DEGREE GUIDE

Graphic Design

What do Graphic Design degrees involve?

Graphic Design degrees teach you how to communicate ideas visually, combining creativity with digital and traditional design techniques. You will explore key areas such as typography, branding, illustration, user experience (UX) design, and motion graphics. These courses help you develop technical skills using industry-standard software while understanding design principles and visual storytelling. You will also learn about the role of design in advertising, marketing, and digital media. Many degrees offer live projects, industry collaborations, and portfolio development opportunities, preparing you for careers in branding, digital design, and creative direction.

Example
Modules

Introduction to Visual Communication: Learn how colour, composition, typography and image work together to communicate messages visually and effectively.

Typography and Layout: Explore how font styles, spacing, and grid systems influence meaning and create clarity in editorial, branding and digital design.

Branding and Identity: Discover how to develop a visual identity, using logos, tone of voice, and design systems to create a consistent and recognisable brand.

Common Degree Names

💼 Placement years are commonly offered, especially in design studios, advertising agencies or creative industries.
🌍 Study abroad is available at many universities.

BA (Hons) Graphic Design
BA (Hons) Graphic Communication
BA (Hons) Graphic Design and Illustration
BA (Hons) Graphic Design and Visual Communication
BA (Hons) Graphic Design with Typography

A graphic design print production area with printed design proofs laid out on a teal cutting mat, a colour reference fan, paper sample books, a magnifying loupe and a large-format printer in the background.

Level 3 (A-level / IB Diploma (HL) / Scottish Highers)

Graphic Design is about visual communication – from branding and typography to digital interfaces and motion graphics. Your portfolio matters more than specific subjects, so universities want to see evidence of creative thinking, design skills, and visual awareness.

Subjects that strengthen your application:

Art or Art & Design – usually expected or strongly preferred
Graphics, Product Design, or Photography – excellent preparation for design courses
Media Studies – helpful for understanding communication and audience
English or ICT – useful for communication and technical skills

✨ A Foundation Diploma in Art & Design is the traditional route into competitive design courses, and is recommended if you haven't studied a creative subject at Level 3. Your portfolio is the most important part of your application – see Other Requirements for portfolio guidance.

Universities may also accept:

BTEC Extended Diplomas in Art and Design or Creative Digital Media Production
BTEC National Extended Certificates or National Diplomas alongside relevant A-Level subjects
UAL Level 3 Diplomas in Art & Design or Creative Practice
T-Levels in Craft and Design or Digital Software Development are most relevant, alongside a strong portfolio
IB Career-related Programme (IBCP) with at least two IB Higher Level subjects (ideally three - see relevant subjects above) alongside your Career-Related Study; an Art & Design pathway would be directly relevant

Requirements vary between courses. Always check specific course requirements.

Level 2 Qualifications (GCSE / MYP / National 5)

Most courses ask for:

GCSE English Language and Maths at grade 4/C or above, or equivalent such as National 5s or MYP

📘 GCSE Art, Graphics, Photography, or ICT can be very helpful for building early skills and most applicants will have at least one of them, but they are not essential.

🎨 Portfolio

A strong portfolio is essential. It should include:

Sketchbooks and idea development
Examples of digital and hand-drawn work
Finished projects that show your creativity and personal style

💬 Interviews or Portfolio Reviews
Many courses invite applicants for an interview or portfolio review. This is an opportunity to discuss your ideas, influences, and creative process.

🔍 Work Experience

You don't need formal work experience to apply for Graphic Design. If you're looking for ways to develop beyond your own projects, designing for real clients — a school poster, a logo for a local business, content for a charity — gives you experience of working to a brief. Entering design competitions or exhibiting your work also pushes you to create for an audience.

✨ Personal Statement Tips

How do you approach visual communication, and what have you designed so far? Whether that's branding, posters, digital design, typography, or other projects, reflect on what you've learned about making things communicate visually. Think about how you tackle a brief - from research and ideas through to finished design - and the designers or work that inspires your own aesthetic and approach. Admissions tutors want to see your passion for visual problem-solving and evidence of your own design work, experimentation, and development.

If your qualifications don't match the usual entry requirements, there are some other possibilities.

🌱 Foundation Diploma in Art & Design

A very common route into Graphic Design degrees. This one-year course helps you develop your portfolio and explore creative disciplines before applying for the full degree.

🎓 Access to HE Diploma (Art & Design or Creative Practice)

Accepted by many universities offering Graphic Design degrees. Your portfolio will usually carry as much weight as your grades, so check individual universities for their portfolio expectations.

