Communication Design MA
1 Year Full-Time | September Start
Option for Placement Year
Option for Study Abroad
International
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This MA in Communication Design is a timely response to the changing role and increasing worth of communication design. This Master’s will prepare you for an innovative and exciting career in an ever-changing industry.
For guidance on structuring your application portfolio and personal statement, click here.
This full-time Communication Design programme has a focus on issue-based design research and contemporary design practice. You will explore complex challenges by drawing on expertise learnt throughout the various modules. Your awareness and knowledge of how to approach design challenges will gradually improve during the programme. You will cover topics such as typography, interaction design, branding and user experience.
You will learn through studio-based projects, working collaboratively with your fellow students and external partners. Your final project will be based on a theme of your choice. This will provide the opportunity to make a positive impact on a topic you are passionate about.
Our postgraduate course features a multidisciplinary approach to expose you to the various areas of communication design. You will work on live collaboration briefs to help make a positive impact on social, environmental and economic issues.
We regularly work with a diverse mix of creative agencies, business start-ups and public sector and charitable organisations on a range of live collaborative briefs. Recently we have worked with agencies Kin + Carta and hedgehoglab, digital start-up Hive, and worked with health and wellbeing projects with international sports brand Gymshark and the NHS.
Our Communication Design MA will prepare you for employment, entrepreneurship or doctoral research. You will be able to choose from a range of diverse areas including; interaction design, branding, UX, service and information design.
Level of Study
Postgraduate
Mode of Study
1 year Full Time
Department
Northumbria School of Design, Arts and Creative Industries
Location
City Campus, Northumbria University
City
Newcastle
Fees
Fee Information
Modules
Module Information
Discover the funding options available to you.
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Watch Programme Leader Dr Joyce Yee talk about the Communication Design Masters in a Minute (or so), and explore the wider department.
Discover the funding options available to you.
Communications Design at Northumbria employs a studio-based learning by doing approach, drawing on your existing design skills. It champions an interdisciplinary approach drawing on expertise, methods and experience of staff from a range of areas such as co-design, user experience, brand innovation, data-driven visualisations, service design, AI, information design and visual storytelling.
Reflecting the integrated nature of communications design as a discipline, the course consists of three broad modules which offer a flexible and transformative learning experience:
Stage 1 ‘Situate’ During this exploratory phase you will work on set briefs to explore various themes and practices. The emphasis is on experimentation within a context of narrative, identity, promotion experience and service.
Stage 2 ‘Challenge’ The visionary phase will expose you to inspirational pioneers of change. Through live collaborative projects and the development of your self-directed brief, you will seek to challenge the status quo and set a new direction for your practice.
Stage 3 ‘Change’ Working with increasing independence, you will realise your final self-directed project and demonstrate how you have achieved your intended impact. Your final project should be engaged with the real world and have a collaborative element, and can be international in scope.
In Stages 2 and 3, you can choose the briefs and themes that inspire you, giving you a unique opportunity to make a positive impact on a social, environmental or economic area you’re truly passionate about. These could be as diverse as sustainability, new technology, ageing, social inequality or access to education.
This coming year we will continue to offer our new students a range of projects that will challenge your creativity and encourage your growth in expertise as a designer. We will expect you to undertake about eight projects in your year with us, which will form your Masters level design portfolio. These will expand your horizons, shape you as a designer and build your confidence as a valuable creative professional.
Check out some of the project work from our postgraduate Communication Design students.
Take a look at what Northumbria has to offer and discover what studying with us can do for you.
The teaching staff at Northumbria School of Design have a remarkable international reputation. They are carrying out cutting-edge research in established and emerging areas of design, and many are respected practitioners as well as theorists.
In the fast-paced and ever-changing world of design, openness to learning new ideas and interdisciplinary is key to your future success. Therefore, we are pleased to offer you a diverse range of staff to learn from, who collectively have expertise in many design disciplines and important areas of design research to share.
