Design is an all-encompassing field that features heavily in our everyday lives. From the clothes we wear to the websites we visit, design permeates everything we do, see and want from the smallest detail to worldwide symbols. Studying a graduate course in design is your opportunity to make your mark and further your career as a designer. From fashion to product design, furniture to theatre, jewellery to transport and more recently, computer graphics, information design and design using multi-media, graduate programs are many and varied offering you the chance to discover your niche and improve our daily lives.

Providers of graduate design courses will vary in the range and specialisation of their design activity. If you are certain of your area of expertise, you can only stand to gain by being surrounded by diversity. The work of fine artists and crafts designers can influence those working within the harder, more commercial end of the spectrum of design activity and vice versa.

Some graduate courses in design have a mass production focus - designers for industrial production - whilst others cater for designers who intend to be designer-makers in the area of contemporary craft production for example. You may wish to consider graduate courses that include a significant proportion of business or management studies. A number of graduate programs in design now combine study of design with business.

Many graduate courses in design will contain professional studies. This will help you find employment and help you to work well within a professional design environment and even improve your chances of setting up a successful design business of your own if that interests you.

Of course, each institution will vary in its specific admission criteria but generally speaking, the following advice is standard. Admissions tutors will look for evidence of your academic ability but more importantly, they will want to see a portfolio of your own design work. You may be expected to discuss this in some detail and explain how you hope to develop your work in the future. Sometimes tutors will ask you to attempt a sample design project so that they can diagnose where your strengths lie. Others may ask you to complete a questionnaire about your approach to design or about your views on designed objects. This is all to help the staff get a picture of your existing skills and interests. Tutors will want to be sure that you are embarking on the graduate program that is right for you. An interview will usually follow your submission of your portfolio.

A graduate course in design is fantastic start to your career. When choosing your graduate program, be sure to research the facilities, resources and quality of teaching. Stand out from your piers and get a competitive edge by studying a graduate course in design.

With thanks to:
Jenny Hann,
Head of Industrial Design,
Coventry School of Art and Design,
Coventry University