Graphic Design and Illustration (Visual Communication) BA (Hons)

This course is in clearing

Overview

Course options

Select year

Degree

UCAS code: W225112 UCAS points

BA (Hons) Graphic Design and Illustration (Visual Communication), home applicant, full time

  • Home Applicant
  • Full time, 3/4 years
  • Pound 9535 per year

BA (Hons) Graphic Design and Illustration (Visual Communication), home applicant, part time

  • Home Applicant
  • Part time
  • pro-rata full time fee

BA (Hons) Graphic Design and Illustration (Visual Communication), international applicant, full time

  • International Applicant
  • Full time, 3/4 years
  • Pound 15560 per year

Degree with foundation year

UCAS code: W22664 UCAS points

BA (Hons) Graphic Design and Illustration (Visual Communication), home applicant, full time

  • Home Applicant
  • Full time, 4/5 years
  • TBC per year

BA (Hons) Graphic Design and Illustration (Visual Communication), international applicant, full time

  • International Applicant
  • Full time, 4/5 years
  • Pound 15560 per year

Creating Culture & Artistic Practice with renowned artist, Keef Winter | Makers & Mavericks

What makes this course different

1st in London

Our Design Studies courses ranked 1st in London for “Learning Opportunities” (National Student Survey 2023, Results published 10 August 2023)

See full NSS survey results

Flexibility

This course allows you to study both graphic design and illustration, giving you an advantage in industry. You can also take up the optional placement year.

Industry 4.0

You will work alongside and share modules with other art students gaining fresh perspective and approaches, giving you the edge in the competitive job market for Industry 4.0 (Fourth Industrial Age)

Course modules

Studying on BA (Hons) Graphic Design and Illustration (Visual Communication) with Foundation Year is a great way to introduce yourself to the university experience should you not have either an art and design background or enough UCAS points to do the full degree.

In your first year, you will look at the history of fine art, creative practice and practical application of your skills. This year's modules are shared with our pure Graphic Design degree.

In year two, which is also shared with the main Graphic Design degree, you will further develop your practice and application of graphic design and illustration. The mental wealth module will help you think about how a creative practice works in real life, preparing you for your career.

In the final year, you will be able to gravitate towards one or other of the named subjects as your creative voice emerges. It's that flexibility which is the underlying selling point of this course. At any point should you feel more like an illustrator or more of a designer you can seamlessly switch between the degree courses.

NOTE: Modules are subject to change. For those studying part time courses the modules may vary.

Download course specification

Your future career

Our graphic design and illustration alumni may work in-house for a large company or in a specialist design studio, run their own business, or be self-employed across a variety of industries. Spending three years tracking multiple projects, solving the logistics of production and negotiating with teams of creatives will prepare you for work beyond the subject area.

Industry links

We have links with Blind Pig, a multidisciplinary creative studio. Creative director and founder Ric Combline has helped shape the course through his feedback and encouragement for art and graphic design-based courses at UEL.

Graduate employers

Our graphic design graduates have gone to work for employers such as SPOT Project, the University of East London, HFW (Holman Fenwick Willan LLP), Dawson Group and Fiver. Many have found success as freelance graphic designers and illustrators in various sectors.

Job roles

Career destinations for our design students include: 

  • design interaction

  • interaction designer

  • information architect

  • User Experience (UX) designer

  • User Interface (UI) designer

  • web designer

  • app designer

  • designer/ developer

  • content strategist

  • AR/VR designer

  • exhibition designer; and 

  • artist.

Explore the different career options you can pursue with this degree and see the median salaries of the sector on our Career Coach portal.

Further study

You could go on to further study and do an MA in Fine Art, Filmmaking, Creative Enterprise or Media and Communication Industries which will help you learn how to work as a freelance graphic designer, illustrator or entrepreneur. We also offer an MPhil PhD in the School of Arts and Creative Industries.

Hand holding piece of paper with a sketch on it
I have been doing screen printing this year, and I love it. I cannot stop doing it. I print on fabric and print on paper. Going forward, I will continue to mix with embroidery and screen printing. It is my final year, and I am just starting. It’s fantastic to graduate because I have this urge; I have this fire!”
Kemarie Walker

Graphic Design BA (Hons)

How we support your career ambitions

We offer dedicated careers support, and further opportunities to thrive, such as volunteering and industry networking. Our courses are created in collaboration with employers and industry to ensure they accurately reflect the real-life practices of your future career and provide you with the essential skills needed. You can focus on building interpersonal skills through group work and benefit from our investment in the latest cutting-edge technologies and facilities.

