Graphic Design & Multimedia / Master–degree studies
Designing Reading Experience and Multimedia Narratives Interdisciplinary Master’s Degree Program in Polish and English
Designing Reading Experience and Multimedia Narratives is an interdisciplinary MA program in the Faculty of Graphic Design that will prepare you to take up design challenges in the field of visual communications, narration, and interaction. As a student of this program, you will learn how to design to address real-life needs.
The reality we live in is an immense universe of information that is conveyed by signs, texts, ideograms, and symbols. To move freely in this vast infinity of data we need to code it and decode it constantly. How to design to be understood and to achieve the intended objectives? This unique 2-year program will provide you with all the relevant knowledge, skills, and social competence to discern and define users’ needs. Equipped with these, you will be able to select appropriate tools and then produce purposeful and effective messages. All of them are core components of socially responsible design and a designer’s awareness – both of the environment, community, and his or her self.
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CURRICULUM
Our priority is to prepare you to work on various projects in the field of typography, editing, visual identification, data visualization, interface design, animation, games, and VR. We want to make you acquainted with research-driven design and provide you with practical tools to cultivate strong problem-solving skills. Your diploma can cover one of the following design areas:
Designing reading experience
A text is not just the content. What matters and influences your reading experience is also the visual quality of the text. A skilled designer has to bear it in mind. During these classes, you will learn how to analyze content carefully, and then apply appropriate visual and typographic means to address users’ needs. Typography, visual information, editing, as well as lettering and sign classes will present you with relevant methods and tools used in the process of reading experience design.
Multimedia narratives
Narration is a lot more than just telling stories. A skillful narration turns abstract terms into real ones thanks to appropriate methods like analysis and synthesis. In class, you will find out how to use communication theory to influence the receiver in an intended way and how to evoke certain reactions. What’s more, you will get acquainted with professional tools that are employed to create messages and tell stories in different design endeavors – for example in multimedia, digital publications, animation, and illustration. Time to see if your ideas work – you will put them into tests in our well-equipped LORI film studio and by using VR technology.
Seminars
One of our priorities is to provide our students with an environment where they can thrive and develop practical skills. We also want them to grow awareness towards the design process, a designer’s role in society, and the natural environment. How do we achieve it? First of all, we invite students to join a creative space where they can exchange their thoughts and opinions. This unique space is created by collaborating students of two faculties – Graphic Design and Product Design. During seminars and conversation meetings students can engage in discussions about ethics, history of design, sociology, semiotics as well as culture and economics. Such meetings are also a great opportunity to learn how to present your ideas, argue your design choices, and constructively handle feedback. What’s more, you will develop not only your design skills but also polish your foreign language skills. In our conversation meetings, cutting-edge trends and a variety of design problems will be discussed in English.
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THE ACADEMY, STUDIOS & EVENTS
It’s not only studying that matters. During this 2-year-long program you will be invited to discover a creative space around you. The Academy, local events, art institutions, and the city of Katowice create a unique place to develop and hone your creative skills.
Studios and labs at your disposal
Where and how will you deepen your knowledge? Some of the best-equipped studios in Poland are waiting for you. Photography, animation, and computer games – whatever your creative endeavors are, you will find studios (including a film one) at your disposal to work on your projects. Are you into sounds and interactions? We also offer specialized laboratories where students can pursue their design ideas in the field of sound, moving pictures and interactions. A printing house with a bindery run by specialists with passion is yet another place available for students on site.
Insightful, skill-building classes
We’ll offer you ample space to exchange ideas with lecturers, experts, and fellow students. Our seminars and conversation meetings are an excellent opportunity to exchange knowledge, compare experiences, and discuss problems in the fields of philosophy, ethics, history of design, sociology, semiotics, communication theory, culture, and economics.
You will also learn how to present your ideas, argue your design choices, and constructively handle feedback. What’s more, you will be able to polish your foreign language skills. In our conversation meetings, cutting-edge trends and a variety of design problems will be discussed in English.
Art galleries and cultural events
The creative space you will get invited to reaches far beyond the Academy building and includes internationally recognized cultural events. A great example is the Agrafa design conference that gathers prominent speakers from all over the world – innovators, designers, and philosophers – and makes an ideal venue to discuss the design challenges of the modern world.
A place that is definitely worth paying regular visits is Rondo Sztuki – a one-of-a-kind gallery run by the Academy of Fine Arts that sits in the heart of Katowice. A popular venue for numerous exhibitions and cultural events, it gathers both local artists and internationally-recognized celebrities, as well as students and the Academy lecturers.
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YOUR JOB PROSPECTS
As a student in this program, you will acquire several practical skills. You will learn how to solve complex design problems and how to think creatively. What's more, you will find out how to define users’ needs and create products that address them. Yet another skill we want you to master is how to build and coordinate complex projects and thrive in interdisciplinary teams. Your job prospects are ample with such competences.
Once you graduate, you can pursue plenty of design careers. Visual identification systems designer, UX designer, exhibition space designer, or font designer? These are just a few job opportunities that will open up for you. With all the newly gained competences you can engage in the work of interdisciplinary teams, including R&D, in several industries.
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KATOWICE IS THE PLACE TO STUDY IN
If you’ve been toying with the idea of studying in Katowice, we’re about to dispel any doubts you may have. Katowice is the capital of one of the largest and most dynamically developing metropolitan areas in Europe. A city in constant flux, it is not only a significant industrial hub but also a flourishing center of science and entertainment, with numerous cultural events of a global scale held throughout the year.
The city will leave you stunned with its exquisite pearls of architecture. There’s the magical Nikiszowiec with its tidy red brick facades and over a hundred years of fascinating history, the monumental, UFO-looking Spodek arena, or the prestigious Culture Zone, where the architects successfully married the post-industrial with the modern.
Katowice has been designated a UNESCO Creative City of Music, so get ready for a host of musical attractions, including such renowned events as Tauron Nowa Muzyka with its unique fusion of jazz, dance and electronic rhythms, the iconic Rawa Blues, or the Off Festival for all the alternative souls out there. And let’s not forget about the iconic Mariacka Street, a place bustling with life and music winter or summer, and a favorite hangout spot for students and local citizens alike.
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WHO CAN APPLY?
This program is for you if creativity and responsibility are the best words that describe you.
Don’t hesitate to apply if you have a diploma in one of the following disciplines: design, visual communication, graphic design, architecture, urban planning, interior design, exhibition space design, multimedia, user experience design, environmentally sustainable design, cultural studies, humanities, and social science.
To become a student in this program, you need to have a bachelor’s or master’s degree from an accredited college or university, and if you want to pursue your studies in English, you are required to submit a certificate of language proficiency (at least B2 level or equivalent).
