Foundation Degree
Graphic Design
Choose Graphic Design...
Graphic design involves all aspects of visual communication;
from advertising and packaging to web design and illustration.
Eye catching design drives advertising, it attracts us to brands, provides organisations with a visual ‘face’ and conveys powerful messages. Today’s graphic designers are multi-talented professionals, often engaging in entire project management processes, from research and briefing, to design and evaluation.
The UK design sector is the 2nd largest in the world. It has an annual turnover of £3 billion and represents 177,000 designers across the product, service, branding, graphic and fashion design sectors. It is part of the UK creative industries which are worth a total of £76.9 billion a year and one of the fastest growing sectors in the UK*.
Our innovative Career Degree has been specifically designed to meet the diverse and challenging needs of the graphic design sector. It introduces design fundamentals, develops creative thinking and through an exploration of the changing technological landscape, equips you with the expertise required by today’s employers.
Sources: Design Week; Department for Culture, Media & Sport; British Design Innovation; Big Innovation Centre; www.designcouncil.org.uk; Department for Culture, Media & Sport: Creative Industries Economic Estimates - Jan 2015.
Careers
The creative industry is full of opportunities for people who can match their qualifications with imagination and a passion for design. Career opportunities include:
Top up your degree
Foundation Degrees are recognised qualifications in their own right, equivalent to the first two years of an honours degree. Many of our graduates chose to top-up their Foundation Degree to a full Honours degree by applying to the following degrees at UCLan Preston:
• BA (Hons) in Graphic Design – Year 2 or Year 3
• BA (Hons) in Digital Graphics – Year 2 or Year 3
You will need to achieve an overall grade of 65% or more on the Foundation Degree to be accepted to Year 3 of the above degrees. If you do not have an overall grade of 65%, you may apply to Year 2 of the above degrees. You will also need to attend an interview at UCLan at which your portfolio will be a key consideration.
If you wish to progress to an alternative university, you are strongly advised to research the entry qualifications required for your chosen course prior to enrolling at Runshaw College.
Duration
Full-time (2 days per week) over 2 years at Runshaw’s Euxton Lane Campus in Chorley.
Accreditation
Approved and awarded by
• graphic design
• animation
• illustration
• typography
• photography
• packaging
• multimedia design
• advertising
• art direction
• fashion design &
promotion
• advertising & marketing
Our Foundation Degree in Graphic Design is part of
Runshaw College’s suite of Career Degrees, designed
to help our graduates stand out from the crowd
in today’s competitive job market. Career Degrees
combine a prestigious Foundation Degree validated
by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), with
additional qualifications and employability skills to
ensure you’re ahead of the game when looking for
your first graduate job!
Career Degrees ®
The benefits
work on live briefs to develop your creative and project management skills, ensuring you are well qualified and ahead of the game when looking for your first graduate job. Our links with industry ensure a diverse range of projects are available - you could be working on projects ranging from regional awareness campaigns to creative branding projects and promotions.
your own Apple MacBook Air for personal use throughout your studies at Runshaw, with the option to purchase at the end of your Foundation Degree.
access to our modern graphics studio, allowing you to work on creative projects outside timetabled sessions.
enter regional and national competitions to showcase your creative talents. These include the Entyce Awards & D&AD Awards. The Entyce Awards encourage innovative, exciting and well- executed design campaigns, while supporting UK charities. Recent Runshaw undergraduates have won Entyce Awards for logo design and advertising*. D&AD Awards celebrate and nurture outstanding work in design and advertising and are recognised the world over as a symbol of the very highest creative achievement. *Please note you will need to pay a small competition entry fee (eg approx. £20 per entry for the Entyce Awards).
local/regional study visits to enhance your knowledge and bring learning to life. You will participate in up to 3 local/regional trips each year, such as a visit to the Tate in Liverpool or the Multimedia Museum at Bradford. There will be no fees associated with these visits, but you may be expected to meet at a local venue rather than College and will be responsible for any personal spending money. On occasions additional non-compulsory visits are arranged at the request of students and for these, additional costs may be payable.
