MA Graphic Media Design explores the use of graphic design as a critical tool to probe the complexities of contemporary visual culture.
Through intensive and original practice-led research, you will develop an independent and critical attitude with a view to producing relevant and unexpected perspectives on and for the world.
We invite thoughtful, critical, productive individuals interested in the effective articulation of design.
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This research is positioned within the field of political design, and is intended as a think tank for ideas about power and leadership, the status quo and subversion, representation and reproduction.
Here be Dragons is a book that describes Terra Ignota, a mysterious island, autonomous from the rest of the world – ‘Mainland’ – and alien to the notions of law and government.
EF—AP is an open platform for the dissemination of discourse on architectural publishing.
The Order of Critical Shape Givers is part of a larger research project about contemporary ‘ugly’ aesthetics in critical graphic design practices.
A Common Practice presents an intention, a methodology and a terrain. It is a proposition for a design studio and ongoing research inquiry which takes the context of accelerated culture as its starting point.
This project explores the nexus between mental health and technology, using Freud's theory of projection as a means of materialising these issues into visual forms.
Better Babies/Higher Humans is a Design Fiction narrative that combines visual language and digital interactivity to expose gene editing as a controversial technology for designing human beings in the near future.
As part of London College of Communication's Postgraduate Show 2018, students from MA Graphic Media Design worked on symposium and publication 'A Line Which Forms A Volume 2'.
View studio work, projects and news stories from MA Graphic Media Design students.
Something or Other is a series of presentations, conversations, events that sets out to enquire into the particularities of contemporary culture. It takes the form of staged lectures and framed debates intending to provoke dialogue, debate and curiosity.
Graphik.net caught up with students on MA Graphic Media Design to find out more about A Line Which Forms a Volume.
'The Publication Unspooling Design Academia into the Public Sphere' is a review by AIGA Eye on Design, reviewing MA Graphic Media Design publication, A Line Which Forms a Volume.
Super pleased to announce our first Irish stockist — A Line Which Forms a Volume 2 is now available to pick up online and in store from The Library Project @TLP_Says — https://t.co/B8Adlj3qil https://t.co/l5aq2CGsVr
Really looking forward to your visit @HagenVerleger https://t.co/WEat3DIsKN
All welcome to join our next open evening, Wed 17 April, where we will introduce the MA Graphic Media Design course philosophy, culture and new funding opportunities such as the Clive Baillie Scholarship. Bookings at this link: https://t.co/m4kxqiyZ2g https://t.co/IfMSZCZLUP
All roads to Leeds for the next @GDEnetwork event 🙌 https://t.co/hJOcnIXz10
Paul Bailey, MA Graphic Design Course Leader at LCC has designed the V&A’s exhibition Maps of Defiance, which presents research into Islamic State (ISIL) violence and destruction against the Yazidi people of Northern Iraq.
A mix of talks, performances, experiments, screenings and workshops, Re(Distributed) Media, was a weekend long public programme at the Design Museum ran by students on LCC’s MA Graphic Media Design course.
For their final major show as part of LCC Postgraduate Shows 2018, students from London College of Communication’s MA Graphic Media Design explored design-led research and practice through ‘A Line Which Forms a Volume’ – culminating in a
Discover our printing techniques, from Lithographic Printing to Print Finishing and Bookbinding.
This workshop offers a wide-range of expertise in everything from etching to lithography.
The Digital Space is an open-plan, creative hub with computers set up with specialist software.
MA Graphic Media Design is renowned for its excellence in teaching and learning at postgraduate level, with established links within the field of graphic design, both nationally and internationally.
Your self-authored, practice-led enquiry will drive this programme of study. You will work in collaboration with the course tutors, fellow course participants and external partners.
Your long-term independent enquiry will be punctuated with specialist workshops, course-led briefs, tutor, peer and expert critique forums, site visits, lectures and talks from leading practitioners, thinkers and doers.
You will join and participate in a critical studio environment where practice-led, theoretical and historical contexts will be explored, critiqued and contemplated alongside one another.
This integrated design-oriented approach opens up new opportunities for you to explore the practice, the writing and the reading as blended visual research tools ripe for critique, invention and application.
MA Graphic Media Design runs alongside a suite of established and newly developed postgraduate courses, spanning the rich and diverse spectrum of the current and emergent practices in the fields of visual communication, illustration, interaction design, service design, branding and identity, advertising, documentary, journalism, photography, publishing, public relations, sound arts and screenwriting. This diversity of individual and collective pursuits promotes a rich discursive arena for all engaged.
The course structure appreciates the varied requirements and aspirations of the contemporary practitioner interested in the pursuit of postgraduate study in the subject. This is a particularly distinctive feature as we are one of the few courses in the United Kingdom to offer this option for postgraduate study in the subject.
The course is demanding of time and commitment. A defining aspect of your postgraduate study is the independent, self-directed approach. You are expected to timetable and manage your own learning according to your ambition and intentions.
You will work with the course team in the MA Graphic Media Design studios two days per week dependent on the stage of study, plus you’ll also attend a lecture series scheduled for another day in the week.
