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Graphic Design and Animation BA(Hons)

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    Overview

    If you’re keen to learn core creative industry skills – from the handmade to the digital, including 2D and 3D concept realisations – our Graphic Design and Animation BA(Hons) course is designed to set you up to succeed.

    Along the way, we’ll support and inspire you to experiment creatively, to help you become a strong visual communication designer. You can also gain a wider understanding of the strategies behind developing your work, gaining skills in:

    • storytelling narratives
    • visual language
    • branding
    • user experience

    During this Graphic Design and Animation degree course, our approach closely aligns itself with creative industry practices. It also encourages innovation through collaboration, which will enhance your prospects when you apply for an optional industry placement.

    The ambitions and ethos of this course are championed by our students, staff, graduates, and industry partners. It’s vital that you understand how graphic design – both static and motion based – works in the wider world, which is why we work with a range of communication theories and diverse guest speakers. This gives you the chance to understand the factors shaping the industry.

    Why study Graphic Design and Animation BA(Hons)

    You’ll have the opportunity to learn the techniques and skills to pursue a multimedia design career in the evolving creative industries. From film and advertising to websites and social media, graphic design and animation co-exist across different media channels, including digital, print and moving image.

    You could enhance your graduate prospects by undertaking a skills-boosting work placement. Your achievements will also be celebrated at our annual summer degree show, too, and you’ll have a competitive edge in the job market.

    This degree could open the door to a variety of career possibilities, too, in graphic design and animation itself, or in art, illustration or another related subject.

    Entry requirements

    To find out if you’re eligible to start this course in September 2025 and get more information on how to apply, please see our Clearing pages or call our Clearing Helpline on 0333 987 9000.

    If you’re interested in studying this course in September 2026, please view the 2026-27 course information.

    Course Detail

    Core modules:

    Design Process and Production 1

    The module will introduce you to the key principles of contemporary professional practice in terms of principles and process. It will focus on the fundamental techniques of production. It will develop your understanding of two- and three-dimensional space and the importance of physical and digital processes to generate and capture your work.

    Design Studio 1

    This module will introduce you to the creative thinking processes and tools to undertake good quality research in order to identify and fulfil the needs of the client using 2D and 3D Design and their application through project work. Design projects will enable you to explore and develop design proposals using a range of methods, practical skills and specialist knowledge. The module will introduce studio practice and provide experience and techniques in realising either complex or open briefs depending on context.

    Design Theory Fundamentals

    This module will introduce you to a range of relevant theories for and about design. It will introduce you to discourses and debates relating to the history, influences, production and critical reception of design. It will contextualise these aspects in terms of your discipline providing an overarching understanding of design in general as well as more focused elements pertinent to your design field.

    Core modules:

    Intermediate Studio Practice

    The intermediate studio requires you to produce works of increasing sophistication having successfully completed the foundation studio. The module encompasses diverse and interdependent areas of practice. It expands and elaborates upon the exploration and communication of ideas introduced in foundation studio toward producing an industry facing portfolio of work.

    Process and Production

    This module extends your knowledge of Graphic Design, Animation, and their convergence in Graphic Design and Animation with an emphasis on exploring more advanced processes and production techniques. The frameworks and methods introduced at Foundation level are refined and developed and will support you in establishing a more specialist approach and a professionally orientated practice. You’ll integrate an aesthetic language for the disciplines of either Graphic Design or Animation, as well as giving consideration to the impact of practices involving motion and interaction within these disciplines – and this convergence in hybrid practices as Graphic Design and Animation.

    Design Identities

    This module is divided into 2 parts, a theoretical component and a practical component. The practical component will present approaches that encourage personal development and reflection while developing an appreciation and understanding of strategies and methodologies related to employability and work placement. There will be guidance in the preparation of an individual Curriculum Vitae, letters of application and an understanding of the role and nature of self-promotion. There will be an emphasis on developing an enhanced ability to reflect upon your personal design engagement and own learning across the year. Theory is explored through the field of expansion of applicable design practices. It focuses on the theorisation of professional practices, cultural practices and histories relevant to the study of design. It encourages you to explore ideas and concepts through research of theory and practice.

