What is it about?
Communication is exchange. It takes place always and everywhere, through everything we hear and see and through our reactions to it. The art is to design communication in such a way that it actually gets through to the other person and is not lost in the general noise of information.
Communication design analyzes complex relationships, prepares them in an understandable way and presents them visually. This means that you deal with creative tasks as well as technical and strategic competence. The Bachelor's study program in Communication Design thus covers everything from print media to electronic media and applications.
Profile of the study program
Communication design deals with
- the visual design of content in analog and digital/interactive media
- the implementation of communication media, concepts and communication strategies
- Corporate design, book, magazine and poster design, campaign development, packaging design, illustration, web design, game design, interaction design and much more.
Conveying content visually
Communication design is needed in all areas that involve the social exchange of information, messages and opinions. During your studies, you will learn how to visually design content for analog, digital and interactive media. You will gain experience with different media and implement concepts and communication strategies. You will work on corporate design, book, magazine and poster design, campaign development, packaging design, illustration, web design, game design and interaction design.
Dynamic change due to digitalization
Communication and design are constantly changing, particularly as a result of digitalization. The Bachelor's degree program in Communication Design takes these developments into account and regularly adapts the course content. You will learn to analyze, prepare and present complex contexts and use your creative, technical and strategic skills to do so.
Professional qualification through application-oriented project work
The courses offered are geared towards current requirements in the professional world. You will acquire all the basic theoretical, methodological and practical skills you need in communication design. At the end of the course, you will be able to visually communicate content from a wide range of contexts, from art and culture to science, business studies and ecology.
Structure of the study program
The seven-semester course consists mainly of application-oriented project work. Practical tasks ensure a sound professional qualification. You will partly carry out university projects and partly work in cooperation projects with institutions and companies outside the university. The entire course is geared towards cooperation, communicative processes and national and international exchange. The exchange with the other Bachelor's study programs in the Faculty of Design - Film & Sound, Photography, Object and Spatial Design - is also an integral part of the course.
Bachelor of Arts, which offers many different employment opportunities
After successfully completing the program, you will receive a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree.
Specializations in the study program
Communication design - you will learn content ranging from classic print media to electronic media and applications.
Course of study
| 1st semester | Fundamentals of design | Design and presentation techniques | Typographic basics | Graphic representation | |
| 2nd semester | Basic project | Design and presentation techniques | Type, image, typography, layout | Science | Key competence: Presentation, rhetoric |
| 3rd semester | Design project | Media dialects | Additional competence | Science | Key competence: Scientific writing |
| 4th semester | Design project | Media dialects | Interdisciplinary project | Key competence: Economics, law |
|
| 5th semester | Design project | Media dialects | Interdisciplinary project | Science | |
| 6th semester | Design project | Media dialects | Additional competence | Science | |
| 7th semester | Bachelor project supervision | Thesis & colloquium | Key competence: Business start-up |
Why study at Fachhochschule Dortmund?
What makes Fachhochschule Dortmund special? What should you know about the city and the region? How is Fachhochschule Dortmund positioned in terms of internationality and what counseling and support do we offer you? Find out more about Fachhochschule Dortmund.
Who is it for?
Desirable subject-specific and interdisciplinary knowledge
The Bachelor's degree program in Communication Design may suit you if you have a penchant and skills for artistic design, like to communicate and condense complex contexts into generally understandable messages. Are you ready to analyze, organize, prepare and present extensive content in the best possible way? Then you might enjoy communication design.
Prospects after graduation
Career prospects
- Graduates work, for example, in
▪ Image production
▪ Agencies / design offices
▪ the publishing industry (book, magazine, online)
▪ the online or multimedia sector
▪ industrial or cultural enterprises
or as
▪ Exhibition or trade fair designer
▪ Set or production designer
▪ New media, web or game designer
▪ Graphic designer
▪ Information designer
▪ Screen, multimedia or interface designer
▪ Photo designer
Picture editor
Object decorator or packaging designer,
▪ Shop and retail designer
▪ Interior and exterior designer
Master programs
Information and counseling on the transition from university to work
Stay abroad possible during your studies
What do I need?
1. qualification / certificates and degrees
The qualification for studying at universities of applied sciences is proven by the certificate of the university of applied sciences entrance qualification or a previous education recognized as equivalent.
Here you will find a detailed description of the various recognized qualifications.
2. aptitude test
Admission to the assessment procedure for the course-related artistic and design aptitude requires registration. This application must be made online on the website of the Faculty of Design. The corresponding dates and deadlines are communicated on the faculty's homepage.
Applicants will be invited to the assessment procedure in writing after the application deadline.
The aptitude test consists of a review of the portfolio with the free work and the homework to be completed and - if the assessment committee deems it necessary - a personal interview with the committee. Both steps of the procedure take place on one day.
Tip: Visit the portfolio consultation of the faculty! All questions regarding your studies and portfolio will be discussed individually. A portfolio consultation will definitely help you to find out whether you are a good fit for this study program.
The Faculty of Design will inform applicants in writing of the committee's decision on the results of the procedure. The results are communicated as pass or fail. They must be accompanied by information on legal remedies.
With the result "passed", applicants are awarded the course-related artistic and creative aptitude. If the artistic and creative aptitude for the study program has been finally determined, the aptitude is generally valid for the three enrollment dates following the determination.
Applicants whose artistic/creative aptitude has not been established may participate in the assessment procedure again at the earliest on the following year's deadline.
Students who have already achieved 30 credit points (CP) in a related design course at another university can be exempted from participating in the course-related artistic and creative aptitude assessment upon application. The application must be submitted to the Chairperson of the Examination Board. Officially certified copies of the transcript of records must be submitted to the Chairperson of the Examination Board as proof of academic achievements.
3. relevant practical experience
Proof of twelve weeks of practical work is deemed to have been provided if the applicant has acquired the qualification for the degree program through the certificate of the university of applied sciences entrance qualification from a higher secondary school for design.
Applicants who have acquired the qualification for the degree program in another way must provide evidence of twelve weeks of practical work experience in a field related to communication design. At least half of the internship must be proven at the time of enrollment. The missing time of the internship should be made up at the earliest possible date; the corresponding proof must be submitted before the Bachelor's thesis at the latest.
The internship is deemed to have been completed through a relevant apprenticeship or through a one-year guided internship in the artistic and creative field or through a six-month relevant internship.
The relevant practical activity of 12 weeks duration must be demonstrated in a professional sector of communication design.
The following list gives you an indication of the areas in which you can complete the relevant practical activity for communication design:
- Advertising departments of industrial or service companies
- advertising agencies
- Graphic design offices, industrial design offices, design offices
- Newspaper publishers, book publishers
- Graphic design companies
- Photo studios
- Paper processing companies
- Bookbinderies
- Print shop
- Typesetting studios
- Repro studios
- Museum, gallery
- Radio and television stations
- Design centers (e.g. for signs, displays, outdoor advertising, illuminated advertising)
4. register now
The study program starts annually in the winter semester and is admission-free.
However, enrolment for the study program is only possible after recognition of aptitude and fulfilment of the other admission requirements!
Who can help me?
We will be happy to answer any questions you may have about the study program and Fachhochschule Dortmund.
Central Student Advisory Services (ZSB)
Student advisory service
Contact with students
Admissions Office for Student Affairs
Registration office team
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