approaches to experimentation, and critical reflection on practical design work.

Visual Storytelling: Narrative and Sequence

30 credits

This module encourages you to look critically at the role of storytelling within the practice of communication design, in particular the relationship between narrative and sequential thinking using visual means. Contemporary culture is influenced by rapid technological change and this has a profound effect on how we transmit, receive and understand messages and information. Increasingly the role and relationship between the single and serial image in sequential and non-sequential forms has become more significant.

The existing relationship between the image and the word has become more complex as both old and new media are (re)defined by both the means of production and transmission. These changes are creating new dialogues between users and creators in both commercial and social arenas that employ narrative/storytelling devices and techniques. Storytelling is central to the many forms of visual communication that now exist whether fixed in traditional linear and sequential ways or based in dynamic and interactive screen-based environments. This presents new challenges and opportunities to designers, in particular to develop new and sustainable ways of thinking and working that are also able to transcend the technology of the moment.

The module allows you to develop your individual practice whether you are focused on the creation of content as a key aspect of your making or whether you situate your practice in relation to the interpretation and adaption of existing 'texts' and content in the act of storytelling. It is also the understanding of the history of visual storytelling and the diverse approaches to narrativity and seriality that are influenced by culture, language and technology.

Creative Futures

30 credits

This module is based on the assumption that the best jobs/careers in the creative industries do not exist – they are invented from individual creative ambitions. The module explores how this can be approached in practical terms. The programme of study encourages you to develop a personal and critical approach to your future career, and how this can inform the development of your individual major project for the Major Project.

The Major Project

60 credits

The Major Project – the capstone project – consolidates the knowledge gained in earlier modules, and is informed by your prior learning within the Design School's postgraduate interdisciplinary framework and course-specific specialist study.

You will extend your work on the course thus far in the form of a practical design proposal, defining and developing a substantive solution to an individually defined design-related problem. In so doing, you will demonstrate advanced understanding and application of contemporary design practice as it can be brought to bear on a specific challenge of sustainability.

Many postgraduate courses at Kingston University allow students to do a 12-month work placement as part of their course. The responsibility for finding the work placement is with the student; we cannot guarantee the work placement, just the opportunity to undertake it. As the work placement is an assessed part of the course, it is covered by a student's Student Route visa.

Find out more about the postgraduate work placement scheme.

Core modules

Professional Placement

120 credits

The Professional Placement module is a core module for those students following a masters programme that incorporates professional placement learning, following completion of 120 credits. It provides you with the opportunity to apply your knowledge and skills to an appropriate working environment, and to develop and enhance key employability skills and subject-specific professional skills in your chosen subject. You may wish to use the placement experience as a platform for your subsequent major project module, and would be expected to use it to help inform your decisions about future careers.

Entry requirements

Typical offer

Applicants should have a 2:1 or above honours degree, or equivalent qualification, in graphic design or a related subject, such as moving image, graphic communication, illustration, 3D design, advertising, photography, packaging, computer-related design, architecture or fine art.

We also welcome applicants with relevant experience that demonstrates the necessary skills and intellectual achievement needed to undertake the course.

Portfolio requirements

We would like to understand more about you and your practice, as well as your aptitude and motivations for studying on this course. Your portfolio for an application to MA Graphic Design at Kingston School of Art should demonstrate your strengths as a creative and/or designer through:

  • Research. This is fundamental to the design process and there should be strong evidence that you can gather interesting visual research that develops the concept and narrative of your design work.
  • Process. Process is as important as the final outcomes of a project at MA level because it reveals how you think and work as a designer. This could and should include evidence of research, sketchbook pages, 3D work, design drawing, analysis, tests.
  • Making. The MA Graphic Design course encourages thinking through making. This means that ideas and designs are explored through a broad range of media including; 3D, print, lens-based media, sound, performance, woven fabric, and interactions.
  • Design drawing and thinking. Visual thinking through notational drawing and writing is key to communicating your ideas during the process of a project.
  • Film and Photography. Evidence of moving and still lens-based media as a research method or outcome is encouraged.
  • Typography and Language. Visual forms of language such as writing systems, digital and material text, and visual codes are central components of graphic design as a cultural practice.

