IADT is running a full-day, on-campus Graphic Design Portfolio Workshop on 18th February. You will be asked to complete a number of practical exercises to demonstrate your skills. Your work will be assessed, and you will receive portfolio points by the 1st March. See below for more details.
Our award-winning programme, has a unique focus on solving complex and diverse real-world problems, by combining the best principles of traditional, new, and emergent graphic design practices to produce highly employable and entrepreneurial graduates with transferable skills that are much sought after by industry.
Once you have applied via CAO for BA [Hons] Graphic Design, IADT will contact you directly to invite you to attend the Portfolio Workshop on 18th February. This is an on-campus workshop from 9.30am–4pm.
You will complete four practical exercises which aim to assess your skills in:
Your work will be submitted at the end of the day. It will be scored out of a maximum of 600 points. You will receive your Portfolio Workshop points by March 1st, 2026.
IADT will supply a range of materials on the day, but we are happy for you to bring your own drawing materials & media too.
*Note to applicants – in addition to the above Portfolio Workshop application, you can also submit a portfolio by uploading to IADT’s digital portfolio platform by March 10th. Your highest score from either of these methods of application will be counted as your CAO score.
| Portfolio Submission | Key Dates |
| Portfolio Submission Opens | December 2025 |
| CAO Application Deadline | 1 February 2026 |
| Portfolio Workshop | 18 February 2026 |
| Portfolio Workshop Results | 1 March 2026 |
| Portfolio Submission Deadline | 10 March 2026 |
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Graphic Design builds on the success of the Visual Communication Design programme, retaining its emphasis on crafting and shaping text and image into coherent and inventive stories, visual artefacts, products, systems, services and experiences. The programme further builds on it’s core principle of interdisciplinarity, by expanding into new fields and blending practices in line with the rapidly changing nature of contemporary design and technology.
Our unique offering, provides small class sizes, a dedicated workspace in state of the art studios, a structured timetable with intensive support from a dedicated teaching team of highly qualified, award-winning lecturers, researchers and professional designers.
We officer industry placements and professional studio practice in Year 3 as well as Erasmus exchanges across Europe, and overseas cultural field trips with your class. This ensures a high quality education and student experience of creative studio practice.
We have a broad range of Erasmus partnerships in Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, and Spain, and is constantly expanding this network. The option to study abroad through the Erasmus Programme is available for one semester in either Years 2 or 3.
Click here to see a showcase of our graduate’s work
Click here for an archive of work from across all four years
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Graduates are highly sought after by industry as proven by high levels of graduate employability and many successes in national and international awards. Areas of employment include: advertising, brand identity, design consultancy, design education, design entrepreneurship, design journalism, design for print and/or screen, design for experiences, design research, design writing and research, digital product design, motion graphics for online digital media, film or television, project management, systems and services design, user-interface and user-experience design (UI/UX).
Completion of the Graphic Design programme opens up many and varied pathways to specialist postgraduate research. Typical examples include further study in: advertising, art/design direction, data-visualisation, design entrepreneurship, design ethics, design futures, design writing and research, illustration, information design, motion design, service design, systems design, typography, UI/UX, and visual and material culture studies.
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Approximately €500 per year (in years 1, 2 and 3) for art and design materials. You may also have an opportunity to take part in international field trips in Years 1 and 2 (not compulsory) which cost approx. €500 per trip (which may also be covered by the SUZI grant). Your Year 4 exhibition is your professional showcase; we advise you to budget a minimum of €1000 for this. Please consult with your tutors before purchasing expensive equipment. This will typically comprise a laptop computer (preferably Apple, the design industry standard), a digital camera with an interchangeable lens, a heavy tripod, or a smartphone capable of computational photography. You will need external storage devices for backing up your work. You should anticipate third party software subscriptions of approx. €20 per month.
