Student Handbook

BA GDC Handbook 2010-11 PDF

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Course rationale

“It‟s about the big idea that challenges the brief and is beautifully realised‟.

BA (Hons) Graphic Design Communication at Chelsea will stimulate your passion for generating dynamic ideas and encourage your core skills in creating innovative concepts that are supported by the development of professional digital, technical and presentation flair.
With a high emphasis on exclusive “live” projects in collaboration with the industry, the course offers a comprehensive grounding in the key principles of graphic design and critical awareness. You will have the opportunity to work in design for print and moving image, benefiting from innovative use of online resources and creative blogs to support you in self-directed study off campus. Creative work in online platforms constitutes the basis for staff and students‟ ongoing research and innovation in our teaching and learning practice.

Our strong links with industry are evidenced by the opportunity for you to engage with live briefs introduced by practitioners and clients across a range of specialist areas, and with internationally recognised Professional Design Award schemes and exclusive commissions. This includes the Association of Design and Art Directors, (D&AD) Student Design Awards – success from our students is annually recognised by the subject lead body. An emphasis on live projects dealing with youth-orientated issues, brands, products and services constitute a key element of the course. Outcomes are published online, in live broadcast and in print. Clients have recently included: Hedkandi, Sonia Bravia, Adidas, MTV, London Press, Umbro, Graphic Thought Facility, Nike, BBC, VH1, MTV, Nike Europe, Ministry of Sound, Showstudio, Conde Nast, Alexander McQueen, Why Not Associates, Fred Perry Elle, and Wallpaper magazines among many others.

You will engage, at all levels, with a wide range of innovative and dynamic visiting lecturers who are appointed as leaders in their field to work alongside our core staff on tailored units. In addition a regular Professional Speaker programme invites all students to participate in presentations where a diverse range of leading professionals share their philosophies and professional practices. These provide you with opportunities to network, build vital contacts and gain crucial experience. Recent professionals working with the course include representatives from E4, Ridley Scott Associates, Ministry of Sound, and Vogue, Wonderland and Twin magazines.

Critical enquiry will inform your studio practice and encourage you to consider your design practice within a broader context. The connectivity between graphic design practice and contextual theory will underpin your creative practice and enhance your critical writing skills. Successful dissertations are typically concerned with innovations in technology, social interaction and emerging public information distribution platforms. Dissertation abstracts are commonly published alongside practical work in graduate catalogues.