Tell the story of your projects and their visual and intellectual development. Provide an insight into the breadth and depth of your creative process. Demonstrate how you research and how you critically engage with ideas and contemporary debate, what inspires and/or infuriates you. Share collaborative projects that show your aptitude to work within diverse teams and with others.

Digital portfolio format requirements

  • A portfolio of 25-30 pages, landscape orientation and saved/uploaded as a PDF file.
  • Include a title and a short description to provide background to the project, your ideas and aims. Identify your individual role if presenting a group project.
  • You may have animation or moving image/film which can be uploaded to Vimeo, Flickr or YouTube – please supply these links in your portfolio and make sure they are active and accessible.
  • Ensure that images are at least 72 dpi but no more than 150dpi. Moving image should be no longer than 5 mins.

Please see our Portfolio Preparation short course for help with your portfolio.

International

All non-UK applicants must meet our English language requirement, which is Academic IELTS of 6.5 overall, with no element below 5.5. Make sure you read our full guidance about English language requirements, which includes details of other qualifications we consider.

Applicants who do not meet the English language requirements could be eligible to join our pre-sessional English language course.

Applicants from a recognised majority English speaking countries (MESCs) do not need to meet these requirements.

Country-specific information

You will find more information on country specific entry requirements in the International section of our website.

Find your country:

Teaching and assessment

You'll be strongly encouraged to develop your own informed and creative approach, taking into account contemporary research, current industry and design practices.

Guided independent study (self-managed time)

When not attending timetabled sessions, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. This typically involves reading and analysing articles, regulations, policy documents and key texts, documenting individual projects, preparing coursework assignments and completing your PEDRs, etc.

Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities including online resources, the library and CANVAS, the University's online virtual learning platform.

Support for postgraduate students

At Kingston University, we know that postgraduate students have particular needs and therefore we have a range of support available to help you during your time here.

Your workload

Year 1: 11% of your time is spent in timetabled learning and teaching activity.

Contact hours may vary depending on your modules.

Type of learning and learning

Type of learning and learning
  • Scheduled learning and learning: 326 hours
  • Guided independent study (self-managed time): 2124 hours

How you will be assessed

Assessment typically comprises exams (e.g. test or exam), practical (e.g. presentations, performance) and coursework (e.g. essays, reports, self-assessment, portfolios, dissertation).

The approximate percentage for how you will be assessed on this course is as follows, though depends to some extent on the optional modules you choose:

Type of assessment

Type of assessment
  • Coursework: 100%

Feedback summary

We aim to provide feedback on assessments within 20 working days.

Class sizes

To give you an indication of class sizes, this course normally enrols 55–65 students and lecture sizes are normally 15–65. Platform group sizes are 10–15. However, this can vary by module and academic year.

Who teaches this course?

You'll be taught by academics who are practising designers and researchers. You'll visit studios and hear from guest speakers from industry, work on live projects, competitions, lectures and workshops. Postgraduate students may also contribute to the teaching of seminars under the supervision of the module leader.

Dr Cathy Gale

Course leader

Damian Chapman

Mr Andrew Haslam

Ms Tao Lin

Fees for this course

2024/25 fees for this course

Home 2024/25

  • MA full time £11,900
  • MA part time £6,545

International 2024/25

  • MA full time £20,900
  • MA part time £11,495

2023/24 fees for this course

Home 2023/24

  • MA full time £10,900
  • MA part time £5,995

International 2023/24

  • MA full time £18,700
  • MA part time £10,285

Tuition fee information for future course years

If you start your second year straight after Year 1, you will pay the same fee for both years.

If you take a break before starting your second year, or if you repeat modules from Year 1 in Year 2, the fee for your second year may increase.

Fees for the optional placement year

If you choose to take a placement as part of this course, you will be invoiced for the placement fee in Year 2. Find out more about the postgraduate work placement scheme and the costs for the placement year.

Postgraduate loans

If you are a UK student, resident in England and are aged under the age of 60, you will be able to apply for a loan to study for a postgraduate degree. For more information, read the postgraduate loan information on the government's website.

Scholarships and bursaries

Kingston University offers a range of postgraduate scholarships, including:

If you are an international student, find out more about scholarships and bursaries.

