Higher Education and Me
I want to enter the publishing industry as a graphic designer or a magazine designer as I really enjoyed the interactive magazine unit from last year, I'd also like to make book covers or posters. In general I've always really liked graphic design, but I wasn't sure I wanted to work in that industry until last year. I'd prefer to study locally as I still want to be close to my family, however I recognise that there aren't many opportunities here other than online and staying at home
I'd rather a course that included work placement as I want to have a start in the job industry rather than only doing college work. The universities that are ranked top 10 in the Fund Your Fees article (2022) are: University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, Northumbria University and the Middlesex University. These universities are also very hard to get into though, a few other universities listed are: the University of Reading, the University of the Arts London and the Manchester School of Art
Its recommended to get a bachelor's degree (in graphic design, journalism, marketing, communications or anything similar), work experience or an internship to excell at this job. Some people also start with entry level jobs at a magazine company to have a more likely chance to become a magazine designer when the job is open. Further education isn't required
99designs Team. (2016) Our top 17 graphic design courses in the UK . Available at: https://99designs.co.uk/blog/resources/best-graphic-design-courses-uk/. Accessed at: 18.09.22
Academic Invest. (Year unknown) How to Become a Magazine Designer. Available at: https://www.academicinvest.com/arts-careers/graphic-design-careers/how-to-become-a-magazine-designer. Accessed at: 18,09.22
Ancheta, M. (2020) The 10 Best Graphic Design Schools in the World. Available at: https://www.careeraddict.com/best-graphic-design-schools. Accessed at: 18.09.22
Indeed Editorial Team. (2021) How To Become a Magazine Designer (With Salary and Job Outlook). Available at: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/how-to-become-magazine-designer. Accessed at: 18.09.22
University of the People. (Year unknown) Top 10 Graphic Design Schools for Success. Available at: https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/top-10-graphic-design-schools/. Accessed at: 18.09.22
My Initial Choices
Map
Research
The University of the Arts London is considered the top 2 university in the world for Art and Design from the QS World University Rankings (2022) and has been for the past 4 years. The university focuses on art, design, fashion and media. It has six colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea College of Arts, London College of Communication, London College of Fashion and Wimbledon College of Arts. I would be in the London College of Communication. The course fee would be £9250 for year 1. While looking at reviews and on the UCAS website and on Google, the student satisfaction from this university is extremely low
University for the Creative Arts specialises in art and design - it also does business, technology, performance and immersive reality. Its one of the top universities in Farnham and is ranked #151-200 in QS WUR Ranking By Subject 2022 (Art & Design). They have campuses across the South East of England, the course I chose would be in Epsom. The provisional fee is £9250, although it can change. The reviews on UCAS are positive while it seems mixed on Google reviews
University of Bedfordshire offers a variety of different courses and focuses on employability. It has the benefit of the campus being closeby as I'd be in the Luton campus. There's no tuition fee for the placement year. The reviews on UCAS have low satisfaction but high employment rates, while the reviews on Google are also slightly mixed
Birmingham City University is the second largest university in Birmingham. There are two campuses in Birmingham, the City Centre campus and the City South campus. Its most famous courses are art and design, engineering, social sciences, digital media technology research degree, built environment research degree and law research degree. The fee for year one is £9250. The universities motto is "Do what you are doing; attend to your business". The UCAS ratings and reviews are pretty positive
Buckinghamshire New University is known for having unique courses such as policing and air transport with commercial pilot training (which has won an award), its art and design course is of excellent quality. Its ranked 12th in a list of the UK's most creative universities by the Huffington Post and is in the top 14 creative universities in the UK list by The Daily Telegraph. It has halls of residence thats guaranteed to all new BNU students with no deposit, 24/7 security and pastoral support and bills, wifi and insurance included in rent. The tuition is £9250 for year one. The UCAS ratings are also good and recent reviews are positive
