Visual Communication Design at Aalto represents an intersection of studies, research and practice across three degree levels: the Bachelor of Arts (BA) based on traditional methods of Graphic Design and the Master of Arts (MA) and Doctor of Arts (DA) degrees that engage with wider perspectives in Visual Communication Design. Graphic 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.
We view Visual Communication as the trans-media discipline of design. Our unit encourages the expression of varying viewpoints and a variety of communication techniques. Award-winning alumni, recent graduates, and our current student body are the cultural catalysts of the future. Their work can be found throughout this site.
We recommend starting the application process as early as possible. Due to the number of applicants our programmes are highly competitive with a limited number of places available each year. Students are accepted based on merit and other criteria specified on the Aalto University webpages. There you can find the official application instructions including materials and deadlines specific to each degree. Follow the instructions carefully and don’t feel shy about contacting our study coordinators with any questions.
The BA degree is taught in Finnish, the MA and DA studies are taught in English. More information about the study experience at Aalto can be found here and additional insights on living in Finland can be found here. We are committed to internationalization: maintaining an active engagement with professors, guest lecturers, and students from around the globe. We offer outgoing exchange studies with top universities abroad. More information regarding exchange procedures can be found here.
There is no tuition fee for EU/EEA citizens. Tuition in bachelor's and master's programmes taught in English are subjected to an annual fee of €15k for non-EU/EEA citizens. Scholarships are available. More information is available on this page. Students are expected to cover all living expenses (app. EUR 800 per month) and other study related costs from their own financial resources. There is no fee to apply.
Bachelor studies in Graphic Design is a 3-year degree taught entirely in Finnish. It's composed of 180 academic credits that can be broken down into core subjects (40 credits), compulsory courses (100-110 credits), minor subjects (15-25 credits) and elective courses (15 credits). Subject matter covers artistic expression, media studies and language studies. Courses in other departments at Aalto are made available as well as exchange opportunities at participating universities abroad. Students practice traditional methods in graphic design focusing on layout and typography and learn to build on these foundations through various forms and applications. The curriculum has included courses in Font Design, Publication Design, Bookbinding, Illustration, Campaign Design, Digital Publishing Design, Exhibition Design, and Moving Image.
Graphic Design is the practice of creating products, processes, environments, and events that are relevant and responsive to a particular context. The primary focus is on handling problems with imaginative and collaborative solutions. Research, marketing, social media, branding, collaboration, visual documentation, virtual skills, and storytelling are incorporated into the unique methodology of our teaching. During the third year students produce a Bachelor’s thesis, the culmination of studies that demonstrates the acquired skills and distinct perspective of the student. More student work can be found at grrr.fi or on our Facebook page.
Student works from our 90-year-old, award-winning undergraduate programme in graphic arts and visual communication design.
Master studies in Visual Communication, is a 2-year degree made of 120 academic credits. It offers an education integrated in global practices, contextually conscious research, and possible futures in visual design. At the intersection of design, business and technology, Aalto University provides an eclectic mix of expertise needed for progressive learning environments. The programme offers two tracks for MA students: Visual Narrative and Information Design.
Visual Narratives are stories told primarily through the use of visual media. Stories are told using text, photography, illustration, and can be enhanced with graphics, music, and interactivity. They can take the forms of interactive books, graphic novels, video games, new media works, animation, picture books and designed texts. The common core is that they are all essentially explorations into visuals that tell stories.
The Visual Narrative track at Aalto touches on many disciplines, and brings together a synthesis of skill sets from visual communication, writing, interactive media, film and games to focus on visualizing personal expression. Founded with the methodologies of design and story-telling, the track 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.
The track is designed to provide a myriad of post-graduate options. Students might become screenwriters, storyboard artists, art directors, digital publishers, or concept designers for animation, video games, and other interactive media. Each student 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.
Check out our all-powerful course wheel! You'll see courses like Hybrid Literature, Sequential Imaging, Animation and Storytelling. Many relevant electives can be taken from the Media Department or other Schools in Aalto. The MA requires a 30-credit graduation thesis, either a practice- or research-led work that contributes significantly to the field as well as the student’s body of work. Apply here!