Is this degree right for you?

Members can explore whether this degree fits who they are:

Skills you'd develop and whether they match your strengths
How this aligns with your interests, motivators and values
Career paths and where graduates end up

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Skills you would develop in X degree

Skill Name

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Is this a good fit for you?

Use the tabs to explore the kind of person that this would be a good fit for. Do you share the Interests, Motivations, Values, Work identity and skills that people who thrive in this course tend to have?

Not sure what these things are? Explore your Identity Tree with us first.

Interests that connect well with a Graphic Design degree

Students who enjoy this degree often share these interests. You don't need to feel strongly about all of them, and interests develop over time. If one or two catch your curiosity, or sound like something you'd like to know more about, that's a good sign.

Visual Art, Craft & Design: The degree is built around visual communication. You'll develop skills in typography, image-making, layout and composition, and design for digital platforms including web, motion graphics and user interfaces, working across print and screen.

Brands, Media & Influence: Branding is a major strand of the degree. You'll learn how to create visual identities, develop brand strategies, and design the logos, packaging, and campaigns that shape how people perceive and connect with organisations and products.

Students who thrive in a Graphic Design degree are often motivated by

Storytelling and Communication

You're excited by crafting a compelling narrative, whether that's writing a script, performing a speech, producing content, or simply finding the perfect way to explain something complex. You notice when stories are told well and when they fall flat. Shaping how people understand and feel about a topic gives you real energy, and you're always thinking about how to land a message.

Making and Crafting

You love hands-on work: building, shaping, or creating physical objects. Whether it's working with tools, materials, or your own hands, you're happiest when you can see and touch what you've made. The process of turning raw materials into something finished gives you a deep sense of satisfaction, and you'd rather make something than just talk about it.

Sharing Your Work with Others

You take pride in showing what you've created to others, whether that's exhibiting artwork, demonstrating an invention, publishing writing, or presenting project results. The moment when someone else experiences or responds to your work gives you a buzz. You create with an audience in mind, even if that audience is small.

Practical Problem-Solving

You're energised by finding fixes to real-life issues, whether they're mechanical, technological, or social. You're motivated by problems you can see, touch, or experience directly, and you get satisfaction from solutions that work in practice, not just in theory. You'd rather build a prototype than write a report about one.

Personal Expression

You're energised by making work that's recognisably yours: putting your perspective, experiences, or imagination into something you create. Whether that's art, writing, design, music, film, or any creative output, you get the most from the work when your own voice or vision is showing through, not when you're producing something indistinguishable from anyone else's. Creative work that lets you leave your mark feels more satisfying than work that's purely technical, however skilled.

Creativity and Innovation

You're energised by the act of creating something new or finding a fresh way to approach a problem. Whether it's designing, writing, building, or experimenting, you feel most alive when you're generating original ideas rather than following established methods. The possibility that something has never been done before excites rather than intimidates you.

What makes Graphic Design click for the students who love it?

Graphic Design is visual problem-solving, and that is exactly what attracts them: taking a vague brief and getting the message across at a glance. Much of it is craft: pushing type, image and colour around the page, and the hands-on print work, the inks and the screenprinting, until every detail lines up. What matters is that a stranger reads it in a second, and that the work has their fingerprints all over it. The reward is catching sight of it out in the world, on a poster, a cover or a screen.

These are the skills that students who love this degree tend to enjoy using. You don't need to be great at them already, but if they sound like you, that's a good sign.

Skill Name

Skills that suit this degree

You don't need to be great at these already — but if you enjoy using them or want to get better at them, that's a good sign.

Do you notice when a poster, logo, or website looks well-designed — and find yourself thinking about what makes it work?
Do you enjoy solving visual problems — like how to make information clear, a message stand out, or a layout feel right?
Do you like working on a computer to create or arrange visual things — designs, layouts, or digital images?
Do you find yourself noticing how brands present themselves — their colours, fonts, packaging, and overall style?

Careers a Graphic Design degree could lead you to

A Graphic Design degree doesn’t limit you to working as a graphic designer—it equips you with a broad, transferable skill set that opens up multiple creative paths.

Graphic Design

What do Graphic Design degrees involve?

Example Modules

Common Degree Names

Is this degree right for you?

Skills you would develop in X degree

Skill Name

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Is this a good fit for you?

Careers a Graphic Design degree could lead you to

Example
Modules