Similarly, we know how valuable it is to work alongside fellow students who you can also learn from too, so we encourage creative individuals to apply with a variety of backgrounds: In 2020/21 we had students who had previously studied Graphic Design, UX/UI Design, Animation, Fine Art and Computer Science.
You will interact with staff in various ways – some will lead thematic sessions and supervise projects within those themes, others will offer skills workshops in their areas of expertise. For your final project you’ll be supported by your own dedicated advisor, whose area of expertise will be matched to your chosen area of inquiry. Staff are available to support you throughout the year, as part of our engaged and collaborative design community.
This course offers a unique opportunity to learn from the best across a wide range of areas, and you can explore some of the staff who may be teaching you below.
Here are just a few of Northumbria's academic staff with expertise in Communication Design. Click through to 'Tutor profiles' to explore further.
Take a look at what Northumbria has to offer and discover what studying with us can do for you.
The vast majority of your work will be undertaken in a collaborative studio environment, but we have the facilities to support whatever type of creative expression you choose for your final project. The fact that everything you need is situated within close proximity to the technical facilities offers a practical advantage over other universities, as well as a strong sense of community and source of constant inspiration.
The University has invested heavily in technology and you will have access to industry-standard creative software within labs and across multiple open access study areas. Our course uses Technology Enhanced Learning(TEL) to give you the flexibility to choose the pace, place and mode of learning that suits your style of thinking, learning, doing and making. You'll have access to an elearning portal which offers discussion groups, access to video recorded tutorials and lectures, and interactive training programs.
You’ll also have 24/7 access to the University Library,which achieves some of the highest levels of student satisfaction in the UK. It has held the Cabinet Office accreditation for Customer Service Excellence since 2010.
Here's a snapshot of the facilities available to you as part of the course.
Take a look at what Northumbria has to offer and discover what studying with us can do for you.
You will be immersed in research-rich learning from the outset of your studies.
The course champions an interdisciplinary approach drawing on staff research in areas such as co-design, user experience, brand innovation, data-driven visualisations, service design, AI, information design and visual storytelling. You will have the opportunity to work on live briefs as part of the University’s Ideate research theme, collaborating with academics at the forefront of their discipline.
We have recently worked with NE1, a regional business development company, on an important funded research project. The project encouraged students to design speculative solutions that helped people living with HIV to manage their online identity and security.
You will develop your own skills as a researcher, learning to critically reflect on your own and others work, challenge your own thinking, and justify your own work in the context of wider theories and practice.
A selection of books published by your tutors in areas related to communication design.
Data Driven Graphic Design
Design Transition
Interaction Design
The Principles & Processes of Interactive Design
Discover more about the research currently taking place within Design, and across the University within our multidisciplinary research themes. Feeling inspired? Join us to make a remarkable impact on tomorrow.
Take a look at what Northumbria has to offer and discover what studying with us can do for you.
Northumbria is based in the heart of Newcastle – a thriving creative capital, with a vibrant and growing digital industries sector. It is an ideal city in which to study and launch your creative career, with a much cheaper cost of living than London.
The course has been developed in consultation with industry,and you will engage with practitioners throughout your studies, through live briefs, guest masterclasses and networking opportunities. As such it provides you with the experience, portfolio and contacts which form an ideal basis for advanced professional employment.
We have in the past run collaborative briefs with creative agencies such as Wieden and Kennedy, R/GA and Us Two, multinationals such as Virgin Money, Sage and Microsoft and voluntary sector organisations such as The Cyrenians, Newcastle Vision Support and Fulfilling Lives.
Upon graduation you’ll be ready for employment,entrepreneurship or doctoral research within areas as diverse as graphic design, interaction design, UX design, service design, product innovation, art direction, branding, publishing and information design.
