Graphic Design and Illustration (with Foundation Year) BA (Hons)

Course overview

Learn to bring your ideas to life as a confident and responsive visual communicator by studying this innovative and industry-focused graphic design and illustration degree course.

About this course

The course is a combination of graphic design and illustration, offering you a broad and dynamic experience. Build a professional and innovative portfolio as a graphic designer and illustrator with skills across advertising, branding, typography, editorial and book design, interactive media, motion graphics and digital content. Learn to develop your design research skills and ideas-led solutions, working with the foremost analogue and digital industry facilities while being taught by award-winning and research-active practising artists and designers.

What’s more, you can complete an optional work placement year as part of this degree course at no extra cost.

What you learn

While studying this graphic design and illustration degree at Teesside University, you work to live briefs on real projects and enter competitions in this industry-focused programme to prepare you for a range of professional careers in the design field and across the creative industries, including artistic and technical roles in media agencies and publishers. From becoming a freelance designer or illustrator to working for an international company, your learning adventure unites the independent and commercial, specialisms and teamwork, deadlines and networking, traditional and digital design skills.

Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art

You study at MIMA School of Art & Design, an art school led by Teesside University and Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA), an international contemporary museum and gallery. You gain a full artistic experience, learning in a social space that inspires dynamic ideas, fuels collaboration and allows you to build local, national and international networks with industry professionals for your future graphic design and illustration career.

Foundation year

The graphic design and illustration foundation year helps you develop knowledge and skills to make the transition to university study, and in particular, to gain art and design knowledge and develop academic and personal skills to proceed confidently through the remainder of the course. During the foundation year (also called year 0) you study through projects, lectures, tutorials, seminars, skills workshops and presentations. There are three modules each semester. An optional work placement year is included, at no extra cost.

Top three reasons to study graphic design and illustration at Teesside University

1. Benefit from our professional design studio environment and excellent facilities.
2. Our many successful graduates have excellent and varied career opportunities and go on to work in design consultancies, publishing houses, advertising and new media studios along with freelance opportunities and commissioned arts projects.
3. Work closely with our award-winning and research-active practicing artists and designers.

Alongside the optional work placement year, you can gain valuable experience and engagement with the sector through our shorter work placements, internships and work experience opportunities.

Career opportunities

To support professional practice experience, you get involved with competitions from professional bodies such as Design and Art Direction (D&AD), You Can Now, Royal Society of Arts and International Society of Typographic Designers accreditation. You also have the opportunity to exhibit work externally.

D&AD connects to a community of creative professionals, providing essential industry and educational insight. Since 1962, D&AD has been inspiring a community of creative thinkers by celebrating and stimulating the finest in design and advertising. The D&AD Professional Awards are recognised globally as the ultimate creative accolade, entered and attended by the best from around the world.

Our graduates have excellent and varied career opportunities and go on to work in design consultancies, publishing houses, advertising and new media studios along with freelance opportunities and commissioned arts projects. There is also the opportunity for postgraduate study.

Examples of destinations include Barker Advertising in New York, Caterpillar Books, Elmwood Design, Gardner Richardson, Great Fridays, JWT, KPMG, McCann Erickson, Pearl Fisher, Penguin Books, Radley Yeldar and Sapient Razorfish.