Graphic design is presentation-focused, and so from your portfolio we're hoping to see you embrace the challenge of presenting your own work in a clear and compelling way.
- Show us between three and six projects. These can be from school or college or be more personally-directed.
- Demonstrate the progression within each project, from initial sketches to finished items.
- Show us your interests and the knowledge you've gained so far.
- Bear in mind that you won't be there when we look at your work. This means that your portfolio needs to be self-explanatory.
- Include graphic design techniques such as annotations, footnotes, diagrams, and any other methods that interact with your content.
- Your portfolio can include work of any size and any medium. If your work is more physical than digital in nature, photographs are welcome.
Your written work
Our course is academically focused, so we offer you the chance to provide a single piece of written work so that we can assess your skills in this area.
This could be an essay or report from school or college (from any subject), or a piece of personal writing.
If you don't have an academic essay, you are welcome to show us a piece of written work that demonstrates your commitment to principles that you think we might value: work ethic, creativity, typography, research, or professional design skills.
We value argument and discussion over a more "narrative" approach. We like to see footnotes, citations, or a bibliography, demonstrating an academic approach.
As with the portfolio, this work is optional, and you only need to provide it if you feel it will help your application.
Visit day schedule
The programme for the Visit Days is as follows:
- 09.00–09.45: Registration
- 09.45: Welcome from our current students, meet and greet
- 10.00–11.00: Get to know our course: roundtable discussion
- 11.00–12.00: Typography workshop: a sample class from our course
At the end of the Visit day, staff and students will still be on hand to continue discussions for as long as it’s useful. We want you to get what YOU need from the day.
Location for Visit Days
The Visit Day on campus will take place at the Department of Typography and Graphic Communication, which is located near the Earley Gate entrance to the Whiteknights campus at the University of Reading. For further information about travelling to the University of Reading and a map of the Whiteknights campus, please visit www.reading.ac.uk/about/visit-us.aspx. The Department of Typography and Graphic Communication is Building 21 (TOB2) on the Whiteknights campus map.
Connecting to virtual Visit Days
If you book to attend a virtual event we will send you a meeting invitation via email, which will contain a link to join the virtual event. The meeting invitation will be sent to you closer to the date of your virtual visit day. No special software is needed, though the experience will be far better on a laptop or desktop computer than on a phone or tablet.
We suggest:
- A quiet, comfortable space in your home
- A strong network connection (ideally a wired connection)
- A good computer that you trust
- Headphone with a built-in microphone
Please also remember that we’d love to actually see you, so if you plan to put your camera on do think carefully about your location, lighting, and privacy.
Information for parents
The Visit day is aimed at applicants, but parents and guardians are free to join in, observe and ask questions.
