Digital Design BSc (Hons)

Overview

The Guardian University Guide 2025 found that Brunel's Design graduates have the second best career prospects in the UK.

Our Digital Design BSc degree is a modern, hands-on course that combines digital technology and creative design. It's been developed to equip you with the knowledge and practical skills to create, design, and develop interactive and engaging digital products, services and experiences, and 2D/3D graphical content. You can see real examples of the kind of work you'll produce by viewing this showreel of project work by our students.

Professional and transferable skills required for working in the creative digital industries are developed throughout each year of the course. Our modern, industry-standard digital media facilities include a green screen and post-production studio, motion capture, photography, and sound studios, 360° VR and up to 12K cameras, lenses, motion controllers and lights, and a dedicated render farm. You'll have independent access to exclusive PC and Mac computing workshops and benefit from the latest industry-standard specialist software for graphic design and image/video editing, 3D animation, game development, and rich interactive content creation. There's also the opportunity for you to use our immersive virtual environment laboratory.

There are guest lectures covering lots of different digital media topics and the visiting lecturers provide industry insight and advice on how to structure your portfolio and showreels. Speakers include creative and design directors, user experience designers, 3D graphic supervisors, as well as mobile and web developers.

Visits are arranged to design agencies, TV and photography studios, and post-production houses. There’s also the opportunity to go to conferences and this is your chance to build networks with key industry experts. In addition, you have the advantage of Brunel’s close location to London for trips to exhibitions celebrating the creative industries.

The course can be studied full-time over three years, or four years with a placement year. We encourage the placement year option. This time in industry helps you to further prepare for the world of work, and you’ll have a year’s worth of invaluable professional experience when you graduate. If you decide to go on a digital media placement year, you'll have the opportunity to work within the ever-growing creative industries.

The end-of-year highlight is the degree show. Exhibiting your creative work at this event is a great way for you to connect with leading creative technologists and showcase your talent. To see some of our final year students discussing their end-of-degree projects, watch this short video.

Brunel’s digital design course is fully accredited and industry recognised by ScreenSkills, the industry-led skills body for the UK’s screen-based industries. It carries the ScreenSkills Select quality mark which indicates that it is best suited to prepare you for a career in the screen industries.

Brunel’s digital media courses are the only courses accredited by ScreenSkills in the areas of design, animation and VFX within London and the South East.

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You can explore our campus and facilities for yourself by taking our virtual tour.

Course content

From day one, you will start building a strong portfolio of your creative work ready for industry. The course is focused primarily on interactive practical skills supported by subject knowledge, theory, and live project briefs provided by our industry collaborators. In your final year, you will work on your individual major digital design project which could involve the design of a web or mobile app.

Year 1

Compulsory

Foundations of Interactive Digital Media Development
Provides the fundamental JavaScript programming that covers foundation of interactive digital media development. It teaches important concepts, students will find in every coding language, such as variables, arrays, functions, objects, classes, control flow and events. In this module, the student will understand key programming technical in interactive media.
Introduction to Professional Practice in the Creative Industries
Engages students with the different aspects of the creative industry landscape in the UK, covering, Digital Design 3D and VFX. Students will take part in independent research into an area of interest in the creative industry, as well as visit a creative industry agency or meet industry guest lecturers and start building a personal networking of design industry professionals.
Introduction to Motion Design
An introduction into bringing your designs to life by making them move. Adding style and character to your graphic design and branding, to create engaging content for all your screen based media.
Digital Photography and Video Production
Gives an opportunity to explore digital photography and video production and how they can be combined to create compelling visual content. Utilises professional studio-based practice using industry standard equipment and studio facilliites. In addition to production aspects, post production for video and photography is also introduced.
UX Design with Creative Technologies
This module explores applications of creative digital technologies, investigating artefacts involving technologies such as: AI, Interactive Games, Web and IoT and Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality. In so doing, it introduces the theory and practice of UX and interaction design for designing creative digital artefacts and develops supporting knowledge and skills for Web design and development to creatively promote the designed digital artefacts.
Design Communication
Aim: To enable students to have an appreciation of visual literacy in the context of design and visual expression, appreciating the context of visual thinking and to develop visual thinking techniques and processes through a variety of media. To help students develop foundation skills in visual communication, graphic communication, visualisation, design and the use of computer-generated media methods.