We also offer the following discounts for Kingston University alumni:

Additional costs

Depending on the programme of study, there may be extra costs that are not covered by tuition fees which students will need to consider when planning their studies. Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessment and operating University facilities such as the library, access to shared IT equipment and other support services. Accommodation and living costs are not included in our fees. 

Where a course has additional expenses, we make every effort to highlight them. These may include optional field trips, materials (e.g. art, design, engineering), security checks such as DBS, uniforms, specialist clothing or professional memberships.

Textbooks

Our libraries are a valuable resource with an extensive collection of books and journals as well as first-class facilities and IT equipment. You may prefer to buy your own copy of key textbooks, this can cost between £50 and £250 per year.

Computer equipment

There are open-access networked computers available across the University, plus laptops available to loan. You may find it useful to have your own PC, laptop or tablet which you can use around campus and in halls of residences. Free Wi-Fi is available on each of the campuses. You may wish to purchase your own computer, which can cost £100 to £3,000 depending on your course requirements.

Photocopying and printing

In the majority of cases written coursework can be submitted online. There may be instances when you will be required to submit work in a printed format. Printing, binding and photocopying costs are not included in your tuition fees, this may cost up to £100 per year.

Travel

Travel costs are not included in your tuition fees but we do have a free intersite bus service which links the campuses, Surbiton train station, Kingston upon Thames train station, Norbiton train station and halls of residence.

Gallery of student work

Ke-Yi Liang - Awarded the overall Fedrigoni YCN (You Can Now) Award.
Ke-Yi Liang
Awarded the overall Fedrigoni YCN (You Can Now) Award.
Student work poster - 'The Truth'
Student work poster
"The Truth"
Ke-Yi Liang
Ke-Yi Liang
Student work
Student work
Ke-Yi Liang
Ke-Yi Liang
Student work
Student work
Student work - Design for a deck of cards.
Student work
Design for a deck of cards.

Facilities

There is a wide range of fantastic facilities at Knights Park, where this course is based. The workshops and studios are open for creative exploration and offer you plenty of opportunities to collaborate on projects and share ideas, whether you are studying or researching. Building on this open approach, there are many adaptable architecture studio and workshop spaces, designed by Stirling Prize winning Haworth Tompkins, alongside active breakout spaces.

At the heart of the building are new state-of-the-art workshop facilities, which include:

  • 3D workshop, with ceramics, concrete, resin-casting, plastics, metalwork, woodwork and a bronze-casting foundry, as well as a Big Build space for Architecture, set design and large scale model making
  • Animation and post production studios
  • Digital Media workshop
  • Fashion (knitting and sewing workshops), with digital and analogue facilities, plus a working dress archive which includes pieces from 1750 to the present day
  • HackSpace (for collaborative, creative, solutions-focussed projects)
  • Letterpress and printmaking workshop, with digital and analogue facilities, to experiment creatively
  • Moving Image workshop, with studios, editing suite, and industry-standard equipment
  • Photography workshop, including studios, colour, and black and white darkrooms, processing facilities

All our facilities are open access, meaning you can use them whenever you want, and irrespective of what degree you're studying.

The University also has its own on-site galleries, including:

  • Dorich House - the former studio home of the sculptor Dora Gordine and her husband the Hon. Richard Hare, a scholar of Russian art and literature. Now Grade II listed, the building was completed in 1936, to Gordine's design, and is an exceptional example of a modern studio house created by and for a female artist.
  • Stanley Picker Gallery - one of the leading examples of a university gallery in the UK. Its public activities are dedicated to the research, commissioning and presentation of innovative new practice across the fields of art, design and architecture for general, academic and specialist audiences.
  • Project spaces at Knights Park campus, which you can book for the exhibition of large-scale work.

Resources in London

Kingston is just a 30-minute train journey from central London. Here you can access world-famous museums and galleries.

After you graduate

Graduates go on to roles in companies such as Louis Vuitton, Vivo, BBH; China; and World Humanitarian Forum, London. The transferable skill set acquired on the course can lead to diverse opportunities such as:

  • project manager
  • event organiser
  • design curator
  • director
  • data visualiser
  • art director
  • typographer
  • copywriter
  • web/app designer
  • brand strategist
  • UX designer
  • researcher
  • activist
  • educator.

