Influences behind Design and Visual Communication Programme Outlined by St Mary’s School of Arts and Humanities

Programme Director for Design and Production at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, Lee Brooks, has had his topic of expertise; Disney theme parks, featured by the Daily Telegraph.

Lee, a former typographic and interactive designer who teaches on and convenes a wide range of practical and theoretical modules that combine his professional experience and academic expertise, is currently leading on the development of an Undergraduate Design and Visual Communication Programme, which is open for applications for September 2018. 

Having reviewed the merits and unique aspects of parks globally for the Telegraph, Lee reflected, “The lure of Disney parks was, for me, always about the attention to design detail. Seemingly tiny elements, such as the distinctly different typography used in signage for Disneyland and Walt Disney World, or the bold graphical style employed in the classic attraction posters that line the entrance tunnel to the parks, even the shapes and colours of the popcorn containers, were, in many ways the things that motivated me to become a graphic designer.”

St Mary’s Design and Visual Communication Degree offers a highly focused, practice-based programme of study, which both challenges and develops aspiring graphic designers in a range of inter-related disciplines. 

A commitment to the fundamental skills of creative problem solving sits at the heart of this programme: How designers within a modern, global information economy need to not just create beautiful and effective visuals, but also communicate story and meaning in ways that can be widely understood.

Commenting on the creation of the new Design and Visual Communication programme Lee added, “I have made it the central abiding principle of our Design and Visual Communication degree, that all design is about story, both the story that the designer chooses to visually convey, but also the stories, however diverse they may be, that form his or her visual vocabulary.”

“You could say that Disney theme parks helped to form me as a designer, and have therefore contributed to the creation of this new, and exciting degree programme.”

 Head of The School of Arts and Humanities at St Mary’s, Prof Karen Sanders added, “Our Design and Visual Communication degree course approaches learning in an innovative, integrated and holistic manner.

“We are delighted that students joining us next Autumn will have the opportunity to apply to study design alongside a number of other ambitious Communications degrees – designed in consultation with leading figures in the marketing and communications industries.

“Our new programmes aim to give students the most up-to-date and effective insight into the world of media relations, the business of marketing and its application in the modern workplace – with helping our students build their careers at the very heart of programme development.”