BA (Hons) Design for Publishing

Year 1

• Have your preconceptions challenged by projects that inspire you towards creative and bold new ideas
• Develop key technical skills in various design-related digital media such as InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator
• Develop skills in typography, printing, layout, photography, research skills, idea generation, visual narrative and story-telling
• Develop skills in designing solutions to present complex data and information through editorial design and infographics
• Explore print, paper, material, format and hand-craft/making skills.

Year 2

• Focus on typographic detail, layout, and structure, readability, simplification of complex information and its effective communication
• Explore editorial design, type for screen and digital environments, bookbinding, folding and experimental formats, specialist print finishing, newspaper design, book cover design, exhibition and spatial design, sound and motion design, art direction, visual journalism, user interface design, large-scale design, experimental image making, complex data visualisation, typeface design, type as image and creative writing
• Understand storytelling through text and image
• Explore working in a team and developing a creative role through the course and university-wide collaborative projects.

Year 3

• Enhance your creative thinking and problem solving to demonstrate mastery of typographic principles, experimental image use, art direction, dynamic use of composition and narrative-based storytelling
• Consolidate your understanding of print, digital design as well as exhibition, immersive/experience design and large-scale graphics
• Create a professional portfolio of work - in multiple formats including physical and online - directed by your specific discipline interests
• Respond to competition briefs and other professionally-focused projects
• Complete a Research Report that provides broad contextualisation to your practice.

Prepare for a design career

Our course has a strong reputation in the publishing industry thanks to the calibre of our graduates.

And the course has a long history of student success in national and international design competitions, including:

• The British Book Design Production Awards
• The Society of Publication Designers’ Student Design competition
• International Society of Typographic Designers competition.

Influential professional designers – including David Pearson (Type as Image), Rick Banks (Face37) and Hannah Little (Little, Brown Book Group) inform course content, contribute to the TALK lecture series and set live practical projects.

Graduates work in a broad range of careers including

• Magazine Designer
• Book Jacket Designer
• Graphic Designer
• Editorial Designer
• Newspaper Designer
• Publishing Designer
• Digital Publisher
• Creative Director
• Interface Designer
• Copywriter Printmaker/Printer

You’ll also get specialist creative careers advice from our team in the Ideas FactoryNUA to help support you as you plan your career.