Illustration

Illustration is the art of communication through images: the creation of visual work that tells stories, explains ideas, captures emotions, and speaks to audiences in ways that words alone cannot achieve. As a discipline it spans children's books, editorial journalism, advertising, packaging, animation, games, fashion, and an expanding range of digital contexts. The illustrator must be not only a skilled visual maker but a clear communicator, someone who understands how images work on viewers and who can adapt their practice to the requirements of different briefs and contexts.

At Middlesex University this three-year full-time programme is studio-based, placing your development as a practising illustrator at the centre of the learning experience. You will work in your own workspace at the specialist Grove facility, with access to a wide range of making equipment and technologies, including print, ceramics, photography, film and audio, three-dimensional making, and digital printing. This breadth of resource allows you to explore both traditional and contemporary approaches to illustration, developing the technical range and creative curiosity that professional practice requires.

The course runs alongside the Graphic Design programme, creating a curriculum environment in which you engage with related creative disciplines and benefit from the cross-pollination of ideas that proximity to designers brings.

You will build a personal practice and a portfolio that represents your creative voice across a range of applications, developing the professional confidence to take on real briefs and to present and communicate your work to clients and collaborators.

Graduates of illustration programmes work as freelance illustrators, in publishing, editorial, advertising, children's media, digital design studios, animation, and games. Many develop portfolio careers combining several of these contexts. Postgraduate study in illustration, animation, or visual communication is an option for those who wish to develop their practice further or move into research and teaching.