Master in Graphic Design

The Master's Degree in Graphic Design offers comprehensive training for professional specialisation in graphic design and visual communication. With a multidisciplinary approach, the programme covers various branches of design, including visual identity, advertising, editorial design, packaging, UX/UI design and motion graphics, as well as cross-disciplinary subjects such as typography, photography, illustration, international graphic design trends and design software.

The programme is structured into four modules that complement each other. Upon completion of the master's degree programme, students will have a solid foundation in both the conceptualisation and development of diverse projects and the use of digital and analogue tools necessary to carry out projects creatively and with a critical mindset in different areas of design.

With an eminently practical approach, the aim of the master's degree programme is to provide students with the necessary knowledge to tackle graphic design and communication assignments in a professional environment. The projects carried out in during the programme are designed to form part of a personal portfolio, which acts as a letter of introduction to the job market.

This master's degree is aimed at graduates in advertising, industrial design, journalism, fine arts, photography, illustration, interior design, audiovisuals and applied arts, as well as professionals in the sector without specific qualifications who wish to update their creative, digital and methodological knowledge and skills.

Module 1 – Practice and Experimentation

The first module is a space for practice and experimentation, introducing the essential elements of graphic design: the study of form, the versatility of typography as an element of information and as a plastic value, and illustration as a tool for reflection and expansion of meaning.

Text, Image and Experimentation

• What is graphic design?
• Theory of form
• Colour
• Image synthesis
• Image-colour-typography harmonies
• Composition and communicative intention
• Reading, legibility and contrast
• Communication of cultural events
• Introduction to Printing

Illustration Workshop

• Graffiti
• Children's illustration
• Opinion illustration
• Collage
• Fashion illustration

International Graphic Design: Fundamental Visions and Movements

• Chronological introduction to graphic design.
• Early 20th century. The artistic avant-garde.
• The Bauhaus (Germany, 1919-1933).
• The pioneers of American graphic design.
• Europe, 1950s: rational/functional design.
• The 1960s: graphic expressiveness.
• Europe beyond functional graphics
• From postmodernism to contemporary graphics.

Typography Workshop I

• Introduction to typography: history, proportion and personality.
• Typographic distinction: classification and historical review.
• Typographic language: basic anatomy and typeface families.
• Spacing and alignment: introduction and application.
• Typographic design based on calligraphy.
• Legibility and readability.

Graphics and vector images applied to design

• Bitmap vs vector.
• Basic and complex shapes.
• Illustration control.
• Typographic editing.
• Use and management of colour.
• Use and work with images.
• Creation of illustrations with Prompts, generative enlargement of shapes and repetitive patterns with Artificial Intelligence.

Module 2 – Project exploration and development

This module establishes the fundamentals of the Master’s Thesis. Students, grouped into teams, receive a brief with the assignment topic, which includes the different projects to be carried out. The objective is to find a concept that allows for the development of a Visual Identity that is flexible enough to be adapted to different communication languages.

Analysis and Research

• Briefing and interpretation
• Benchmarking and research
• Structure of the report

Naming Workshop

• Brand identity elements
• Creative strategy
• Namelist
• Short list
• Filtering candidate names
• Application and granting by the OEPM

Visual Identity

• Brand and identity
• Brand building
• Benchmarking
• Design: Basic elements of identity
• Standardisation

Colour Workshop

• Colour as a visual and sensory experience
• Observing and detecting
• Fad, Trend and Macrotrend
• Colour in Branding
• Digital colour palette

Photography Workshop

• The device. Translator of the visual imaginary.
• Connection between devices, processes and light.
• From drawing machines to cameras.
• Chemical and virtual processes.
• Reading light.
• Imagination and conceptualisation.
• Between mind and matter.
• Visual language as a design tool.

Typography Workshop II

• The letter: Construction.
• Lettering: Personality.
• The block: Narration.
• Typography and Illustration: Integration.
• The headline: Attention.

Graphics and logo animation

• Working methodology in After Effects
• Basic property animation
• Advanced animation (interpolation modes)
• Speed curves
• Interpretation of compositions (final render)

Post-production and digital retouching

• Resolution and formats.
• Colour and selection.
• Basic photomontage.
• Layers and styles.
• Text and selection.
• Advanced composition.
• Generative Fill, Generative Expand, removing objects with Firefly and Artificial Intelligence.

Module 3 – Communication and Expression of the concept

Based on the Visual Identity created in module 2, we proceed to adapt it to different platforms and communication channels. The concept turned into a brand is transformed into a publication, a range of packaging, an advertising campaign and a website. Always maintaining the same tone of voice of the brand and/or concept.

Design and Editorial Art Direction

• Overview of fundamental aspects of editorial design
• Construction and development of grids and guidelines
• Visual connotations of different types of projects
• Key role of magazines in contemporary culture

Packaging Design

• Die-cutting and Packaging
• Cosmetics packaging
• Information hierarchies
• Photography and illustration
• Colour codes by category
• Delicatessen and mass market food

Creative Direction and Advertising Strategy

• Introduction to briefing
• Benchmarking and positioning
• Moodboard
• Analysis of the idea generation process
• How to transform a concept into an advertising campaign
• Creativity
• Advertising and the advertising agency
• Creative implementation in online and offline environments

Interface design (UX/UI)

• HTML language
• Document structuring and information hierarchies
• CSS Cascading Style Sheets
• Information structure and web architecture
• Usability
• Interface design
• Formats and responsive design

Digital composition of publications

• Interface and graphic structure
• Design and conceptualisation of a project
• Text and image management
• Use and management of colour
• Templates and styles
• Integration of images and graphics
• Prepress and PDF creation
• Workflow with artificial intelligence

Module 4 – Analysis, selection and presentation of the Master's Thesis

The final module consists of compiling the projects carried out to turn them into a unified whole that will be presented as the Master's Thesis.

On the day of the final presentation, the different teams present their project to a panel of professionals, accompanied by a digital projection.

Tutorial I

The teams present their projects to a tutor in the following areas: Visual Identity, Editorial Design and Art Direction, Packaging Design, Creative Direction and Advertising Strategy, and Interface Design (UX/UI). Together with the tutor, they make an initial selection of projects and identify areas for improvement.

Tutorial II

The final projects to be presented in the Master's Thesis are selected and shaped to form a cohesive and compact body of work. The presentation is rehearsed to ensure it fits within the time available for the presentation of the Master's Thesis.

Tutorial III

In a third session, the report is reviewed before being approved for submission to the Master's Thesis panel.