Year 2

Compulsory

Applied Media Aesthetics
This module explores asthethics and design associated with a range of final visual and audio outputs, for example branding, web, video, motion, sound, mobile, social media and direct marketing. Students work with external companies and engage with research and design work through milestones to help them produce a final output for the company in a group project.
Experimental Digital Futures
This module aims to analyse and develop knowledge and understanding of the common foundations of digital technological inventions and innovations based on past and current trends.
Immersive Mixed Reality Design
This module aims to extend knowledge and skills in the theory and practice of Immersive Mixed Reality using media production tools and scripting, particularly for producing interactive Augmented and Virtual Reality content.
Mobile and Web Apps for IoT
This module aims to develop knowledge and understanding of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and methods with which IoT-enabled devices communicate, exchange, compute and visualise data and to develop technical skills in designing mobile and web IoT apps.
3D Design and Design Practice
This module introduces technical and artistic aspects of 3D computer graphics. Students will learn how to create 3D models, apply textures and lighting. Use creative thinking to produce their 3D. The module also develops the students’ skills in design, research, documentation and project management. Students will use various tools and techniques to explore the possibilities of 3D Design.
3D Animation and Motion Graphics
This module teaches students how to create engaging animation. Use of cinematography concepts such as camera angles and lighting to enhance the visual impact and mood of their work. Use of animation principles such as timing, spacing, easing, and squash and stretch to create expressive animation. Use motion capture and rigging techniques to animate 3D characters.
Advanced Graphics and Motion Design Project
This module is an opportunity to explore some specific topics and disciplines for digital designers. Each week we take a different subject related to the various areas and fields of specialism within digital design. Using a mixture of lectures and workshops, both individually and within groups, students can explore and practise a particular skill set, paying particular attention to their own work and development as a designer.

Year 3

Compulsory

Major Digital Design Project
This module aims students to plan, research, design, implement, evaluate, exhibit and report on a substantial individual project in Digital Design in a professional manner.
Working in the Digital Creative Industries
This module aims to provide the opportunity for students to critically explore key issues affecting the work of the professional practitioner in the Creative Industries and critically examine the ethical positions and principles that underpin accepted working practice.
Digital Experiences
This module aims to develop a clear understanding of how experience design compares with traditional UX/UI design and critically review various types of digital experiences for products, services and brands.

Optional

Advanced 3D Animation Project
The module ustilizes a range of industry standard tools for advanced animation using motion capture. From simulation and FX such as particle dynamics, physical dynamics, cloth simulation, fluid simulation, fire and smoke to crowd simulations. Students will learn motion capture pipeline. Character rigging and integrating motion capture with a digital character. Post-processing of motion capture and enhancing animation
Artificial Intelligence and Games Project
The module aims to help students further develop their creative design and prototyping knowledge and skills with the key creative technologies of Artificial Intelligence and Games. A practical component will involve designing and prototyping a digital artefact using one or both creative technologies of Artificial Intelligence and Games. The module explores the use of AI techniques in games and the use of games technology within the digital media context.
Advanced Graphics and Motion Design Project
This module is an opportunity to explore some specific topics and disciplines for digital designers. Each week we take a different subject related to the various areas and fields of specialism within digital design. Using a mixture of lectures and workshops, both individually and within groups, students can explore and practise a particular skill set, paying particular attention to their own work and development as a designer.

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This course has a placement option. Find out more about work placements available.

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

Careers and your future

A digital design degree from Brunel will prepare you for creative roles in the rapidly expanding digital media industry.

Brunel’s location close to the large concentration of creative industries in and around London means that there are a variety of job opportunities available.

Our graduates take up posts as UX and interaction designers, web and mobile designers/developers, 3D graphic artists and designers, digital video editors, post-production engineers, game designers/developers, and digital campaign managers. Many become self-employed, either as freelance designers or by setting up their own companies.

UK entry requirements

2026/7 entry

Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants as well as our full GCSE requirements and accepted equivalencies in place of GCSEs.

Brunel University London is committed to raising the aspirations of our applicants and students. We will fully review your UCAS application and, where we’re able to offer a place, this will be personalised to you based on your application and education journey.

All applicants are required to provide a portfolio for review as part of the selection process before a formal offer is made. Admissions will contact you when the portfolio is required and send you details of what the portfolio should include.

GCSEs

A minimum of five GCSEs are required, including GCSE English Language grade C or grade 4 or GCSE English Literature grade B or grade 5.

A-level

Standard Offer: BBB

Contextual Offer: BBC