Coventry University only has one campus that’s set in Coventry, a place featured as both a UK City of Culture and as one of the top five student cities in the UK by the QS Best Student Cities (2022). It has a Disruptive Media Learning Lab and is focused on innovative learning. The tuition fee will be £9250. There are no stats for it on UCAS and the reviews for it on Google are mildly positive
DN Colleges Group mainly focuses on employment opportunities and apprenticeships, working with local companies and employers. It has campuses in Doncaster and North Lindsey, my course would be in Doncaster. It’s the winner of the Best Further Education College (2019) from What Uni’s Student Choice Awards. There’s 82% student satisfaction on UCAS and the reviews are extremely positive even if they're slightly dated, having a total of 4.9/5 stars on What Uni
Arts University Bournemouth only has one campus, as in the name it mainly focuses on art and design but there’s also media and performance – with all of those courses frequently collaborating with each other. This focus has given the university a RIBA South West Award (2017). The tuition is £9250. On UCAS the student satisfaction is at 69%, employment rates being 85% and getting onto work and study is 90%. Student reviews are also generally positive, but there seems to be a reoccurring problem with communication
Blackburn College has a wide range of different courses and doesn’t specialise in one specific one. It gives its students support throughout their time here. Tuition fees for year one is £8250. Both the student satisfaction and employment rates are at 70%, while the go onto work and study portion is at 90%. On What Uni the reviews are positive but there’s still only 3/5 stars
AUB. (2022) Arts University Bournemouth. Available at: https://aub.ac.uk. Accessed at: 26.09.22
Birmingham City University. (2022) Birmingham City University. Available at: https://www.bcu.ac.uk. Accessed at: 26.09.22
Blackburn College. (2022) Blackburn College. Available at: https://www.blackburn.ac.uk. Accessed at: 26.09.22
Buckinghamshire New University. (2022) Home. Available at: https://www.bucks.ac.uk. Accessed at: 26.09.22
Complete University Guide. (2022) Arts University Bournemouth. Available at: https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/universities/arts-university-bournemouth. Accessed at: 26.09.22
Complete University Guide. (2022) Blackburn College Ranking UK 2022 / 2023. Available at: https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/universities/blackburn-college. Accessed at: 26.09.22
Complete University Guide. (2022) University of Bedfordshire Ranking UK 2022 / 2023. Available at: https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/universities/university-of-bedfordshire. Accessed at: 26.09.22
DN Colleges Group. (2022) DN Colleges Group. Available at: https://www.dncolleges.ac.uk. Accessed at: 26.09.22
Doncaster Chamber. (Year unknown) DN Colleges Group. Available at: https://business.doncaster-chamber.co.uk/list/member/dn-colleges-group-217. Accessed at: 26.09.22
Google. (2022) Coventry University. Available at: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=Coventry+University#lrd=0x48774bb75effb59d:0x2ecadf971e952708,1,,,. Accessed at: 26.09.22
Google. (2022) The University of the Arts London. Available at: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=The+University+of+the+Arts+London#lrd=0x48761b35ba2335d5:0x26ef23afd27717e5,1,,,. Accessed at: 26.09.22
Google. (2022) University for the Creative Arts. Available at: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=University+for+the+Creative+Arts#lrd=0x48742dad1cfba769:0x78f847b79c623abe,1,,,. Accessed at: 26.09.22
Google. (2022) University of Bedfordshire. Available at: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=University+of+Bedfordshire#lrd=0x487648412f849b6f:0x62ef34e0d59a13ad,1,,,. Accessed at: 26.09.22
Meridean. (2022) Birmingham City University UK, Intake, Ranking, Fees, Courses. Available at: https://www.meridean.org/university/birmingham-city-university. Accessed at: 26.09.22
SI-UK. (2022) Buckinghamshire New University. Available at: https://www.studyin-uk.in/profiles/university/buckinghamshire-new/. Accessed at: 26.09.22
Student Crowd. (2022) Arts University Bournemouth. Available at: https://www.studentcrowd.com/university-l1000607-s1008539-arts_university_bournemouth_the-bournemouth. Accessed at: 26.09.22