city residentials providing the opportunity to visits galleries and museums such as the London Tate, Victoria & Albert Museum and Design Museum or the Tate in St Ives. These visits are not a compulsory part of your course and a fee will be payable should you choose to attend.
curation of the Graphics ‘End of Year Exhibition’
allowing you to showcase your talents.
guest speaker visits to further develop your knowledge of the world of graphic design.
superb teaching and learning delivered by highly qualified tutors who are practitioners in the graphics industry. Our students achieve outstanding grades and student satisfaction is second to none.
team building activities designed to develop the communication and team working skills employers seek.
a compact timetable providing you with the opportunity, freedom and flexibility during the remainder of the week, to organise your time to suit your personal circumstances and to gain valuable work experience.
class sizes that provide you with a more personal teaching and learning experience.
You’ll experience all the advantages of a large university education, combined with all the benefits of studying in a supportive learning environment.
an annual tuition fee, currently £6,000, which is lower than many universities. (If you wish to top up your degree at UCLan, you will be subject to UCLan tuition fees).
opportunities to talk to employers about job prospects at events such as the Runshaw Careers Fair.
Profile
Alex Creamer
After completing the Foundation Degree
in Graphic Design at Runshaw College,
Alex topped up his qualification at UCLan,
achieving a first class honours degree. His student work
has won awards in America and England, and has been
included on the cover of and inside several books.
Alex has worked with some of the world’s leading branding
agencies, including Interbrand, The Partners, Landor
Associates, Purpose and The Chase. He is now working as a
Designer at Re: in Sydney, Australia.
Says Alex, “I have always been interested in art and creativity.
On the course at Runshaw, I really enjoyed learning about
all aspects of design as well as visiting art galleries for
inspiration. As I didn’t have the normal entry requirements for
the Foundation Degree I was offered my place based on the
strength of the portfolio of work I had created.”
Moving on...
Runshaw College is committed to providing you with an outstanding opportunity to go from a fully supported undergraduate, to an independent, critical thinking, and objective individual when you leave us.
To achieve this, we go the extra mile to support you in progressing to higher level studies or employment.
Our students progress to a wide range of careers and further fields of study. Below are the destinations of just a few of our recent graduates.
Gary Whitworth
Completed the BA (Hons) Graphic Design top up at UCLan. Gary is now working at The Chase, one of the leading creative agencies for branding and print in the North West.
Alex Bellingham
Alex is currently studying for his Masters Degree at UCLan whilst working for Sony with ‘The Worldwide Studios Stereoscopic 3D team’ based at Evolution Studios. He is carrying out ground- breaking research into stereoscopic 3D graphical user interface design.
Rob McColl
Winner of an employer Live Brief Award, Rob completed the BA (Hons) Graphic Design top up at UCLan and is now working as a freelance graphic designer.
Sarah Hardman
Completed the BA (Hons) Graphic Design top up at UCLan and is now working at True North in Manchester, a leading North West creative branding agency.
100%
of our students are in work or further study six months after graduating from Runshaw.Entry Requirements
200 UCAS points which must include an art or graphics related subject, plus GCSE
English and Maths at Grade A*-C or equivalent.
You may also qualify for the course if you have other qualifications or relevant life or
work experience.
How to apply
You will need to complete a UCAS application on-line.
Simply visit www.ucas.com and click on ‘Apply or track your application’.
Please use the information below when applying.
Graphic Design
UCAS Code: GD26
Institution Code Name: RUNSH
Institution Code: R88
Short Form of Course: FD/GD
Further Information
Full course details are available from our website at www.runshaw.ac.uk or
by contacting the course team leader Jan Moon.
Runshaw College | Euxton Lane | Chorley | PR7 6AQ 01772 642040 | [email protected] | www.runshaw.ac.uk
The information in this leaflet is correct at the time of going to press. AW 21/10/15 @UCRArt
Jan Moon
