Communication Design

Content

Communication is one of the profound achievements of human evolution. It's ever developing complexity, unpredictability, and application is the essence of Central Saint Martin's Masters level Communication Design studies.

Often described as the 'operating system of the 21st century' its implications and impact profoundly affect culture, finance, globalisation and localisation, policy-making, socio-economic developments, sustainability.

How do candidates begin to engage with Communication Design at masters level? The starting point is framing a question identifying an important theme, issue or problem. Then developing an investigative structure or methodology by way of project work, tutorials, seminars, lectures incorporating independent study and professional connections within an academic and professional community equally energized with their questions. Inevitably working in this way produces outcomes and solutions, which seek difference, are unpredictable and are not bound by the current disciplines and media paradigms reflecting the ever-developing contemporary modes of practice. Outcomes are appropriate to the communication design question, audience and personal standpoint, often manifesting themselves in data dynamics, imaging making, and interaction design, information, photography, programming, typography, writing, or new and as yet un-defined products. Contemporary communication design questions are not inward looking or introverted. They seek to involve extra disciplinary resources such as aesthetics, anthropology, behaviorism, cognition, linguistics, teleology, typology, for mechanisms to probe and deliver new enlightenment and applications.

Masters level students are assumed to have acquired high-level practical and intellectual skills to begin this process. Throughout the course the communication design question will drive the acquisition of deeper subject and practical knowledge and determine their career directions and aspiration.

Structure

The course is offered in a two year, 60 week, extended full-time (EFT), mode, requiring approximately 30 hours per week study. Taught delivery is normally timetabled across three days per week including self-directed study. The course is credit rated at 180 credits, and comprises 2 units as follows: Unit 1: 60, Unit 2: 120 credits. A student has to pass both units to be considered for the award of MA, with the award of a distinction being based on the achievement in Unit 2 only.