Student Crowd. (2022) Birmingham City University Reviews. Available at: https://www.studentcrowd.com/university-l1000444-s1008560-birmingham_city_university-birmingham. Accessed at: 26.09.22
Top Universities. (2022) Coventry University. Available at: https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/coventry-university. Accessed at: 26.09.22
Top Universities. (2022) University for the Creative Arts. Available at: https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/university-creative-arts. Accessed at: 26.09.22
Top Universities. (2022) University of the Arts London. Available at: https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/university-arts-london. Accessed at: 26.09.22
ual:. (2022) University of the Arts London. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk. Accessed at: 26.09.22
UCA. (2022) University for the Creative Arts. Available at: https://www.uca.ac.uk. Accessed at: 26.09.22
University of Bedfordshire. (2022) Home. Available at: https://www.beds.ac.uk. Accessed at: 26.09.22
What Uni. (2022) At Blackburn College. Available at: https://www.whatuni.com/university-course-reviews/blackburn-college/6177/. Accessed at: 26.09.22
Whatuni. (2022) At Buckinghamshire New University. Available at: https://www.whatuni.com/university-course-reviews/buckinghamshire-new-university/4146/. Accessed at: 26.09.22
What Uni. (2022) At DN Colleges Group. Available at: https://www.whatuni.com/university-course-reviews/north-lindsey-college/6895/. Accessed at: 26.09.22
My Final Five
University of The Arts London
University for the Creative Arts
University of Bedfordshire
Birmingham City University
Buckinghamshire New University
Questions
What assignments do you do on the course?
Is the place [university] is located very busy - if so, at what times?
What are the employment rates after graduating [university]?
If there is a hall of accommodations, how closeby is it to the campus?
How close is the campus to any towns, shops, ect.?
Is the equipment in the [university] up to date?
What are the common routes (bus, train, ect.) to get to the [university]?
UCAS Trip Images
Personal Statement Draft 1
I’ve always been interested in creative media ever since I can remember. When I was in primary school I would make book covers and write my own stories, when I was in secondary school I read books constantly and occasionally did art as a hobby. Its only recently that I realised I was interested in graphic design, it’s been a dormant interest that I’ve recently acted on now. I studied Level 3 Creative Media Production and Technology and my favourite unit in the course was the one where we had to design a magazine, I made a full twelve page magazine for my first year FMP as well.
During my spare time I like to read through websites such as It’s Nice That, a website dedicated to the wide world of graphic design and illustration, and I constantly try to follow many different graphic designers in the medium. After a long year of considering it, I’ve decided I want to follow this passion and study graphic design.
I’m extraordinary at researching and analysing data, getting a grade 6 in English. I also have a close attention to detail and can often spot out something quickly. During my time at secondary school I learnt how to persevere even through the toughest of situations.
Personal Statement Draft 2
Creative Media has been my passion for as long as I can remember. When I was in primary school I would make book covers and write my own stories, when I was in secondary school I read books constantly and created art as a hobby. Its only recently that I realised I was interested in graphic design, it’s been a dormant interest that I’ve recently acted on now.
I studied Level 3 Creative Media Production and Technology and my favourite unit in the course was designing a magazine, following this I made a full twelve page magazine for my first year FMP as well. On these two projects I used a camera to take photos for my magazines. I also did many other projects on that course such as a music video, movie trailer and a game show: all of them requiring me to make thumbnails.
During my spare time I like to read through websites such as It’s Nice That, a website dedicated to the wide world of graphic design and illustration, and I constantly try to follow many different graphic designers in the medium. After a long year of considering it, I’ve decided I want to follow this passion and study graphic design.
The reason I did a magazine for my FMP was because I’m specifically interested in designing for publishing, especially for books. I hope to be a graphic designer who specialises in that but I also recognise the significance of branching out to other subjects such as product design. When it comes to designing, I’m always open to trying new things.
