Study course

Communication Design

Bachelor's study course in the Design Faculty

Means of communication permeate and characterise our everyday lives more than ever before. They determine our behaviour and our society. In a world in which information is available at all times and in overwhelming quantities, the requirements for its design and communication have changed drastically. But what content deserves our attention - and how can we scrutinise why we focus on it in the first place? What added value does it offer to make information accessible in a certain way? Is it just about efficiency in the sense of consumption, or about conveying content with emotion and depth?

Communication design is much more than the mere depiction of content. It is a dynamic process that can make essential contributions to society, culture and science through communication and interpretation. It requires not only an intensive examination of one's own discipline, its methods and tools, but also an interest in experimentation, the desire to discover new things and a willingness to engage in interdisciplinary dialogue.

One of the central tasks of studying communication design is to develop a common language that enables us to describe the past and present, to imagine the future, to talk about it, to think about it and ultimately to actively help shape it.

The project-based degree programme opens up a wide range of opportunities for specialisation: The focus on photography, illustration, information design, intermedia design as well as type and typography enables students to discover, develop and test their own fields of work, both in interdisciplinary interaction and in specialisation.

In the first four semesters of the foundation course, the focus is on learning technical and design skills, while the main course focuses on developing an independent creative, artistic and content-related position.

Aim of the study

The programme at BURG offers both an artistic-practical and a theoretical-scientific approach. Students learn to express themselves professionally in different design languages, to work in an interdisciplinary manner and to develop information and communication strategies. They learn to use design tools to respond responsibly to contemporary challenges.
 

Course structure

In the first four semesters (foundation course), the focus is on design and technical basics.

From the 5th semester onwards, students choose specialisations for individual study and develop their own artistic and conceptual position. The course concludes after eight semesters with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree.
 

Study specialisations

The main study phase is a project-based programme focusing on photography, illustration, information design, intermedia design, and type and typography.

Students are free to choose their specialisation each semester. Depending on the project, the thematic study project involves individual or collaborative work processes as well as external collaborations.

Students have their own workspaces in their respective fields of study and can also work there outside of regular opening hours.

In addition to general workshops such as offset printing, screen printing, photo studio and laboratory (analogue, digital), and the university's computer pools, the KD-Lab is available as a student-organised experimental field – with offerings such as coding self-help consultation hours and Riso workshops.

Prerequisites

General university entrance qualification (exceptions for highly gifted students are possible under certain conditions) and artistic aptitude. This is determined by submitting a digital portfolio with samples of work and, if necessary, by means of an aptitude test in a personal interview.

Pre-study internship

The application requires a three-month pre-study internship in a creative/artistic field of work. The aim of this internship is to gain initial work experience in the field of design, journalism, culture or art in an extracurricular context.

A wide range of experience is recognised, from work in graphic design, photography, illustration, urbanism and landscape design to arts and crafts or mediation in exhibition companies or associations, to name just a few possibilities.

If the practical part of a completed training programme predominated, this can also be recognised as a pre-study internship. The internship can also be divided into several shorter sections or made up within the first year of study.

Study information day

A study information day is held at the university every January. Current dates are announced on the website in December.

Annual exhibition

The university's annual exhibition in July offers insights into projects and final theses. Students and graduates from the individual specialisations and basic courses exhibit their projects there – the perfect opportunity to find out more and talk to students and lecturers.

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