Our live briefs, guest masterclasses and networking opportunities will give you the experience that creative employers are looking for. Below are examples of live projects we have recently run on our programme:
aTouch Dynamics Branding
Hive Employee Feedback App
Civinet's ParentMine Project
Newcastle P3 Clinical Research Unit
Take a look at what Northumbria has to offer and discover what studying with us can do for you.
Applicants should normally have:
A minimum of a 2:2 honours degree in a relevant design discipline such as graphic design, interaction design, illustration, photography, film, fashion communication, advertising, animation or similar studio-based disciplines. Applicants with appropriate work experience and/or a relevant professional qualification will be considered.
Applicants are required to submit an online portfolio with their application.
International qualifications:
If you have studied a non UK qualification, you can see how your qualifications compare to the standard entry criteria, by selecting the country that you received the qualification in, from our country pages. Visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/yourcountry
English language requirements:
International applicants are required to have a minimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.5 with 5.5 in each component (or approved equivalent*).
*The university accepts a large number of UK and International Qualifications in place of IELTS. You can find details of acceptable tests and the required grades you will need in our English Language section. Visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/englishqualifications
For further admissions guidance and requirements, please visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/admissionsguidance Please review this information before submitting your application.
Full UK Fee: £9,250
Full EU Fee: £18,250
Full International Fee: £18,250
Scholarships and Discounts
ADDITIONAL COSTS
Materials - This is a studio-based programme and we expect students to require additional art materials to support their project work. The department will be able to provide some generic art materials such as card, paper and cutting mats, but there will be instances where specialist materials are needed based on individual requirements. In those instances, students will have to bear the additional costs. We anticipate the cost to be approximately £120 on average. We would also recommend that students have their own laptops – Mac or PC with ideally 16 GB RAM (8 GB minimum) and a graphics card with 4 GB VRAM, 15"" screen minimum (or 13"" with a second larger additional monitor) (cost varies depending upon type of machine, between £750 - £2600). Optional but very useful to have is a drawing tablet such as a Wacom Intuos A5/Small that costs about £70.
* At Northumbria we are strongly committed to protecting the privacy of personal data. To view the University’s Privacy Notice please click here
Module information is indicative and is reviewed annually therefore may be subject to change. Applicants will be informed if there are any changes.
CD7001 -
Situating Practice (Core,60 Credits)
This module is designed to help you develop a critical understanding of communication design in the context of contemporary studio practice. You will learn how to situate your practice in current theoretical, critical and working practices of communication design and consider new direction for your practice. The module is exploratory. Emphasis, therefore, is placed on transforming your view of practice with knowledge and insights drawn from the acquisition of new critical/reflective skills, professional practices and methods of inquiry. It will help you position your approach to the subject relative to the current theoretical ideas and working practices of contemporary communication design practice.
The module consists of three strands which underpins the activities across your masters journey: Context, Methods and Practice. In the Methods strand, you will learn how design thinking and skills can be combined with traditional and emerging methods of inquiry to conduct design research, studies and experiments. By way of informing and advancing your professional practice or academic pursuits, here too, you will learn about some of the latest approaches and techniques that are forging new ground in communication design. In the Context strand, you will learn how to think critically about your chosen project by viewing it in the context of historical, contemporary and emerging issues and debates in the broad field of disciplines that constitute communication design. In the Practice strand, you will explore your practice through a series of design briefs located in real-world context and informed by research themes. You will learn to work productively with your tutors and peers, respond creatively to difficult challenges, and start defining an area of interest that will inform your self-initiated project.
CD7002 -
Challenging Boundaries (Core,60 Credits)
This module gives you the opportunity to continue your development and advancement of your practice through a combination of collaborative and self-directed briefs. You will learn how to challenge existing practices and explores ways to push the boundaries of the discipline.
