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MAGraphic Design

Nottingham Trent University
United Kingdom, Nottingham
More information

ntu.ac.uk/..sign/pg/2018-19/graphic-design 

Overview

Interested? To learn more about this study programme, entry requirements and application process, please contact one of our consultants in a country nearest to you.

Programme structure

You can opt to complete this core module as either 180 credit points, or 160 credit points with an additional Advanced Art and Design Research 20 credit point module.

Graphic Design (180 credit points or 160 credit points)

This module is taught in three phases.

Phase One: Creative Research and Development

You will work on a self-negotiated Masters Project Proposal and short design briefs or national design competition briefs. Through these short projects you will establish good practice in Masters learning methods and develop sound approaches to creative research and design development.

Group tutorials with your appointed supervisor will give you an opportunity to present your work in progress and receive feedback and advice on the further development of your set projects and your Masters project proposal. You will also attend presentations, workshops, and seminars on topics relevant to professional theory and practice in design.

With support from your supervisor and your peers you will research and develop your Masters project, ready for review and presentation at the end of the phase.

To complement your project work you will also set personal learning aims in a Journal of Professional Practice. In this journal you will record your research into current and future trends in your specialism. You’ll be given set topics to explore in the wider context of research and development methodologies, techniques, and processes in the creative industries. These topics and tasks may require illustrated case studies, the presentation of trend data, analysis of industry reports, and of emerging influences, materials, or technologies.

Phase Two: Creative Development and Testing

You will take an experimental approach, stretching the boundaries of your existing thought and practice to explore originality and innovation. You will examine future trends and emerging thought in your subject area, and combine research findings with imagination to propose new thought and practice.

You will conduct regular testing of the interim stages of project development, using appropriate methods of research and evaluation.

You will attend group tutorials with an appointed supervisor during which you will present work in progress and receive feedback. At each tutorial you will also agree goals to be achieved for the next tutorial.

You will keep a Journal of Professional Practice where you’ll record your personal learning aims, and use as a focus for learning across the broader context of your area of specialist study.

Also in this phase, you will be encouraged to enhance your employability profile by engaging in field and primary research, making connections with professionals, and arranging short internships or visits.

If you opt for the 160 credit point version of this module, you will not be required to complete a Journal of Professional Practice in this phase. Instead you will undertake reflective practice as part of the 20 credit point Advanced Art and Design Research Module.

Phase Three: Design for Production and Media

You will complete your Masters project and investigate and apply methods of production which, where practical, align with professional practice.

You will use suitable industry-standard software to an advanced level, and you will select, reference and specify appropriate materials.

You will continue to attend group tutorials, presenting work in progress and receiving feedback and advice on the further development of your project.

In your Journal of Professional Practice you will be expected to show and reference advanced knowledge of commercial processes, production and media commonly used for the design and distribution of graphic design media. You will also keep a record of your project feedback. Final outcomes must include background material which shows the development of your project work, including sketchbooks, screen shots, and other visual support items.

Advanced Art and Design Research (20 credit points)

This module will support your reflection on your research and practice through discursive lectures and coursework assignments. In these, you will contribute accounts of your postgraduate research enquiry, its antecedents in your practice and academic study, as well as your understanding of the role your practice can play in it.

After an initial diagnosis phase, where you’ll outline your perspectives on research, you’ll be introduced to an overview of the philosophical assumptions that underlie research across disciplines. You’ll also identify where these feature in your experience of education and practice.

You’ll be introduced to the literature on practice based research that has grown out of PhD activity in Art, Design and Performance, in which you will discover the direction you want your work to take. The module then identifies a range of practice based approaches that are found across disciplines from education to archaeology, and laboratory science.

The second phase of the module brings these insights to be applied to your practice, so that it can be an element in a research design that will contribute to knowledge. This process includes a reflective audit of the research dimensions of your practice, to identify elements of it that could be part of a research design. The outcome of this audit will help you to build a prospective view of the design of potential research processes that include your practice, as well as appropriate modes of analysis and reporting.

At the end of the module you will write up your responses to the discursive lectures, supplementing them with appropriate visual material (no more than 3,000 words).

Career opportunities

This course will equip you with strong creative and problem solving skills. Our graduates become valuable members of professional teams working together on a range of visual communication projects, involving all kinds of cross-discipline collaborations.

Recent graduates have:

- set up their own businesses, in the UK and abroad
- progressed to further study at PhD level
- found work within related careers in the design sector
- returned to their previous occupations with a new focus.

Others have found careers in digital and printed media for advertising, branding, marketing and promotion, and a diverse range of publications.

Apply now! Fall semester 2023/24
Application period has ended
Notes
Please see the university profile or contact us for the deadlines that apply to you
Apply now! Fall semester 2023/24
Application period has ended
Notes
Please see the university profile or contact us for the deadlines that apply to you