What our students and graduates say

There are several factors that make the MA Graphics amazing. Firstly, the tutors are always available to you; they encourage you and your ideas by providing guidance and subject expertise. Crucially, you are also able to seek advice from tutors from the other courses should your projects venture into different disciplines.

Secondly, the facilities at Kingston allowed us to bring our projects to another level. There was an amazing 3D workshop, but for me the print workshop was a godsend. The skills I acquired there built my confidence and pushed me to discover new techniques, and the help from technicians is second to none!

Thirdly, having an atmosphere you feel comfortable in is so important and aids productivity and you learn from your peers. I met like minded people from all backgrounds (that ended up as great friends), and we all helped each other by either by exchanging knowledge, support and encouragement.

Finally, a highlight of the course was the awesome European field trip. We went to Berlin by coach via many interesting cities. It was amazing! We visited SO many great galleries and inspirational studios on the trip.

Alex Medhurst (Luxembourg)

Studying Communication Design: Graphic Design MA at Kingston was, without any doubt, the best decision of my life so far. Not only as a graphic designer but as a person as well.

I met creative people who I still keep in touch with and are now great friends of mine; tutors whose encouragement and knowledge I cannot be grateful enough for; and the chance to studying in a cool, relaxed and inspiring space where I could research and do anything that I (literally) wished for.

If you get up with the wild idea of making an alphabet out of 2m long wooden letters, or to research and screen print rainbows for a month – and you can also explain why you want to do it – you will not just have a proper technical and theoretical background to support you, but also people who will encourage you to start doing it and will go with you on that road.

Anna Hidvegi (Budapest, Hungary)

The first thing you should know about this course is that you will not be handed your MA on a silver platter, and that's the best part. You learn to widen your skill set and get different perspectives from a very lovely, international community. You will get to know some amazing and inspiring tutors who will always help you find the right questions to ask, and you will also learn from a variety of guest lecturers.

If I could do it again I would, because I have never felt as challenged yet so free as I felt during my time at Kingston.

Kjerstin Asak (Oslo, Norway)

I had a really great experience on the Communication Design: Graphic Design MA at Kingston. We undertook group as well as personal projects. For the group project we worked with students from different design disciplines. This was not easy for me as English is not my native language, but these projects inspired me a lot during discussions, and I was positively influenced by the different perspectives from the diverse fields of design, and the cultural backgrounds of my fellow group members.

In the individual projects, we had two tutors who focused on different aspects of graphic design. They helped us to make our personal projects ambitious and perfect. During the course I learned a lot of new skills and developed my knowledge of graphic design. I am really grateful to be graduate of Kingston University.

Rubbie Chong (Taipei, Taiwan)

Choosing Kingston University has been the best choice for my development as a designer. Through its interdisciplinary format this course stands out for any individual seeking to indulge in a thorough and informed design practice. The various studio facilities available made it possible to experiment and try out innovative concepts.

The curriculum is set out perfectly and provides various opportunities to prepare yourself for the professional world. The course has been challenging and very intense at times but there is no lack of support from the faculty and other technical staff.

The tutors are very competent, encouraging and supportive to each and every student and go that extra mile to further boost our contemplations without any compromise. The overall programme was very rewarding and enriching and a worthwhile experience.

Natasha Coutinho (Goa, India)

My year at Kingston altered my perspective in a profound way. The manner in which I approach problems, work and situations is completely different from when I turned up on the first day, and I continually feel the benefits of the course every day that I work in design.

It is a course which feeds creative thinking. It encouraged me to really push concepts much further than I had envisaged before, through hands-on experience, trial and error. The Communication Design: Graphic Design MA fully repays what each individual puts in and has had such a strong hand in shaping my career.

Jack Smyth (Dublin, Ireland)

Course changes and regulations

The information on this page reflects the currently intended course structure and module details. To improve your student experience and the quality of your degree, we may review and change the material information of this course. Course changes explained.

Programme Specifications for the course are published ahead of each academic year.

Regulations governing this course can be found on our website.