The module is underpinned by the same three strands of Context, Methods and Practice which is a continuation from Semester 1. Each strand builds on the topics introduced in Semester 1 with an emphasis on enabling you to challenge your chosen subject area by exploring innovative, critical and ethical responses. You will learn how to build and evidence a critical understanding of your chosen subject area through advanced research design. You will learn how to use this critical understanding to explore and defend conceptual, innovative and ethical responses to your identified topic of inquiry. And you will learn how to use this deepen understanding to develop more advanced professional practices and expand your work into new areas such as design strategy, product innovation and new technologies.
You will work on 3 set briefs. The first two will be collaborative briefs involving external partners to provide you with opportunities to pursue more in-depth design projects related to particular human needs and contexts. You will work in teams and support each other in your learning. For the final brief you will define and develop your Final Major Project proposal, informed by the writing of a literature review on your chosen subject. Your proposal should be informed and inspired by your critical reflection presented at the end of Semester 1 and your more learning from the first two ‘challenge’ briefs in this module.
CD7003 -
Changing Direction (Core,60 Credits)
This module aims to change practice (yours and potentially others) and set new direction by consolidating your knowledge gained in earlier modules. It offers you the opportunity to engage in a self-initiated research-led project that evidence a critical, innovative and impactful approach to communication design. You will learn to draw on skills, knowledge and experience developed in the previous modules to turn your concepts into a compelling and thought-provoking communication design pieces. You will learn how to articulate, frame, ethically evaluate and communicate your proposition in a clear, relevant and compelling way for the appropriate audience. You will learn to draw on your collaborative skills to engage with and work with your chosen stakeholders in close collaboration to realise your self-initiated project. You will also produce a research paper or equivalent that underpins your practice and demonstrates a mastery of your chosen subject area.
More informationYB7000 -
Academic Language Skills for Design & Fashion (Core – for International and EU students only,0 Credits)
Academic skills when studying away from your home country can differ due to cultural and language differences in teaching and assessment practices. This module is designed to support your transition in the use and practice of technical language and subject specific skills around assessments and teaching provision in your chosen subject. The overall aim of this module is to develop your abilities to read and study effectively for academic purposes; to develop your skills in analysing and using source material in seminars and academic writing and to develop your use and application of language and communications skills to a higher level.
The topics you will cover on the module include:
• Understanding assignment briefs and exam questions.
• Developing academic writing skills, including citation, paraphrasing, and summarising.
• Practising ‘critical reading’ and ‘critical writing’
• Planning and structuring academic assignments (e.g. essays, reports and presentations).
• Avoiding academic misconduct and gaining credit by using academic sources and referencing effectively.
• Listening skills for lectures.
• Speaking in seminar presentations.
• Presenting your ideas
• Giving discipline-related academic presentations, experiencing peer observation, and receiving formative feedback.
• Effective reading techniques.
• Developing self-reflection skills.
• Discussing ethical issues in research, and analysing results.
• Describing bias and limitations of research.
Module information is indicative and is reviewed annually therefore may be subject to change. Applicants will be informed if there are any changes.
CD7001 -
Situating Practice (Core,60 Credits)
This module is designed to help you develop a critical understanding of communication design in the context of contemporary studio practice. You will learn how to situate your practice in current theoretical, critical and working practices of communication design and consider new direction for your practice. The module is exploratory. Emphasis, therefore, is placed on transforming your view of practice with knowledge and insights drawn from the acquisition of new critical/reflective skills, professional practices and methods of inquiry. It will help you position your approach to the subject relative to the current theoretical ideas and working practices of contemporary communication design practice.
The module consists of three strands which underpins the activities across your masters journey: Context, Methods and Practice. In the Methods strand, you will learn how design thinking and skills can be combined with traditional and emerging methods of inquiry to conduct design research, studies and experiments. By way of informing and advancing your professional practice or academic pursuits, here too, you will learn about some of the latest approaches and techniques that are forging new ground in communication design. In the Context strand, you will learn how to think critically about your chosen project by viewing it in the context of historical, contemporary and emerging issues and debates in the broad field of disciplines that constitute communication design. In the Practice strand, you will explore your practice through a series of design briefs located in real-world context and informed by research themes. You will learn to work productively with your tutors and peers, respond creatively to difficult challenges, and start defining an area of interest that will inform your self-initiated project.
