MA Design for Art Direction

University of the Arts London

Course overview

MA Design for Art Direction takes a holistic approach to the creative industries. Through its multi-display nature, the course encourages the discovery of the potential to work across sectors in order to produce campaigns that educate and innovate for commercial, cultural and non-profit sectors. Across five units, you’ll consider the politics and ownership of the different means of communication, alongside the role of publishing platforms, examining how these allow for creative work to engage with users in flexible ways.

You’ll develop cross-disciplinary research projects, through the intersections of art, design, science and technology, and learn to present these ideas in educational and engaging ways. Reflecting on the role of the creative studio as a powerful instrument for broadening the public imagination, you’ll learn to communicate the cultural, social and political moment through the sophisticated aesthetics of visual communication.

What can you expect?

Lectures and workshops in production, treatments, pitching will help you to better define your practice and the type of tools you can use. This includes learning how to develop and write treatments and proposals, how to respond to briefs and how to structure your work and communicate the results that you want. The course will also equip you with practical skills, insight and understanding to communicate with and get the best from collaborators and other creative practitioners.

Career paths

The course will equip you with the skills to set up small scale agencies or join in-house teams as junior art directors, designers, researchers, art/media buyers or junior creatives. You'll be prepared for a successful career within media agencies, cultural institutions, print and web editorial and production companies.