Ballyfermot College of Further Education BCFE
Course Code AGH
NFQ Level 6*
Duration 2 Years
Award Year 1: Pearson BTEC Higher National Certificate in Art and Design (Graphic Design)
Award Year 2: Pearson BTEC Higher National Diploma in Art and Design (Graphic Design)
Start your graphic design career right here, on BCFE’s award winning two-year Higher National Diploma in Graphic Design. This exciting and intense programme will equip you with all the skills and know how, to begin a successful and rewarding career as a design creative.
Working to tailored in-house and live competition briefs enables you to develop exceptional technical and visual language skills, while developing the ability to respond to a wide range of challenging graphic design projects.
You will be actively encouraged to engage with a range of methods, digital and non-digital, to explore the entire spectrum of graphic design practice including typography, magazine design, illustration, idea generation, corporate identity, and branding, developing personal style, art direction, packaging design, motion and interactive graphic design, and graphic design history and theory.
You can see students’ work below, on our graphics design course website and also on the uplift 2021 website.
End of Year 1 Certification Higher National Certificate in Art and Design (Graphic Design)
End of Year 2 Certification Higher National Diploma in Art and Design (Graphic Design)
Students should bring to the interview a professionally presented portfolio of recent and original works from life/ observation and in a wide range of media showing a variety of subject matter, including:
View More TestimonialsI would highly recommend the Graphic Design course at BCFE to anyone interested in studying or working in the field. It is an incredibly diverse, challenging and rewarding progamme of study that went way beyond my expectations of what is possible to learn in just two years. There is a wonderful variation in the different modules taught in the course; design history, typography, motion graphics, ideas generation, editorial to name just a few! Everyone has their own Apple Mac computer to work on and high quality printers are provided for printing up final projects. In terms of value, there is no comparison. The teaching staff are fantastic! Their experience and enthusiasm for the subject of visual communication is inspiring. They are generous with advice and always patient and encouraging. The dedication they show to teaching is really motivating. It is unique to find such willingness to share expertise and their contribution to the success of the course cannot be underestimated. From the beginning they in-still a great work ethic, which is vital when it comes to finding work in the industry. I came to the course as a graduate of Fine Art. Having completed my degree almost ten years ago, I was nervous that I might find it difficult to use the computer software. This was never an issue, lessons were meticulously planned out and guidance was always available where needed for any students. I was delighted to be able to start my career as a Graphic Designer as soon as I finished the course. When I started work I found that everything I learned at BCFE had fully prepared me for the job and I am so grateful for that. If you want to be a Graphic Designer, DO THIS COURSE!!
Emily Good, Graphic Designer
Design – Graphic Design (Visual Communications) Level 6 Higher (AGH)
On successful completion of Year 1 of a two-year Higher National Diploma (HND) an Higher National Certificate (HNC) will be claimed for each 1st Year HND student. It will be included as part of the overall HND award on successful completion of Year 2.