CD7002 -
Challenging Boundaries (Core,60 Credits)
This module gives you the opportunity to continue your development and advancement of your practice through a combination of collaborative and self-directed briefs. You will learn how to challenge existing practices and explores ways to push the boundaries of the discipline.
The module is underpinned by the same three strands of Context, Methods and Practice which is a continuation from Semester 1. Each strand builds on the topics introduced in Semester 1 with an emphasis on enabling you to challenge your chosen subject area by exploring innovative, critical and ethical responses. You will learn how to build and evidence a critical understanding of your chosen subject area through advanced research design. You will learn how to use this critical understanding to explore and defend conceptual, innovative and ethical responses to your identified topic of inquiry. And you will learn how to use this deepen understanding to develop more advanced professional practices and expand your work into new areas such as design strategy, product innovation and new technologies.
You will work on 3 set briefs. The first two will be collaborative briefs involving external partners to provide you with opportunities to pursue more in-depth design projects related to particular human needs and contexts. You will work in teams and support each other in your learning. For the final brief you will define and develop your Final Major Project proposal, informed by the writing of a literature review on your chosen subject. Your proposal should be informed and inspired by your critical reflection presented at the end of Semester 1 and your more learning from the first two ‘challenge’ briefs in this module.
CD7003 -
Changing Direction (Core,60 Credits)
This module aims to change practice (yours and potentially others) and set new direction by consolidating your knowledge gained in earlier modules. It offers you the opportunity to engage in a self-initiated research-led project that evidence a critical, innovative and impactful approach to communication design. You will learn to draw on skills, knowledge and experience developed in the previous modules to turn your concepts into a compelling and thought-provoking communication design pieces. You will learn how to articulate, frame, ethically evaluate and communicate your proposition in a clear, relevant and compelling way for the appropriate audience. You will learn to draw on your collaborative skills to engage with and work with your chosen stakeholders in close collaboration to realise your self-initiated project. You will also produce a research paper or equivalent that underpins your practice and demonstrates a mastery of your chosen subject area.
More informationYB7000 -
Academic Language Skills for Design & Fashion (Core – for International and EU students only,0 Credits)
Academic skills when studying away from your home country can differ due to cultural and language differences in teaching and assessment practices. This module is designed to support your transition in the use and practice of technical language and subject specific skills around assessments and teaching provision in your chosen subject. The overall aim of this module is to develop your abilities to read and study effectively for academic purposes; to develop your skills in analysing and using source material in seminars and academic writing and to develop your use and application of language and communications skills to a higher level.
The topics you will cover on the module include:
• Understanding assignment briefs and exam questions.
• Developing academic writing skills, including citation, paraphrasing, and summarising.
• Practising ‘critical reading’ and ‘critical writing’
• Planning and structuring academic assignments (e.g. essays, reports and presentations).
• Avoiding academic misconduct and gaining credit by using academic sources and referencing effectively.
• Listening skills for lectures.
• Speaking in seminar presentations.
• Presenting your ideas
• Giving discipline-related academic presentations, experiencing peer observation, and receiving formative feedback.
• Effective reading techniques.
• Developing self-reflection skills.
• Discussing ethical issues in research, and analysing results.
• Describing bias and limitations of research.
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Full time Courses are primarily delivered via on-campus face to face learning but could include elements of online learning. Most courses run as planned and as promoted on our website and via our marketing materials, but if there are any substantial changes (as determined by the Competition and Markets Authority) to a course or there is the potential that course may be withdrawn, we will notify all affected applicants as soon as possible with advice and guidance regarding their options. It is also important to be aware that optional modules listed on course pages may be subject to change depending on uptake numbers each year.
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* At Northumbria we are strongly committed to protecting the privacy of personal data. To view the University’s Privacy Notice please click here
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