Outside of this core delivery, you will have the opportunity to utilise a range of excellent resources available at LCC to produce your experimentation and continue developing your projects. Tailored Academic Support and Language Support sessions are also scheduled to support and inform your developing academic literacies whilst you are with us on the course.
Your success or failure on the course will depend, to a great extent on how rigorously and responsibly you take this self-direction and how well you respond to tutorial advice and advice from peers and collaborators. The level of self-management required will increase throughout the course.
Please note: We will assume that you are technically proficient and able to research and develop any further skills you require. Technical tuition is restricted to the tutorial support of individual projects. If you need to acquire a significant skill base, then you are advised to do so before you apply for the course.
Units summary:
This unit functions as an introduction to postgraduate study, critical and reflective practice, and alternative working approaches that blend graphic design practice, history and theory. Within our critical studio model — where theory, history, and practice meet, inform and influence one another — you will learn to approach practice-led enquiry and design writing as visual research tools.
This blended approach is employed to build a confidence in moving past the familiar into the unknown, through close readings of the variables that shape contemporary graphic design practice. A curated lecture series, anchored by key reference material, will support the studio-based delivery.
Units summary:
The Collaborative Unit urges you to independently initiate opportunities to socialise your research through building relationships with key stakeholders associated with your research agenda/s i.e. users, commissioners, producers, fellow practitioners/researchers, subject or technical experts, etc.
These activities may take place locally or remotely, through an excellent opportunity for you to establish links with relative industry partners within the thriving design culture here in London.
Alongside the Collaborative Unit, you will continue establishing a hypothesis for your Major Project by testing your projects currency in varied ways through practice-led design methodologies and processes; readings and writings around your field/area of study; and ongoing critical reflections. The products of this enquiry will feed directly into your Major Project Definition, which you will submit as part of your Design Enquiry and Definition unit submission.
In this period, you will also work with the other students on the course to devise and realise an opportunity to share your work-in-progress and test your propositions with a relative public/s. This may take the form of a publication, exhibition, event, symposium or workshop series negotiated with the course team.
Units summary:
Within this final stage of the course, you will further your knowledge and extend your critical and professional understanding through the consolidation and realisation of the Major Project. You are expected to produce work demonstrating a significant synthesis of research and practice drawing on the skills and knowledge acquired in the first three stages of the course.
Your Major Project will demonstrate, both in content and form, your advanced understanding of graphic design practice, history and theory. You will spend this phase of your study pursuing an argued and distinct line of inquiry working towards a major output (or body of work).
This will be supported by a critical context paper and critical rationale articulating the motivations and objectives of the project acknowledging key theories, contexts, and stakeholders for the research.
Units summary:
At the core of our learning and teaching methods is a shared Critical Studio made up of you, your peers, course tutors and associated external guests/experts from time to time. We propose a blended approach to theory and practice as central to a sustained, critical and productive practice. The Critical Studio takes various different forms, where you will be able to share your understanding with others and obtain guidance to identify solutions to practical or theoretical problems.
The information outlined is an indicative structure of the course. Whilst we will aim to deliver the course as described on this page, there may be situations where it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, for example, because of regulatory requirements or operational efficiencies, before or after enrolment. If this occurs, we will communicate all major changes to all applicants and students who have either applied or enrolled on the course.
Please note: due to staff research agreements or availability, not all of the optional modules listed may be available every year.
In addition, the provision of course options which depend upon the availability of specialist teaching, or on a placement at another institution, cannot be guaranteed. Please check this element of the course with the course team before making a decision to apply.
We will update this webpage from time to time with new information as it becomes available. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact a member of the course team.
Course Leader, MA Graphic Media Design
Acting Programme Director, Graphic Design Communication
Lead Tutor, MA Graphic Media Design
Lead Tutor, BA (Hons) Graphic Media Design
Associate Lecturer, MA Graphic Media Design
Lecturer, MA Graphic Media Design
Lecturer, MA Graphic Media Design
Visting Lecturer, MA Graphic Media Design
Associate Lecturer, MA Graphic Media Design
We are committed to making university education an achievable option for a wider range of people and to supporting all of our students in achieving their potential both during and after their courses.
We welcome applications from people with disabilities. If you have a disability (e.g. mobility difficulties, sensory impairments, medical or mental health conditions or Asperger’s syndrome) we strongly encourage you to contact us on disability@arts.ac.uk or +44 (0)20 7514 6156 so that we can plan the right support for you. All enquiries are treated confidentially. To find out more, visit our Disability & Dyslexia webpages.
The MA Graphic Media Design course team welcomes thoughtful, critical and productive applicants concerned with the effective articulation of design.
The course attracts applicants from a broad range of backgrounds, from all over the world, from an Honours degree course in a field relevant to graphics and media design or those with other, equivalent qualifications. The course team also welcomes students with relevant experience or those who may have previously worked in the industry, or non-traditional backgrounds, as well as those already within employment.
The course has been designed to accommodate flexibility in educational engagement. Your experience is assessed as a learning process and tutors will evaluate that experience for currency, validity, quality and sufficiency.
Your educational level may be demonstrated by:
Applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered in exceptional cases. The course team will consider each application that demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by:
Each application will be considered on its own merit but we cannot guarantee an offer in each case.