    Arts and Humanities Placement

    The placement year is your chance to gain hands-on experience and build on the skills you’ve developed in your first two years of study. You’ll spend up to 48 weeks (minimum 36 weeks) in a graduate-level role, sharpening your professional skills, exploring career options, and boosting your future job prospects. During your placement, you'll reflect on your performance, develop real-world skills, and learn to approach your role with a critical eye. Your placement will be monitored, and you’ll be assessed on your achievements, setting you up for success in your final year and beyond.

    Core modules:

    Advanced Studio Practice

    In this module you will create a major final year portfolio  that will help you turn your ideas into reality in a personal and technically sound way.  You will develop, prototype, and produce responses to various assignments from tutors and industry, showcasing creative and technically innovative work.  You are expected to use technical skills and critical thinking from previous modules, interconnecting your areas of interest, using language, time, visuals, space, and physical materials in your work.  This module will help to enhance your technical independence and create a comprehensive and unique body of work that balances concepts, aesthetics, context, and usability, establishing an appropriate level of preparedness in advance of your journey into industry. 

    Contextual Design Research

    In this module you will learn how to create and show original ideas that are diverse and dynamic in scope and will fuel your creative endeavours in the final year of your course. Specialist tutors will support and guide you in researching important topics like ethics, society, sustainability, culture, and creativity, and how they relate to design. From this research, you'll gain insights to create innovative designs. The module builds on what you've learned in earlier studio classes, pushing you to develop various skills relevant to your field. Assignments emphasise the importance of context in the design process, and you’ll need to show evidence of your creative exploration and reflective practice in a visually rich research document. This course is closely connected to other studio-based courses in your degree program. 

    Theory as Practice 3

    The module is specifically designed to unfold throughout the final year, reflecting theoretical, technical and professional issues appropriate to your practice. The module is intended to be a critical and diagnostic tool with which to examine and extend your work. It can be made up of a series of outputs and will help you to determine and contextualise the direction of your practice-based modules. It concludes the undergraduate Theory as Practice programme.

    On average, 19.4%* of the study time on this course is spent in lectures, seminars, tutorials, workshops etc.

    *based on 23/24 programme specifications.

    This is a studio-based course with supporting lectures, seminars, tutorials and technical workshops which will help you to develop a sound understanding of theory relating to animation and motion graphics.

    The course focuses on practical experience and you will be taught by a team of active researchers with professional experience in the field. Assessment includes portfolio exhibition, reports, essays, presentations and case study analysis.

    Your module specification/course handbook will provide full details of the assessment criteria applying to your course.

    Feedback (usually written) is normally provided on all coursework submissions within three term time weeks – unless the submission was made towards the end of the session in which case feedback would be available on request after the formal publication of results.Feedback on exam performance/final coursework is available on request after the publication of results.

    Inspirational field trips to destinations of educational and cultural significance are a component of the course and will be funded by the University. Study trips may include visits to galleries, museums, and exhibitions.

    Further information

    The teaching year normally starts in September with breaks at Christmas and Easter, finishing with a main examination/assessment period around May/June. Timetables are normally available one month before registration.

    Your course is made up of modules and each module is worth a number of credits. Each year you study modules to the value of 120 credits, adding up to 360 credits in total for a bachelor’s qualification. These credits can come from a combination of core, compulsory and optional modules but please note that optional modules may not run if we do not have enough students interested.

    If you achieve 120 credits for the current stage you are at, you may progress to the next stage of your course, subject to any professional, statutory or regulatory body guidelines.

    1. The University of Huddersfield has been rated Gold in all three aspects of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023. We were the only university in Yorkshire and the Humber and the North West to achieve Gold ratings in all three aspects of the TEF among those announced in September 2023. In fact only 13 Universities, out of the 96 that were announced in September 2023, were Gold in all three ratings.

