School of Textiles and Design

Communication Design is constantly evolving across a wide range of industry sectors and our BA (Hons) programme supports students to develop creative, critical and technical skills that reflect this change as well as anticipate the needs of future evolution in this sector. The programme structure allows students to undertake a cross-disciplinary path of study with a main focus on Graphic Design, Illustration and Photography. The Communication Design programme develops three key areas of conceptual, applied and entrepreneurial forms of communicating information through a variety of media. The evolving technological components, growing ease of social media and globalisation of communication require the design and interpretation of information to transcend beyond existing industrial and capitalistic formats. This new type of communication design deals with collaborative experiences, socially dynamic and inclusive agendas, and provides key forms for critical informational research. This programme enables studio cooperative learning within a life-centred design approach in four evolving areas: Graphic Design (inclusive illustration), photography, moving image/animation, and interaction design (UX/UI). This is further supported by courses in Art direction and Storytelling, Design Branding, Advanced practice and evaluation, Critical and Contextual Studies and Global Fashion Management. These courses also focus on the key element of entrepreneurship and will prepare students for a variety of roles within the design industry and beyond including film, media, and social enterprise. In the end, it promotes a new type of student for a new type of world, where the disciplinary divisions are erased to promote a transdisciplinary approach to design.
Fall 2026 applications are now open! Apply today and get ready to begin an exciting journey at Heriot-Watt University, Dubai.
Apply NowAED 82,264Per year
AED 41,132 Per semester
All tuition fees inclusive of VAT.
Upon successful completion, graduates will be able to:
All of these are required to apply.