Graphic designers, design and visual communication specialists also acquire practical knowledge and skills in our university. The curriculum stands out from amongst other universities owing to its innovative approach to design known as “human-centered design” – combining technical skills with knowledge of social communication and psychology.
We educate ourselves (life-long learning) and others (studies in the field of graphic design, visual communication, legal design and photography) as designers and creators in the field of practical, usable and visual communication design. Here, there is no other way than learning by doing and learning by failing. We are interested in visual activities involving reflective, innovative, functional applications of human-oriented technologies, methods and means in any social role. Our actions – both scientific and creative design – can be reduced to graphic design, multimedia, visual arts and social communication.
The leading characteristic of our approach to academic work – both didactic and scientific-design work – is combining graphic design with a social context, in which the work/design has, on the one hand, an irritating function (draws attention) and on the other hand, is responsible for organisation and orientation in social reality. For a change to have a more profound than just visual meaning, formal education in the field of design requires context – in our case, it is social communication in which our world is contained; after all, we live in a world of codes, signs, brands: communication in general. It may seem a bit strange, but „the world we live in is and must be the way it is because we have made it that way” (Erns Von Glasersfeld).
The main goal of the course is to sensitize students to the logic and characteristics of the design process. The key attributes of the subject are its interdisciplinary nature and attention to group processes. The subject is taught outside the university campus during a 4-day workshop. The University provides accommodation and meals. The subject is available to first-cycle students.
You will learn to work in a design team and solve specific design problems using particular design methods and tools. Additionally, you will understand the concept of interdisciplinary and participatory design. The leading characteristic of project work is the concept of learning by doing and learning by failing. By choosing this course, you join the student group outside campus.
2 ECTS
The subject is taught in English
The Graphics Workshop aims to develop students’ creative personalities based on traditional graphic workshops. The acquired skills will allow students to use visual tools in their artistic and design projects freely.
First, you will learn traditional graphic techniques using convex or flat printing techniques. You will carry out your works based on conceptual sketches, analysis of form and content, and graphic techniques to reproduce engravings. First, you will train your creative attitude within the framework of content agreed with the instructor.
6 ECTS
The subject is conducted individually – in cooperation with the instructor in English.
A subject with a design and problem profile, in which students, in the form of a design studio, carry out tasks in subversive creation, social campaigns and image campaigns for design briefs prepared by representatives of creative sectors.
You will learn to design advertising campaigns in which the end user’s attention is the main currency. You will learn how to design advertising that successfully performs both communication and image functions – you will know what it means that advertising is a poisonous gas (G. Lois). After all, advertising tells you who you will be when you own the advertised product (D. Ogilvy).
5 ECTS
The subject is carried out in small Polish and English-speaking design teams
The course aims to support students in individual work with their portfolios. The course raises awareness of the function of a portfolio in the creative industry as: 1. a process of active learning and verification of competencies (working and reflective portfolio) and 2. a product presenting selected design achievements for representative and evaluation purposes.
You will learn about the functions, types and elements of a portfolio. You will learn how to work with a portfolio as a tool for developing competencies and categorizing and verifying project achievements. You will learn how to present your achievements using sample techniques and methods. You will develop your portfolio for a specific representative or evaluative purpose. You will learn how to place your work in the broader context of design studies.
6 ECTS
The subject is conducted individually – in cooperation with the instructor in English.
Summer semester internship in a SWPS University business partners both from digital design and visual communication design field of expertise. The apprenticeship does not interfere with other classes and might be conducted in both in-person and online collaboration. The course is available for both a master’s and bachelor’s degree.
You will check Your skills and knowledge in real-world collaboration within creative professions like advertising agencies, design studios, media houses and NGOs. Deciding on the internship as an Erasmus course, you agree to be placed by the career office in a particular business partner from Wrocław.
16 ECTS Bachelor Degree (approx. 720h)
8 ECTS Masters Degree (approx 480h)
The subject is taught in English
The course aims to develop teamwork competencies in an international design team, drawing attention to the issue of cultural differences and the characteristics of work in the creative sector. The course is available for a master’s degree, but bachelor students might attend in some circumstances.
You will learn what to pay attention to when working in an international team, implement a project in an interdisciplinary design team, and learn the strategic design methodology in detail.
3 ECTS
The subject is taught in English
The main aim is to learn (mainly in practical exercises) how to cooperate with other people.
