- Placement year available
How to apply
Come to an Open Day- Introduction
- Course options
- Key facts
- Teaching and assessment
- Entry requirements
- Fees and paying for university
- Student work
- Facilities and showcase
- Lecturers
- Careers
Introduction to our Graphic Design degree
Studying Graphic Design at ARU
Develop your understanding of graphic design and visual communication, solve challenging design briefs and prepare for a career as a designer with our BA (Hons) Graphic Design degree.
Study at an award-winning university
We're the Times Higher Education (THE) University of the Year. We've also been awarded a Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework– a reflection of the outstanding education we offer our students.
With its vibrant studio culture, our Graphic Design degree will encourage you to push boundaries and challenge existing thinking by developing innovative design solutions as well as a keen understanding of professional practice. You’ll experiment with print-based design as well as digital commercial practices including site-specific, interactive, motion graphics, mobile media, app design (UX/UI), web and multimedia work.
Course options
Key facts
Entry Requirements
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Fees and Paying for University
Student experience
Student work
Pepa Villa Merino, advert design for luxury food brand FAWR
See more work by our Graphic Design studentsWatch video
60 Second Seminar
Lecturer Nick Jeeves considers where ideas come from.
Letterpress Brief Publication
Auguries of Innocence
Visual reworking of William Blake’s poem features letterpress artworks by 66 ARU students across four cohorts.
New book showcases Blake like never beforeARU Spotlight podcast
Blessing Raimi
Alumnus Blessing talks about how the course helped her prepare for work in the industry, and the inspiration she drew from studying in Cambridge.
ARU Spotlight Podcast: Blessing RaimiARU Spotlight Podcast
Connie Esavwa
Student Connie talks about her major project, designing and producing a magazine to publicise small businesses in Kenya.
ARU Spotlight Podcast: Connie EsavwaWatch the 2021 Graphic Design showreel
Graphic Design Showreel 2021
Take a look at our Graphic Design BA (Hons) students' latest work.
Studying Graphic Design at ARU
BA (Hons) Graphic Design student Ella talks about her experiences on the course.
ELLA ROWLAND
Brand book mock-up
ELLA ROWLAND
Product photography
ELLA ROWLAND
Social posts photography
AASIA STAFF
Ambition
AASIA STAFF
Empowerment
AASIA STAFF
Gratitude
GEORGE HUNT
GEORGE HUNT
GEORGE HUNT
Club Match design
GEORGE HUNT
Club Match design
GEORGE HUNT
Club Match design
JOANNE FU
Alice in Wonderland
JOANNE FU
Metamorphopsia
JOANNE FU
Oscillopsia
ROBYN MCCURDY
ROBYN MCCURDY
ROBYN MCCURDY
Find out more about Poppy's book
A picturebook for the blind
For her Degree Show, Graphic Design student Poppy created a picturebook for the blind "Nothing, but the beginning", a story about the creation of the Universe.
Take a closer look at Emily's work
Year 3 Major Project
Timelapse of a material typography project exploring modern aphorisms, by final-year Graphic Design student Emily.
SECOND-YEAR DESIGNERS
Award entries
Designs for the Penguin Random House Student Design Award
ROBYN MCCURDY
Gin brand labels
2020
DIANA MONTAÑEZ
Kinetic type
Kinetic type for motion graphic installation and exhibition 2020
NICK RICHARDS
Designs for Apple Techcare
Experimental designs for Apple Techcare 2020
BEN WATKINS
Health and well-being app
Health and well-being app interface and graphics 2020
ROBYN MCCURDY
Map signage and wayfinding for Ely Riverside walk
2020
ELITSA STOYANOVA
Major Project
Elitsa used visual communication to explore the emotional experiences of those suffering from poor mental health
FIONN OVINGTON
Major Project
Fionn explored forgotten words, particularly those relating to the natural world
GITA KOWLESSUR
Risograph-printed cover
Risograph-printed cover for ‘Goodnight Mister Tom’. Designed and shortlisted for the Penguin Student Design Award
LAUREN MAXWELL
Major Project
Lauren investigated new revenue streams for theatres, and proposed a series of souvenir posters for Cambridge Arts Theatre
LUKE NASH, CHELSEA MAN & MARA LECOIU
Image and Imagination
Three submissions for the first-year ‘Image and Imagination project'
ROBYN MCCURDY
Penguin Student Design Awards
An enigmatic submission to the Penguin Student Design Awards
Facilities and showcase
Industry-standard facilities
As a Graphic Design student at ARU, you’ll have access to all our facilities including:
- Dedicated Mac and PC suites with the latest software including Adobe Creative suite
- Wide-format printers and scanners
- Ruskin Gallery, a professional digital art gallery
- Life drawing studio
- Specialist printmaking workshop including etching, screen-printing, and lithography
- 3D workshops for physical media including wood, plastic, metal, and clay
- Photography and media facilities including darkrooms; studios; film processing; digital printing suite; video editing; and professional equipment loans.
