BA (Hons) Graphic Design & Illustration

"I definitely don’t think I would have received the same attention and feedback on each project at another institution as I have at CSVPA. I doubt that there is any other institution in the country that provides the same amount of one-to-one contact time with tutors." - Roxana Groeneveld

Ideal for...

Determined, creative individuals who have completed an Art Foundation with a good portfolio or the Access to Higher Education Programme for guaranteed progression.

The BA in Graphic Design and Illustration is now awarded by Kingston University London and all 3 years of the programme is completed at CSVPA. This dynamic three-year degree is designed to stimulate your creativity in a professional context, so that you learn how to apply your skills to develop an exciting and stimulating career in graphics design or illustration.

We will teach you not only to develop dynamic ideas, and the skills to execute them, but will also re-kindle and encourage your natural curiosity through exposure to a wide range of subject matter.

By the end of your studies you will have had the opportunity to exhibit your work publicly, enter national competitions and will have built a strong professional portfolio.

The degree is firmly focused on ensuring that you emerge as an immediately employable creative, able to work to professional standards from day one.

About the course...

Awarded by Kingston University
Why study BA (Hons) Graphic Design & Illustration with us?
Work placements and careers
A typical week on the course
About CSVPA

What is a Kingston University awarded degree?

This means that students studying the Graphic Design & Illustration programme at CSVPA are awarded the same qualification and degree certificate as would a student studying at Kingston University.

• Our two undergraduate degrees have been designed in collaboration with, and approved by, Kingston University.
• We are the only art college in the world to be awarded the right to offer these programmes.
• Students will spend all 3 years of their degree at CSVPA, Cambridge.

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What will I study?

Year 1 - concepts, ideas and skills

The first year is ideas-focused, emphasising design thinking, generation of ideas and problem solving, with workshops providing hands-on media and software experience.

• Design Studies: design process | media application | digital process | typography | production techniques | photography | printmaking
• Imagery: drawing | divergent thinking | illustration process | alternative solutions | presentation and communication skills
• Cultural & Critical Studies: introduction to analysis in design | development of visual language

Year 2 - process and practice

The second year focuses on projects related to the creative and cultural industries, emphasising professional constraints and expectations. It includes live projects, pitching and work-related experiences and you will develop design production knowledge. You will benefit from our collaboration with external partners including a design school in Moscow.

• Design Studies: Challenge conventions | professional design practice | industry related projects | live briefs | design placement
• Imagery: contemporary practice | creative process | design solutions | application for illustration | alternative concepts | presentation and communication skills
• Negotiated project
• Cultural & Critical Studies: explore aesthetic and theoretical frameworks used in graphic design and illustration

Year 3

• Portfolio building
• Advanced technical skills
• Live project
• Dissertation

View course modules in more detail

End of Year Exhibition

CSVPA’s annual arts festival is the biggest event on the School’s calendar and the opportunity for you to present your work in a public exhibition. The opening of the exhibition usually coincides with our annual fashion show (where BA and Foundation Fashion students show their latest Collections), and is a sell-out event.

This year, our BA Graphics students launched a design magazine as part of their end of year project. View images from the magazine

Over the past nine years we’ve been working with the top names in design and industry who have, and continue to, collaborate with us as sponsors, mentors and external lecturers.

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Enjoy world-class facilities

"The facilities here are really good, compared to other centres and universities. This place is brilliant, you have your own Mac - no waiting, no restrictions, no pressure - you get your own space. With this space I have freedom. I can express myself." - Yuki Lam, current student

CSVPA is open seven days a week, twelve hours a day, providing a state-of-the art learning environment and individual work space for every student.

Built over three floors, the Campus includes Mac computer suites, fashion studios, sewing machine and dye rooms, woodwork, metalwork, photography and fine art studios.

Learn from a team of inspiring artists and designers

"Because the tutors are always around, we get loads of one-to-one time with them, and they’ve adapted the syllabus to suit our needs." - Scott Walker, currently completing his final year at Parsons, New York

Teaching on a programme like this consists largely of project based work supported by appropriate ‘skills’ based workshops.

Students tackle a huge variety of briefs ranging in complexity and time scales. Some projects will take many weeks to complete whilst others will be solved within a matter of hours.

There’s also a huge variety to the pattern of learning experiences with some projects being team based and others are worked on individually.

Tutorials and seminars include one-on-one, small groups and medium sized groups for workshops and lectures.

Active participation is expected at our lively and fun end of project crits where students are asked to explain and defend their work with keen interaction from their colleagues.

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Work placements and careers

Work placements are actively encouraged and students apply for placements as well as full-time employment. Course tutors have numerous high-profile links with industry and students find placements within a range of businesses and agencies in and around our dynamic local region.

Careers

We encourage the development of versatility, leading to a wide range of career opportunities in design and illustration in the fields of corporate identity, marketing and publicity, advertising and publishing as well as freelance illustration.

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BA (Hons) Graphic Design & Illustration: A Week in the Life

"On Mondays I come into studio around 9 o’clock, other students start after their English lesson at 10, I finished IELTS last year.

Monday is Illustration and we have a day with the illustration lecturer. She shows us different techniques and sets us challenging projects and helps us to develop our ideas and to realise them as finished artwork. Sometimes we use the computers but other times we use a variety of illustration techniques. We finish around 5 ish - usually I go downstairs and have a meal and then come back and do some more work and check my emails, the studio is open until 8.

Tuesday, we have studio practice again but with both our design lecturer and the illustration lecturer. They mostly work with us on an individual basis or sometimes they look at our work in a group where we all discuss each other's work. At first this can be scary but it is really useful and I look forward to them. I would expect to stay to the usual time but Tuesdays can be full-on so sometimes I go home after my evening meal.

Wednesday we have self directed study, which means we can continue to work on our projects and our personal work but there is always at least one lecturer around so we can ask for help if we need it. In the afternoon we have cultural and critical studies which is a series of lectures about graphics, illustration and design and the history of design. On some weeks we split into smaller seminar groups to discuss things and to share our thoughts; we can also have some individual time if we need to have help with our written work. I know I have and it really helped.

On Thursdays we work on our self promotion and planning our work placement with the head of graphics. He works with us in individual or small groups unless he is showing us a new technique in which case he gets us all together. After lunch we work on our projects again and I use the time to practice any new techniques we have learned and to develop my work - sometimes using the macs or working in my sketch books. I stay until the normal time unless I need to research when I would spend time in the library or learning recourses centre.

Fridays are another day of design. We work with one of the graphics lecturers today or we might have a workshop, this term we have done extra workshops in Photography and printmaking. It is good that we get a chance to work with other areas - next week we are getting a workshop on casting to help us with our toy packaging project.

On Saturdays and Sundays we can use the studios and I try to come in most weekends as I do not have my own mac. We can be in studio from 10 till 2 so still plenty of time to have some fun."

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About CSVPA

CSVPA is highly regarded by the top institutions and employers in the creative industries. Our degrees are heavily focused on practical skills and industry experience, giving you the flexibility and confidence to pursue a wide range of careers.

• Specialist creative school with exceptional facilities
• Teaching by professional artists, sculptors and designers
• 5 days of teaching, 1 lecturer to 15 students
• Individual work space for every student, own Mac
• Access to studio 7 days a week
• Opportunities to work on real life commissions and show your work publicly
• Dynamic mix of nationalities bringing creative inspiration from different cultures

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