You will learn basic issues related to human functioning in social environment (e.g., group members and leaders or how to deal with difficult situations) and theories explaining these phenomena. Moreover you will learn how to plan and organize teamwork, and how to cooperate with other members of a team.
3 ECTS
This workshop will be held together with a group of Psychology in English students.
The subject consists on a workshop (tutorials) and e-learning. This is an elective course. Each year we may propose different detailed topic (e.g., how to look on a mankind from the perspectives of different cultures and religious background).
You will get broader and more practical perspective on human beings from the perspectives of humanistic theories and research.
4 ECTS
This workshop will be held together with a group of Psychology in English students.
As part of the course, students learn about issues related to their own and other people’s work. The subject develops competencies in English as a foreign language, allows the use of English-language literature and trains competencies appropriate for working in a linguistically and culturally diverse professional environment.
By learning specialized vocabulary in visual communication design and media creation, you will gain the knowledge and competencies necessary in the labour market of creative sectors. You will present, negotiate and discuss design, communication, and media studies topics. The subject is available to both second and first-cycle students.
3 ECTS
The subject is taught in English
A subject in the socially responsible design field carried out in cooperation with a market partner – CSHARK. The subject is a simulation of the design process in an agency mode – a design studio in the area of a digital product.
You will learn how to identify the needs of users of digital products through designing and conducting research. Then, you will learn to transform research results into specific functional requirements and learn to design digital product interfaces based on them. Our approach will focus on connecting design with real-world problems and finding technological solutions. Additionally, you will become thoroughly familiar with the design process, which is adapted to the requirements of the modern technology market.
5 ECTS
The subject is taught in English
A subject with a design and problem profile, in which theoretical, methodological and design issues focus on building the image capital of a company/institution using images and text. Students carry out a project in corporate identity for a selected organization from the socio-economic environment.
Can an image be designed? During the classes, you will learn that the image of an organization is the result of what we see, hear and feel. You will learn to use images to build a communication offer through a visual identification system (corporate design). You will work with a symbol, icon, or graphic sign to clearly and coherently communicate the organization’s values. After all, it is not the star that makes Mercedes famous, but Mercedes that makes the star famous (D. Herbst).
5 ECTS
The subject is carried out in small Polish and English-speaking design teams
Summer semester internship in a professional digital product design team designing technology solutions based on the newest technologies. Apprenticeship does not interfere with other classes and might be conducted in both in-person and online collaboration.
You will learn methods of identifying the needs of users of digital products by planning and conducting research, e.g. in the spirit of Google Design Sprint. This knowledge will allow you to transform research results into functional requirements and design interfaces based on the collected information. We emphasize integrating design with real business challenges and searching for technological solutions to these problems. Additionally, you will explore the design process adapted to the standards of modern technologies.
16 ECTS
The subject is taught in English
Creative programming classes focused on creating solutions that enable human-machine interaction. The course is available for master’s degree students but bachelor students might attend in some circumstances.
The course will include exercises in preparing the programming environment for work (Visual Studio Code, Arduino IDE, Python), building prototypes of simple devices containing interactive elements: buttons, sensors, lights, and conceptual exercises in planning the selection of technologies needed to implement digital, interactive projects.
3 ECTS
The subject is taught in English and Polish
The subject is devoted to issues related to user experience and user interface design workshops. Students develop a whole process of diagnosis, planning and prototyping a digital solution (web design/mobile design) in a workshop format. The course is available for a master’s degree, but bachelor students might attend in some circumstances.
You will learn how digital services and products are created, from examining the needs of potential users through planning the scope of functionality to designing interfaces, creating prototypes and testing their functionality. You will learn to research and map experiences, develop a value proposition, design interfaces, introduce interactions and micro-animations, and conduct tests that allow you to check the developed solution’s usefulness and identify improvement areas. The classes include work using agile project management techniques (Agile) according to the Scrum framework.
2 ECTS
The subject is carried out in small Polish and English-speaking design teams
This is an elective course. Each year we may propose different detailed topic (e.g., “Philosophy and the question of good life” or “Cultural and political discontents of modernity”).
You will get broader perspective on human beings from the perspectives of social-scientific or humanistic theories and research.
3 ECTS
This lecture will be held together with a group of Psychology in English students.
Wroclaw Campus
SWPS University Ostrowskiego 30b, room 24
53-238 Wrocław Poland [email protected]
International office
[email protected]
Programme coordinator
Mariusz Wszołek,
[email protected]