Futures Lab and workshop equipment
Our new digital workshop includes a variety of computer aided manufacturing machines, helping you learn up to date manufacturing and design processes as well as supporting many traditional techniques. These technologies include:
- 3D printers and scanners - FDM printers; material-specific extruders; SLA Formlabs printers; SLS Formlabs Fuse1; structured light 3D scanners
- 2D printing and cutting machines - laser cutters; Roland BN20 vinyl printer & cutter; Gerber substrate cutter; Mimaki TX300P sublimation printer.
Take a closer look
Our Creative Showcase shines a spotlight on what makes ARU creative and cultural – our spaces, places and people. Find out more about our community, the difference we make, the stories we tell, and the things that inspire us.
Meanwhile, Present is an exhibition that you curate for yourself. Explore the work of our graduating students in this eye-catching virtual degree show.
Alternatively, take a guided tour and meet our students.
Lecturers
Jon Melton
Senior Lecturer
[emailprotected]
Nicholas Jeeves
Lecturer
Omayma Alqatawneh
Lecturer
[emailprotected]
Tina Burton
Senior Lecturer
[emailprotected]
Emily Godden
Senior Lecturer
[emailprotected]
Visit the Virtually There Studio website
View Emily's profile on our Creative Showcase
Simon Loxley
Associate Lecturer
Careers
The creative industries are booming in the UK, employing more than two million people. Our BA (Hons) Graphic Design will prepare you for a career as a graphic designer, as well as for design-related roles in digital graphics, online media, communications and marketing, publishing, and advertising.
Our previous students have gone on to work with design studios or media and communication companies, producing advertising, corporate identities and promotions, packaging and branding, informational design, editorial and book design, web designs and interactive media.
You’ll have many opportunities to generate a strong portfolio of graphic design projects that will help you secure a job in this rewarding, vibrant and growing industry. These include getting involved with regional design agencies and national design networks such as D&AD and YCN, engaging in ‘live’ projects or commercial briefs and building your industry contacts. All of these can lead to freelance projects, work experience and internships, which could result in offers of work before you even graduate.
Cambridge is the perfect place to gain experience – a creative hotspot that’s home to thousands of established businesses and start-ups. Our students have gone on to work alongside the likes of Drench, Filofax, Nash Matthews, Onespacemedia, Coast Digital, Workshop Creative Agency and Piranha Designs.
There are plenty of opportunities to get your work seen, too. At the end of your final year at ARU, you’ll take part in our Degree Show and could be selected to produce publicity materials for the event – the perfect launchpad for life as a graphic designer.
Graduation doesn’t need to be the end of your time with us, of course. You might decide to stay at ARU and study for a Masters, such as our renowned . With our Alumni Scholarship, you’ll even get 20% off your fees as an ARU graduate.
Employability and personal career development
Informed by employers, our courses support an integrated approach to employability. You’ll have opportunities to develop the skills and abilities they are looking for and gain a deeper understanding of how your academic learning relates to the world of work through Live Briefs and Ruskin Modules.
To amplify your career ambition, you will need to actively dedicate time outside of your studies, whether you choose to explore placements, internshipsor volunteering. Or you could make a social impact by collaborating with our partner organisations through our volunteer scheme Students at the Heart of Knowledge Exchange (SHoKE). These all give you an edge, providing you with experience that you will be able to evidence on your CV and talk about in interviews.
Our Employability and Careers Serviceoffers a range of expert advice and support to build your unique professional profile, including tailored career appointments, advice on writing your CV, and help to complete job applications. You’ll have 24/7 access to the Careers Centre, our comprehensive online digital resource, which empowers you to start building a Personal Career Development Plan from the very start. Design your future at ARU.
ARU Spotlight: Blessing Raimi
Blessing is a Digital Designer at award-winning media agency DTV Group, and a graduate of our BA (Hons) Graphic Design course.
Find out how our course helped BlessingApply now for BA (Hons) Graphic Design
Life in Cambridge
Our friendly, bustling campus is a stone’s throw from the centre of Cambridge, often described as the perfect student city.
Our favourite places in Cambridge
Did you know...? Facts about CambridgeWatch: Our CambridgeWant to talk to someone?
Do you have a question that we haven't answered so far? Talk to our application experts. You can also ask our Student Ambassadors about life at ARU.
- [emailprotected]
- Call01245 686868
We're here Monday-Thursday 9am-5pm (please note we close at 3.30pm on the first and third Thursday of the month for staff training), and Friday 9am-4.30pm.
- Come to an Open Day
- Use our enquiry form
- Talk to one of our students
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