I’m good at researching and analysing data, getting a grade 6 in English. I also have a close attention to detail and can often spot out something quickly. During my time at secondary school I learnt how to persevere even through the toughest of situations. As part of my research for my FMP I had to learn colour theory and I loved learning about it.
The main reason I’m interested in universities is to learn more about graphic design than I ever could before. While I’ve read much about it, I haven’t had a lot of extensive experience in design. Going to university would be my first big step into the industry and would give me professional experience.
Personal Statement Draft 2 Feedback
One of the biggest criticisms I got for my personal statement was that the sentences didn't provide enough information and that it overall didn't flow well. I struggled a lot with writing it as I didn't know what to put and wasn't confident in it and I think it shows. I was also aware there was a word limit, but I think this hindered me as it made me write in much shorter sentences
For my final draft, I'll add more detail and explain myself more, especially for my FMP section and for the reasons I'm interested in graphic design in the first place. I won't completely restart my personal feedback as I don't think that's necessary, but I’ll rearrange the order so the statement flows better
Personal Statement Draft 3
Creative Media has been my passion for as long as I can remember. When I was in primary school I would make book covers and write my own stories, when I was in secondary school I read books constantly and created art as a hobby
At first I was interested in writing, then illustration and I briefly tried music, but during my time at college I realised that what I really loved was graphic design. I liked going through any professional graphic designers’ portfolios, liked typography and looking for new fonts. At first this was something I did irregularly when it came on my social media feed but I quickly found myself seeking that content out and doing it more often. I would constantly browse through sites dedicated to graphic design like It's Nice That and follow any graphic designer I liked the work of
I loved the subject a lot but wasn't confident that I could do it until my first year of Level 3 Creative Media Production and Technology when I had to design an interactive magazine. Creating the magazine in Adobe InDesign was my favourite part of the entire year, I loved designing it and found it fun. I also wrote all the articles, voiced over and edited a short video about fast fashion and took photos for everything in the final product
Because of how much I enjoyed that unit, when I had to pick something for FMP I immediately knew what I'd do. Instead of a fashion magazine like I did for that unit, I decided to incorporate more of my interests in it by making it an art magazine instead. The magazine was completely original (I wrote all the six articles and designed all of it, including the branding and the mascot character), in it I interviewed six different artists and graphic designers. Being a full twelve page printed magazine, it took a lot of hard work but felt rewarding at the end. I learnt a lot from that unit as I had to work within a tight deadline and network with other creatives for interviews, I also did concept art for the mascot character and sketched general concepts for how I wanted the pages to be laid out. Once again my favourite part of the project was designing the magazine itself, I included the artist and designers works in the magazine and liked working around the art for page layouts
Throughout my journey with graphic design, I never had a specific subject I was interested in. Doing my FMP made me realise how much I loved book and magazine design in particular, I especially adore publishing as I like having a physical copy. I hope to be a graphic designer who specialises in book design, although I recognise the significance of branching out to other subjects. I also think product design in general is fascinating even if I have much less experience in it
Experience is the main reason I want to go to university. While I do know about some things to expect in the industry, I'd love to have more first-hand experience myself. By going to university I'll have new opportunities I wouldn't be able to find anywhere else, making me more prepared to work professionally in the industry. Another reason I'm interested in it as well is for finding new inspirations and close connections with other graphic designers and people in the industry
From my time at Barnfield College I have learnt how to use multiple Adobe products such as InDesign, Photoshop and Premiere Pro. As mentioned previously, for my interactive magazine unit I had to use a camera to take pictures for it. I've also used cameras to record videos such as for the game show unit and a short video for my art magazine. Something else I did in my game show unit was make graphics to be used in the episode: an animated opening sequence, the thumbnail and one of the graphics for a next round in the show
I’m good at researching and analysing data, getting a grade 6 in English. I'm also detailed oriented and can often spot out something quickly. Secondary school was difficult for me, but it taught me how to persevere even through the worst of situations
UCAS