Career Zone

This digital platform provides you with careers and employability resources, including: 

  • Jobs board for internships, placements, graduate opportunities, flexible part-time work 
  • Mentoring programmes for insight with industry experts 
  • 1-2-1 career coaching services
  • Careers workshops and employer events 
  • Learning pathways to gain new skills and industry insight

Mental Wealth programme

Our Professional Fitness and Mental Wealth programme which issues you with a Careers Passport to track the skills you've mastered. Some of these are externally validated by corporations like Amazon and Microsoft.

Our Mental Wealth programme

We are careers first

Our teaching methods and geographical location put us right up top:

  • Work-based projects
  • Networking and visits to leading organisations
  • Support in starting a new business
  • London on our doorstep

How you'll learn

You will benefit from our progressive approach to learning through forward thinking and inclusive blended/ flipped learning and patchwork assessment, allowing you to make connections between modules, technical skills, research and your practice.

Think critically to undertake complex problem-solving to be able to succeed in the 4iR (fourth industrial revolution) and beyond (we call this emotional intelligence). Gain insights in our yearly subject area employability initiative Detour Ahead: Roadmaps for the Art and Design Industry, a week-long inter-disciplinary guest talks, and advice about copyright and licensing, freelancing, and tax.

Gravitate towards one or other of the named subjects as your creative voice emerges or stay studying both. It's that flexibility that is the underlying selling point of this course.

Guided independent study

We are investing in key areas beyond your studies including our career services, library and well-being, to be available both face-to-face on campus and online with many of these available 24/7. We have new, modern library facilities on both campuses offering inspirational environments for study and research. Libraries contain resources in print and digital formats, a range of study spaces and a dedicated librarian who can assist with your learning.

Academic support

Students are supported with any academic or subject-related queries by an Academic Advisor, module leaders, and former and current UEL students.

If you need a bit of extra help with certain skills such as academic writing, English, maths or statistics, our Academic Tutors offer workshops, drop-in sessions and one-to-one appointments to help our students achieve their potential. You can receive advice and guidance on all aspects of the IT systems provided by the University from our IT Service Desks located on all three campuses. 

Our Student Support hubs in Docklands and Stratford feature centralised help desks to cater for your every need. UEL provides also support and advice for disabled students and those with specific learning difficulties (SPDs).

Dedicated personal tutor

When you arrive, we'll introduce you to your personal tutor. This is the member of the academic course team who will provide academic guidance, be a support throughout your time at UEL and who will show you how to make the best use of all the help and resources that we offer.

Workload

Each year you will spend around 300 hours of timetabled learning and teaching activities. These may be lectures, workshops, seminars and individual and group tutorials. Contact hours may vary depending on each module. 

The approximate percentages for this course are: 

  • Year 1: scheduled teaching - 300 hours; guided independent study - 900 hours. 
  • Year 2: scheduled teaching - 300 hours; guided independent study - 900 hours. 
  • Year 3: scheduled teaching - 300 hours; guided independent study - 900 hours.

Your timetable

You will receive your personalised timetable at the beginning of the academic year depending on your course.

Class sizes

The size of classes can vary depending on the nature of the course, module and activity. This can range from large groups in a lecture theatre setting, to smaller groups taking part in seminars and collaborative work.

How you'll be assessed

Each module has a duration of 12 weeks (one term) and always concludes with an assessment point. We provide feedback throughout these 12-week periods with a specific 'Tracking Week' dedicated to this process midway through each term. 

For practical modules, your submission will consist of a Learning Journal (the presentation of your development and experience) and a portfolio (the presentation of your practical output). For theoretical modules, you may be asked to produce a piece of academic writing of a given length and a live presentation. 

Feedback is provided within 15 working days in line with UEL's assessment and feedback policy.

Campus and facilities

Docklands Campus, London, E16 2RD

Who teaches this course

This course is delivered by the School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering

The teaching team includes qualified academics, practitioners and industry experts as guest speakers. Full details of the academics will be provided in the student handbook and module guides.

DiscoverUni

The banner below displays some key factual data about this course (including different course combinations or delivery modes of this course where relevant).

Select year

Statistics for BA (Hons) Graphic Design and Illustration (Visual Communication) Degree, Full Time

Statistics for BA (Hons) Graphic Design and Illustration (Visual Communication) Degree, Full Time

What our students and staff say

Performing Arts Students
Graphic Design at UEL offers everyone a chance to operate in an economy which is moving further and further into the realms of the creative industries."

Joe Pleass

BA (Hons) Graphic Design

Students looking at graphics software
UEL's graphic design course embodies the philosophies of past pioneers in the context of today's graphic design and its advancement. Here it seems we are at the epicentre of creating ideas that will move, influence and shape the world."

Temidayo Kolawole

BA (Hons) Graphic Design