All classes are conducted in English. If English is not your first language, we strongly recommend you let us know your English language test score in your application. If you have booked a test or are awaiting your results, please indicate this in your application. When asked to upload a CV as part of your application, please include any information about your English test score.
For further details regarding international admissions and advice please visit the International Applications page.
Offers will be made based on the following selection criteria, which applicants are expected to demonstrate:
All applications will be considered by the course team who will consider key elements when making a decision on your suitability to join the course:
Before you apply, please take time to read the guidance below. You will be asked to provide the following items and upload documents when completing the online application form:
The online application can be saved as you fill it out, so you don’t need to complete it all at once. You will also have the chance to review all the information and make any necessary amendments before you press submit.
Applications are accepted and offers are made, throughout the year. Early application is advised.
Please provide a CV detailing your education, qualifications and any relevant work or voluntary experience. If English is not your first language it is important that you also include in your CV details of your most recent English language test score.
Please say why you are applying for this course, outlining relevant prior experience and your current knowledge of contemporary graphic design debates, developments and discussions. Ensure that your personal statement it is well written, clear and free of any spelling mistakes.
It is your chance to impress the course team by showing a strong interest in the subject, demonstrating what you feel you would bring to the course, your appreciation of what the course can offer you and how you feel it might help you in the future. This can be demonstrated through work experience, previous studies and your personal experience.
All applications will be considered by the course team who will consider key elements when making a decision on your suitability to join the course:
Before you apply, please take time to read the guidance below. You will be asked to provide the following items and upload documents when completing the online application form:
Please note: we will ask you for copies of certain documents (for example, English language qualification/certificate and copies of any previous UK study visas).
For further advice on how to apply please visit the UAL International Application page.
The online application can be saved as you fill it out, so you don’t need to complete it all at once. You will also have the chance to review all the information and make any necessary amendments before you press submit.
Alternatively, international applicants can apply through one of our official representatives in your country
Applications are accepted and offers are made, throughout the year. Early application is advised.
Whether you are applying through a UAL representative or direct application you will need to complete an Immigration History check. If you do not complete the Immigration History Check we will not be able to proceed with your application.
Please provide a CV detailing your education, qualifications and any relevant work or voluntary experience. If English is not your first language it is important that you also include in your CV details of your most recent English language test score.
Please say why you are applying for this course, outlining relevant prior experience and your current knowledge of contemporary graphic design debates, developments and discussions. Ensure that your personal statement it is well written, clear and free of any spelling mistakes.
It is your chance to impress the course team by showing a strong interest in the subject, demonstrating what you feel you would bring to the course, your appreciation of what the course can offer you and how you feel it might help you in the future. This can be demonstrated through work experience, previous studies and your personal experience.
After you have successfully submitted your application online, you will receive an email confirming your application and providing your login details for the UAL Applicant Portal. Please log into the portal, as this is where we will send you important updates and requests, and you can contact us with any questions you may have about your application.
Applicants must submit a study proposal (300-500 words) outlining the intentions of their MA research. Please include a description of the area of interest, field of study and the particular focus of the intended project, and an overview of how you intend to go about producing the project and the methodology.
All applicants will be expected to submit an electronic portfolio as part of their application. Your portfolio should evidence the applicant’s aptitude, skill and engagement in the field of graphic design or a relative neighbouring practice.
Please submit an edited selection of work (10-20 images, 4-5 projects maximum) accompanied by a short caption for each project acknowledging the motivation, development, realisation and impact (one-two sentences maximum).
Please indicate your role and contribution to any collaborative projects included. We welcome developmental work, sketches, tests, process-led experimentation in the portfolio. If you have links to web projects or media assets, please note these in your CV.
Your portfolio should be conceptual and research-based, you must show your thinking and making process and a curious nature to explore, test and experiment.
Applicants are usually interviewed by the course team before a place can be offered. Interviews will take place at LCC, or via Skype/telephone.
You will receive the outcome of your application through the UAL Applicant Portal.
If you are offered a place for 2019/20 but wish to defer to 2020/21, information on how to do this and who to contact can be found in your offer letter. Additionally, International applicants will have to pay a pre-payment in order to defer. In all cases, deferred places will be held for one year.
Home/EU applicants are permitted to make a deferred application. International applicants are not permitted to make a deferred application.
£10,890 (2019/20).
UAL alumni receive a £1,000 discount
Course fees may be paid in instalments
£19,930 (2019/20).
UAL alumni receive a £1,000 discount
Course fees may be paid in instalments
In addition to tuition fees you are very likely to incur additional costs such as travel expenses and the cost of materials. We strongly suggest you read the information on our Additional Costs page.
Find out about the accommodation options available and how much they will cost.
A range of scholarships, bursaries and awards are available to postgraduate students at UAL.
Postgraduate loans of up to £10,000 are now available for eligible UK and EU students. A full list of eligibility criteria and information on applying can be found on the postgraduate loans webpage.
£5,000 is available for 1 eligible first year student, studying MA Graphic and Media Design. Find out more on the Clive Baillie Scholarship page.
Funding opportunities available for this course:
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