This module provides the opportunity to hone your professional knowledge within the field of visual communication: graphic design, publication design, illustration, advertising or allied fields which interest you as possible career options e.g. branding & packaging, image-making, information & wayfinding, exhibition design, environmental graphics, editorial/publication design, design education, digital and multimedia design, moving image, design management.
In addition, there will be an exploration of aspects of culture and the economic environment which have an impact on design today. In addition there will be an Informal research presentation, where you will consider the role of design in reflecting and influencing cultural and societal concerns.

The topic and form of the assessment will be determined by the student's subject area which will relate to an aspect of Visual Communication, Graphic Design, Illustration and Publication Design.

100% course work: A 3,000 word written piece to include images and a bibliography.

1. A lecture programme revolving around a series of case studies.
2 Group workshops where relevant issues will be discussed.
3. Researching and preparing an assignment.
4. Individual tutorials for guidance.
5.Informal research presentation

Learning Strategies:
24% Scheduled Learning and Teaching
76% Guided Independent Learning

1. AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CULTURE, SOCIETY AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE.

Learning.

2. AN ABILITY TO APPLY THIS AWARENESS TO A TOPIC FOR THE PURPOSE OF INDEPENDENT RESEARCH.

Enquiry.

3. THE ABILITY TO APPLY A RANGE OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES AND PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES IN THE PRODUCTION OF A WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT.

Analysis, Visual Analysis.

Workshop/studio
Library
Internet access
Blackboard
Design Archive
MS Teams

Klein, N. (2001) No Logo; No Space, No Choice, No Jobs. London. Flamingo.

Caldwell, C. and Zappaterra, Y. (2014) Editorial Design: Digital and Print. London: Laurence King Publishing.

Embury, G. and Minichiello, M. (2018) Reportage illustration : visual journalism. London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts.

Ford, B.J. (1992) Images of science : a history of scientific illustration. London: British Library.

Hall, A. (2011) Illustration. Laurence King.

Hembree, R. (2011) The complete graphic designer a guide to understanding graphics and visual communication. 1st edn. Gloucester, Mass: Rockport Publishers.

Hoogslag, J. (2015) On the persistence of a modest medium : the role of editorial illustration in print and online media. . Royal College of Art. Available at: (Accessed:

Lankow, J., Ritchie, J. and Crooks, R. (2012) Infographics: the power of visual story telling. WILEY.
Rose, G. (2016) Visual methodologies : an introduction to researching with visual materials. 4th edn. London: SAGE

Davies, R. and Sigthorsson, G. (2013) Introducing the creative industries¿: from theory to practice. London: SAGE

Collins, H. (2015) Creative research the theory and practice of research for the creative industries. London: Fairchild Books.

Cohn, N. (2020) Who Understands Comics?: Questioning the Universality of Visual Language Comprehension. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

Duncan, R., Taylor, M.R. and Stoddard, D. (2015) Creating Comics as Journalism, Memoir, and Nonfiction. 1st edn. Milton: Routledge.

Mainardi, P. (2017) Another World: Nineteenth-Century Illustrated Print Culture. Cumberland: Yale University Press.

Mikkonen, K. (2017) The Narratology of Comic Art (Edition 1). 1st edn. London: Routledge.

Wigan, M. (2007) Sequential Images. Lausanne: AVA Academia

Indicative reading will depend on your award and the topic selected. Students are expected to take advantage of the library, design archive and online facilities available and keep abreast of current developments through appropriate articles, programmes, shows, exhibitions, reports, journals, magazines, blogs and online forums and discussion groups.
Consult your module manager for specific literature.

This module provides the opportunity to hone your professional knowledge within the field of visual communication: graphic design, publication design, illustration, advertising or allied fields which interest you as possible career options e.g. branding & packaging, image-making, information & wayfinding, exhibition design, environmental graphics, editorial/publication design, design education, digital and multimedia design, moving image, design management.
In addition, there will be an exploration of aspects of culture and the economic environment which have an impact on design today. In addition there will be an Informal research presentation, where you will consider the role of design in reflecting and influencing cultural and societal concerns.