1. Apply knowledge of professional contexts to produce a practical graphic design output, resulting in a finished portfolio component using appropriate industry-standard tools and workflows. Knowledge and understanding

2. Solve simulated creative or industry-informed problems using appropriate methods and processes for Graphic Design, working independently while engaging with relevant professional, technical, or academic feedback. Application and problem solving Critical Reasoning and Collaboration

3. Communicate your work through finished artefacts and portfolio that demonstrate a critical reflective process and understanding of the design processes used in industry Communication

4. Reflect on how employability and enterprise competencies and concept creation inform your developing practice in Graphic Design Personal development and entrepreneurship

You will present for assessment a body of work to be assessed for submission.

Assessment 1: Project Portfolio / outcome

Description: An individual portfolio combining creative project work and development. It should include:
- Primary and secondary research, analysis, and evaluation
- Concept and design development (e.g., mood boards, notebooks, sketches, annotated research)
- Ongoing annotations justifying design decisions that show traditional and digital image making techniques and tools and communicate relevant understanding of key designers and influencers
- Final outcomes of the graphic project (creative product, exploration ideas) show visual thinking and communication of creative proposals with experimentation, problem solving and reflection on process and practice
- Ability to use industry-standard tools and workflows for digital application

Purpose: Demonstrates the integration of research, design practice, and professional skills, consolidating learning from across the module.

Assessment 2: Reflection
You will produce a verbal presentation, written or multimedia commentary that defines your project focus, aims and intended outcomes in relation to your creative problem posed
- Informed by desk research, the assessment should demonstrate how research shaped your creative execution and technical decision-making.
- You will reflect on your strengths, limitations and skills development, setting realistic and professionally relevant goals for your project and future progression.

Option 1: Reflective Report (1,200 words)
Option 2: Recorded or live presentation (5–6 minutes)

Formative Assessment:
Midway formative feedback will be embedded within practical sessions, providing structured opportunities for feedback on work-in-progress to support student development and progression.

- This module is concerned with conveying meaning and information in its many different forms and deals with the practical issues of visual problem solving within the broad field of visual communication and application of learnt design solutions to a professional portfolio of media outputs across a mix of marketing communication mediums.
- This module introduces students to the historical, cultural, social, and contemporary contexts of graphic design. Students explore how graphic design operates within wider visual culture and society, and how context, audience, and purpose shape design decisions. Through research-informed studio projects, students apply foundational design skills to contextualised briefs, developing critical awareness alongside practical making.
- You will be encouraged to experiment with a range of media approaches to discover the ways in which different media carry different meanings and to express information in visually exciting and varied forms. Several platforms will be explored in the pursuit of understanding visual perception and aesthetic appreciation. These platforms will be determined by your project enquiry. This module is designed to build on knowledge and skills gained in previous modules by encouraging you to review, extend, develop and apply the use of creative visual thinking, art of metaphor, semiotics and typographical context, visual language manipulative skills and a variety of communication methods towards fresh and innovative solutions.
- You will work on visual communication problems to identify a problem, gather appropriate information, experiment with media to generate ideas and propose and evaluate potential solutions, refined to highly finished pieces.
- You will also concentrate on the practical exploration of composition, communicating through pictures, visual metaphors, and cultural aspects of image making.
- This module requires studied application of both conventional and unconventional media and visual problem solving, which promotes invention and media exploration.

This 30-credit module introduces you to the practical application of graphic design across contemporary digital and print platforms. You will build on core creative and technical skills while exploring how design communicates ideas, builds brands, and engages audiences in real-world contexts.

Through project-based learning, you’ll gain hands-on experience with industry-standard tools and processes, including layout, typography, image-making, branding, moving image and digital design. The module encourages experimentation, problem-solving, and critical thinking, helping you translate creative concepts into effective visual outcomes.

Individual and group project work will integrate practical (technical and aesthetic) and theoretical aspects of visual communication understanding
- Seminars
- Technical, experimental print and academic workshops including technical instruction sessions and library, design collection and design museum/exhibition-based activities
- Group peer-based learning tutorials
- Formative assessments
- Independent study in support of your practical work

Albers, J. (2013) Interaction of colour. 50th anniversary edn. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Helfand, J. (2016) Design: The invention of desire. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Johnson, M. (2002) Problem solved: A primer in design & communications. London: Phaidon Press.

Lupton, E. and Phillips, J. C. (2015) Graphic design: The new basics. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.

Odling-Smee, A. (2002) The new handmade graphics. Hove: RotoVision.

Wheeler, A. and Meyerson, R. (2024) Designing brand identity: A comprehensive guide to the world of brands and branding. London: Wiley.

Where older texts are included, they are retained as foundational texts within the discipline, remaining relevant where no more recent equivalent texts are available.

Student Life https://www.youtube.com/@uniofstaffsstudentlife/videos University Careers https://staffs.careercentre.me/Members University Library https://libguides.staffs.ac.uk/library Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment will support this module where relevant Specialist spaces
- Smart Zone
- Media Lab resources
- CAD Labs
- Photography resources; studio and technical specialists
- Print Bureau and experimental print photography resources and technical specialists including screen print, Riso, Dry etch,
- Betty Smithers Design Collection
- Immersive Technology suite