Aalto University’s School of Art, Design and Architecture is pleased to announce that the Media Department will be offering two new major tracks beginning in the fall of 2016: Information Design and Visual Narrative, both in the programme of Visual Communication Design.
At Aalto, design skills are blended with the approaches of other disciplines to ask pressing questions and pose essential problems. Critical design responses are situated within cultural, conceptual, and political contexts.
Masters studies are in English. In Finland, tuition is currently free of charge without the need to apply for scholarships. Students are expected to cover all living expenses (app. 800 EUR per month) and other study-related costs from their own financial resources.
When it comes to stories, all sorts of creative people have them. Designers, authors, animators, graphic novelists, video game programmers and children’s book illustrators are all explorers that use visuals to tell tales. And now there’s a place for them.
Visual Communication Design is changing rapidly. Aesthetics remain an important part of solutions that now include new forms such as storytelling, experiences, and authorship. Boundaries between disciplines are quickly disappearing. The Visual Narrative major at Aalto touches on many disciplines, and brings together skill sets from visual communication design, writing, interactive media, film and games to focus on visualizing personal expression. Founded with the methodologies of design and storytelling, the major blends creative writing with the digital technologies that are transforming all narratives—in comic books and games, on film and the web—into hybrid visual media.
Visual Narrative students will emerge from the programme with their own narrative tools and a unique, self-initiated body of work, preparing them to be the storytellers of tomorrow. Some of our courses include: Hybrid Literature, Storytelling, and Visual Narrative.
Information Design is the other exciting new track at Aalto.
It has been estimated that humanity doubles its data every two years. The demand for well-designed visual presentation of information is rapidly expanding. Information design is a skill with applications far beyond the traditional design professions. Information Designers shape data-driven messages in order to make knowledge accessible visually. Our new major practices the communication of information with imaginative methods fostering efficient and effective understanding.
Information design is a highly interdisciplinary field, combining skills from graphic design, interaction design, and computer science. Our major is informed by visual communication, science and engineering, business intelligence, cartography, journalism, and service design.
Information Design students will emerge from the programme with skills allowing them to work in publication design, visual/data journalism, geo-informatics, and data analysis. Some of our courses include: Dynamic Visualization Design, Critical Design, and Interactive Visualization.
More about our programmes, faculty, and how to apply can be found on our new website.
