Bachelor of Design specialising in Graphic Design

Graphic Designers create meaningful, relevant and captivating visual messages. Their ability to persuade, sell and brand for their clients, never forgetting ethical, legal and consumer needs, is crucial to the world’s economic landscape. Graduates have sound knowledge of typography, image making, photography, latest software, foundational design skills, interactive design, motion graphics, 3D design and basic /animation. Graduates are visual storytellers. They’re ready to enter the dynamic world of graphic arts, branding, advertising, social media, information design and art direction.

• 3yr Full time
• 8 x 1.45min sessions per week
• 3- 5 hours per two hour session
• Consumables cost 1st year (+-R1000) **estimates only
• Continuous project based assessment
• Digital and/or printed based Portfolio years 2 and 3
• Final years graduate in December
• Degree candidates can go on to apply for post graduate studies at another Institution pending they meet the application and entrance requirements of that Institution.
• Our programmes are quality assured and standardised across all Inscape campuses nationally.
• You can enrol for our Bachelor of Design programme at any campus to complete your 1st year.
• Students who are accepted into certain degree specialisation programmes might be required to complete their 2nd and 3rd year studies at another specialised Inscape campus.

What is included in the course

• MacBook * optional
• Wacom tablet
• Software licenses (as per programme requirements)
• Prescribed textbooks
• 1st year preliminary art equipment
• Online library subscription
• Digital study guides and courseware
• Internet connectivity

Excluded

• Monthly consumables
• Digital camera

Course Information Year 1

FUNDAMENTAL DESIGN 1st year – DESIGN SKILLS

• Developing fundamental design skills to create design savvy critical thinkers.
• Developing foundational Drawing Skills, Basic Material and Manufacturing awareness, Digital Image Making, Communication, Software and Leadership skills to create well rounded designers fit for any design industry.
• Developing an awareness of the integrated nature of design, advancing the unique thinking of our students.
• Introducing an appreciation for Design History.
• Establishing fundamental building blocks for creative problem solving.

Course Information Year 2

DISCIPLINE SPECIFIC 2nd year – DESIGN KNOWLEDGE

• Discipline Specific knowledge will be developed through developing an understanding of and practical application in information design, infographics, branding and brand personality, product and packaging design, merchandise, the environment and signage, advertising, importance of publicity and public relations, alternative marketing and social awareness campaigns.
• Applying theory to practice through an understanding of visual hierarchy, design elements and principles, typography, composition skills, illustration and photography, building a visual language, logo design, typography as part of the visual language, advertising industry focusing on artwork and copywriting. The importance of sustainable design and systems of design thinking are emphasised topics.
• Advancing software skills and technical knowledge through an introduction to Adobe programmes such as advanced compositing, advanced publication and basic web design.
• Developing an understanding of the Business of Design through the awareness of marketing fundamentals such as the role of graphic design in marketing, the business of design, competitor strategy, consumer buyer behaviour, target markets and product positioning, building brands, social media, integrated marketing strategies.

Course Information Year 3

SPECIALISATION 3rd year – DESIGN STYLE

• Developing a signature graphic design style by expanding on research and concept development skills focusing on design solutions and execution in the areas of contextual design in advertising through strategic thinking. Further studies in sub-cultures in design are developed via interpretive thinking.
• Students are encouraged to investigate sustainable design through informational and conceptual thinking.
• Narrative thinking skills are exercised by developing the ability to design motion graphics.
• Developing advance knowledge and expert skills by exposing students to the reality of time constraints in the industry by completing a real life 48hr brief.
• Further design practice and typography skills are established as well as the technical aspects governing infographics and motion graphics.
• Basic Web design aspects are also covered.
• Awareness of the latest design technologies and innovations through practice in software such as After effects, Digital interactive text animation and Motion graphics.
• Developing an understanding of the guidelines and principles involved in running a design business. Promoting business vision, mission and values give graduates the confidence and ‘know-how’ to start their own design initiatives based on a foundational knowledge of strategic development, marketing strategies, importance of branding and managing finances.

More about the bachelor of design degree (B.DES)

This three-year full time qualification produces professional designers equipped for a rewarding career in design. Students qualifying can practise as junior designers or study towards an Honours Degree. As this qualification is universal, it applies to a variety of design disciplines, including fashion design, interior design, graphic design, multimedia design, jewellery design, industrial design, product design, spatial design, design research, design writing and design for the environment.

Traditionally, the various fields within design and design education have been separated. Public and private Higher Education schools have offered all sorts of qualifications. Our Bachelor of Design qualification aligns industry standards and educates designers following common guidelines. It also implements the long-awaited minimum standards for designers of all disciplines.

Design is globally recognised as a profession. Worldwide, designers are required to have at least a three-year qualification. Inscape offers the Bachelor of Design Degree with common competencies and specialisations through elective subjects.

The first year of the Bachelor of Design provides a foundation in design thinking, constructs and visual communication, photography, material studies, image making and design history, communication studies, leadership and unique thinking and software includes basics in Adobe products. We love that our students learn alongside aspiring designers of other disciplines. This kind of exposure blows a student’s design perspective wide open and teaches relevance and appropriateness in terms of design solutions within the business world.

At the end of the first year, students are required to select their chosen stream as a specialisation of their future career choice. Our students love the fact that they have a full year to become fully entrenched in the world of design. They attest to the fact that when they make their final decision regarding a chosen specialisation that they do so with confidence and fully informed.

Second and third year are intense. Each specialisation stream is packed with knowledge and technical skill required of the respective discipline. Our students however, are well prepared in the first year and enter into the senior years equipped with the ability to think critically and apply themselves effectively. Our success rates are a testimony to the fact that our unique approach to teaching design, works.