    2. Our teaching staff rank first in England for the proportion with higher degrees and teaching qualifications, as well as being top five for those holding doctorates (HESA 2025). So you’ll learn from some of the best, helping you to be the best.

    3. We are second in the country for National Teaching Fellowships, which mark the UK’s best lecturers in Higher Education, winning a total of 24 since 2008 (2025 data).

    4. We won the first Global Teaching Excellence Award, recognising the University’s commitment to world-class teaching and its success in developing students as independent learners and critical thinkers (Higher Education Academy, 2017).

    Visit ‘Our experts’ page where you’ll find in-depth profiles of all our academic staff

    At Huddersfield, you'll study the Global Professional Award (GPA) alongside your degree* so that you gain valuable qualities and experiences that could help you to get the career you want, no matter what your field of study is. On completion of the Award, you'll receive a GPA certificate from the University of Huddersfield, alongside the specialist subject skills and knowledge you gain as part of your degree, which may help to set you apart from other graduates.

    Giving students access to the Global Professional Award is one of the reasons the University won ‘Best University Employability Strategy’ award at the National Graduate Recruitment Awards 2021. Find out more on the Global Professional Award webpage.

    *full-time, undergraduate first degrees with a minimum duration of three years. This does not include postgraduate, foundation, top-up, accelerated or apprenticeship degrees.

    Placements

    The course offers an optional one-year (36 weeks minimum) work placement after the second year, in the UK or abroad. This will give you the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience, insight into your chosen career and open up your graduate employment prospects. Our Placement Unit and academic staff have excellent industry links and can support you in applying for and finding your placement(s), as well as during your placement year.

    Students within the area of Graphic Design and Animation have previously taken up placement opportunities with companies including: Fantastic Media; Territory Studio – London and Banter Media – Ashton under Lyne.

    You can find out more information on placements here.

    During my placement year at Airbus Helicopters GmbH in Donauwörth, Germany I created posters, infographics, social media material, assisted other colleagues in creating graphic elements and edited videos. My team were a great mix of people and helped me to develop my skills.

    Profile photo of Maria Lynam

    Maria Lynam, Graphic Design BA(Hons) final year student

    A gallery of work by our students and graduates from Graphic Design and Animation. Click on each image to find out more.

    Graphic Design Studio
    Create Lab
    Photography studios in Barbara Hepworth Building
    Canalside view of the Barbara Hepworth Building
    Students using the Mac facilities
    Print room

    Discover more about the course

    Your Career

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    Inspiring Graduate

    Get inspired by real students and their careers.

    Careers advice

    Check out the personalised guidance we offer you.

    Student Support

    Discover all the support available so you can thrive.

    Further Study

    Learn about pursuing a Master’s or PhD at Huddersfield.

    Research Excellence

    See how our innovative research shapes what you'll learn.

    Important information

    When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by our terms and conditions, Handbook of Regulations and associated policies. It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan.

    Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons:

    Changes to a course you have applied for but are not yet enrolled on

    If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment. We may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and if you are unhappy with the change we will discuss with you other suitable courses we can transfer your application to. If you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

    Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

    Changes to option modules

    Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have an equivalent range of options to that advertised for the course. We will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

    Major changes

    We will only make major changes to non-optional modules on a course if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change is a change that substantially changes the outcomes, or a significant part of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum. For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators or a commissioning or accrediting body. We may also make changes to improve the course in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback or to ensure you are being taught current best practice. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff being unable to teach due to illness, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to pandemics, other disasters (such as fire, flood or war) or changes made by the government.

    Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but may happen sooner in an emergency. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will consult with affected groups of students and any changes would only be made in accordance with our regulations. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you let us know before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for any additional tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so and you may be eligible for an exit award depending on how far through your course you are.

    In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed in accordance with the student protection plan.

    The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.

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