Graphic Design offers a master's programme of one year (60 ECTS credits). In graphic design, students are encouraged to question and redefine existing solutions. The combination of artistic practice, theory, and research gave birth to a new and well-founded major, which is entirely oriented towards the much evolving future: in the social and artistic sphere as well as the area of media. Students graphic design are trained to become designers of the future.
Strengths of the programme
Our academic programme focuses on artistic practice and research on image and design combined with a personal interpretation. The interaction between theory, research and artistic practice, as implemented in Visual Arts, is quite unique. By means of this integration, extra dimensions are being added to artistic practice.
The objective of the master's programme in Graphic Design is to further develop and valorize the competences of students with a bachelor's degree in graphic design (Advertising Design, Graphic Design, iIlustration Design, Interaction & Motion Design, Image Thinking and Reading Type & Typography). In the master thesis, the student formulates a question of formal or communicative nature, in a cultural, social or commercial context. In his master thesis, the students realise an authentic and creative project.
Advertising Design
Do you want to go the distance?
Are you bursting with ideas that go beyond the visually interesting? Do you really want to raise questions, hold a mirror up to the world? Did you know that Advertising Design nowadays is used for so much more than selling energy drinks or smartphones? Or are you not impressed by most commercials and do you want to focus on originality and relevance? Then Advertising Design is your thing. Especially if you enjoy working as part of a team and have a curious way of looking at the world as a source source of inspiration.
Killing it!
Discover how you can communicate with the world and which tools you need to get a message across. Spoiler: you can literally use everything. Print, tv or internet are obvious media of course, but what about a train station, the hairdresser around the corner or the celestial vault?
In addition to creative thinking and designing your ideas, you will learn to write powerful copy, model smart strategies, apply technologies and master social media. Learning is not confined to our advertising studio, you will also participate in (inter)national competitions, festivals and office visits, workshops and real-life briefings.
Graphic Design
Graphic design is all around us!
Graphic design is everywhere! This specialisation treats all facets of print and image culture, from designing typographic headlines and book navigation, to creating dynamic signalling systems. Through text and image, you explore various (print) media and develop your own vision on contemporary image communication.
Four pillars
Graphic Design is built on four pillars: Cultural Design revolves around your personal fascinations. It derives its artistic status from the way you view life, rather than purely cultural content. Editorial Design focuses on navigating, structuring and editing – including the design of (typo)graphic systems that result in books, papers, magazines and online publications. Font Design explores fully the use of lettering for communication. In addition to designing fonts, the use of typography in various media is also discussed. Identity Design is about the development of a visual identity that represents a certain person, place, group, company or organisation.
Illustrative Design
MAD about illustration
As an Illustrative Designer you are obsessed with drawing. You possess the necessary drive, a vision of your own, an urge for experiment and for pushing artistic and individual boundaries.
Illustrative Designers develop their own design signature
Illustrative Design is a phased training with assignments and clusters that will result, during the Master year, in your own authorship. Illustrative Designers are an image thinker that are able to interpret texts, content and context, rework and finally transform them to define their own mark. The end result can be an illustration, but also a film, an installation, performance, artist’s book, or a purely graphic elaboration. Illustrative Design is related to both Graphic Design and Fine Arts, which offers a lot of artistic and individual freedom. Within this wide range you develop your own story and signature as an author and an Illustrative Designer. The supervising teachers, who all have an active practice in various fields of illustration, provide input from their specific expertise.
Interaction & Motion Design
Tomorrow’s innovation depends on today’s creativity.
We order a pizza by clicking our smartphone. We find love through a swipe. The future is bright and challenges us. Tomorrow’s innovation depends on today’s creativity. Interaction & Motion Design keeps an eye on tomorrow. We come up with the next thing.
UX, motion graphics, virtual reality and beyond.
With web design and apps, the emphasis is on user experience, interface design, and above all: concept. What is the goal? Where is the innovation? Are you going for a smile? Video and 3D cracks, the incredible awaits you. Animation, video mapping, virtual reality, video montage and of course: dancing dots. Or is it a game? Are your drop kick skills rather virtual than physical? Anything goes. Interaction & Motion Design is about the future, about your place and role in the not so far away day after tomorrow. The teaching team is ready to shake you up and bring out the best in you. Interaction & Motion Design!
Image thinking
For your Bachelor and Master project, you can choose the specialisation studio Image thinking. More than ever, we are surrounded by images in everyday life. They manifest themselves through a continuous blurring of boundaries: between physical and imaginary, between creation and interpretation, between authentic and referential. Image thinking develops ways to deal with this dynamic through various media, such as posters, paintings, installations, dance, drawings, film, book designs...
Your own imagery
Image thinking stimulates you to develop your own imagery - your own images, your own voice, your own signature and thus your own image concepts - to interact with our contemporary visual culture, which is becoming quite complex. Thus, we stimulate your ability to solve complex problems and your creativity, we sharpen your critical thinking and imagination; skills that are essential for several professional profiles and that encourage mental flexibility and entrepreneurial spirit.
Reading Type & Typography
This course revolves around experimentation and research, in which thoughts and actions are in constant interplay with each other. The increase of interest in type design and/or typography – which happens in contrast with other areas of design and/or scientific fields – is seen as an inspiring starting point that is constantly questioned in order to develop a critical attitude towards design for reading (both on traditional media and in contemporary digital times).
The master programme consists of two major components: Studio Practice and the Master Seminar Series ‘READSEARCH: Reading Type & Typography’. Based on these two components and supported by a team of renowned designers, artists and academics from our own faculty as well as international guest-speakers and guest tutors, students are continually encouraged and challenged to reflect on their work by shifting between being ‘in’ and being ‘out’ of their own work.
Thanks to the extensive network of our department and of members of staff, students are given several possibilities to come in contact with and/or getting to know international organisations, institutes, curators, artists, designers, graphic designers, typographers and type designers interested in typography (graphic design) and font design. This allows them to create a network that can be a very good starting point for projects and collaborations after their English Master.
For more detailed information, please download our information brochure.
Head of the English Master Studio: Ann Bessemans, Ann.Bessemans@PXL.BE, info@readsearch.be
We offer as well a Pre-Master of one / two year that helps you prepare for and gain entry to the Master programme.
Teaching Staff
Coordinator / Contact: Johan Vandebosch, Johan.Vandebosch@PXL.BE
Advertising: Ilse Bollens, Katrien Caris, Els Menten, Wouter Pardeans en Tom Tosseyn.
Graphic Design: Tom Andries, Ann Bessemans*, Kevin Bormans, Giullio Galli, Carl Haase, Luc Rerren, Monique Rutten, Johan Vandebosch en Katleen Verjans
Illustrative Design: Kim Duchateau, Tom Lambeens*, Lien Paulissen, Charlotte Severeyns, Jenny Stieglitz, Carla Swerts*, Cathy Van Maele,
Interaction & Motion Design: Bob Dekkers, Eli Prenten, Piet Seurs, Krista Smeets en Filip Vandeputte
Image Thinking: Patrick Ceyssens* en Dominique Somers*
Reading Type & Typography: Ann Bessemans*, Marta Guidotti*, Janneke Janssen*, Carl Haase*, Giulio Galli*, Erik Nuyts, Sabina Sieghart* en Walda Verbaenen*
* MAD-Research