Student works reflecting our integrated, transmedia and story-focused education in the future practices of Visual Narrative.
Information Design is the shaping of data-driven messages in order to make knowledge accessible through visual platforms. This track practices the presentation of information with imaginative methods fostering efficient and effective understanding. Interests commonly overlap with visual communication, science and engineering, business intelligence, cartography, interaction design, journalism, and service design.
It has been estimated that humanity doubles its data every two years. The demand for design solutions for visual presentation of information is driven by, among other things, this rapid expansion of available data, and the accompanying growth in computational capability to process it. Information design is a competence with applications far beyond the traditional design professions.
Information design is a highly interdisciplinary field, combining skills from graphic design, interaction design, and computer science. After graduation our students are qualified to work independently or for a number of different organizations. Students may pursue visual journalism, data journalism, geo-informatics, and data analysis. Other graduates might become design directors, editors of graphic media, or other managerial specialists.
Check out our all-powerful course wheel! You'll see courses like Dynamic Visualization Design, Information Design, Critical Design, and Interactive Visualization. Many relevant electives can be taken from the Media Department or other Schools in Aalto. The MA includes a 30-credit graduation thesis, an either practice- or research-led work that contributes significantly to the field as well as the student’s body of work. Apply here!
Student works reflecting our cross-disciplinary, practical education in the visual communication of information and the Visualizing Knowledge conference.
Students can apply to minor subjects as part of their degree studies. They are generally 15-25 ECTS. A minor can be taken from any of the departments and programmes across Aalto. There are three minors currently available from the Visual Communication Design programme. Students are also encouraged to explore minors in other departments, such as Design, Media Lab, and Art. Minor study guides can be found here.
The minor in Illustration challenges Bachelor students to reflect on their own visual thinking, as well as to investigate and seek their own style using different techniques and media. Students become familiar with artwork across fields and learn the technical and cognitive skills which illustration work requires. In addition to traditional illustration techniques, digital artwork and animation are also explored. Students gain an understanding of illustration as a communication tool for both commercial and non-commercial contexts and delve into areas such as character design, sequential imaging, storytelling, as well as the integration of text with image. Language of instruction: Finnish.
The Pack-Age minor prepares Master’s students for project work typical in package design, often involving cooperation with experts from many different fields. The minor is taught in collaboration between four different schools: Aalto ARTS, Aalto BIZ, Aalto CHEM and Lahti Institute of Design and Fine Arts. Project groups create a fit-for-purpose design solution taking into account the client, product, environment, and the user. The student learns to utilize his/her special competence as part of a project and strengthen the team's expertise. The principles of visual, structural and user-centered packaging design that comply with sustainable development are discussed and students evaluate the feasibility of a packaging solution from many different perspectives. More information can be found here.
An essential part of design education is the gaining of practical work experience by bringing design work into larger contexts. Our students create visual communication and digital media for companies, organizations or communities both in teams and independently. Commissions are billable services based on our partners' needs, and delivered as professional work. Projects can also be non-commercial, analytical, or works of art.
The most typical projects relate to corporate and product graphics, advertising, websites, the design of electronic publications, as well as magazines, poster and packaging design. Lately our students have re-designed route maps for HSL bus stops, a massive public artwork on Hernesaari for Helsinki City, Flow Festival animations and murals, debit cards for Danske Bank and package design for Fazer and Altia.
If you are a business or organization interested in how our creative students can work on a project for you, please contact the Department of Media Producer Minna Ainoa, minna.ainoa@aalto.fi
Co-Work is a selection of student works that have been design for or commissioned by various companies and communities.
Our graduates have been widely honored and recognized for their outstanding work. The latest awards and recognitions include:
Silver Award | Aalto University/Emery Dash and Tom Engström (MA students): THIS website for our Degree Programmes in Visual Communication Design at Aalto University Aalto-yliopiston | in the series of Digital Design
A sampling of student portfolios can be found at grrr.fi. If you are an alumni of Aalto or TaiK, and you would like to get back in touch and join our alumni group, please click here.
Visual Communication Design research at Aalto University is comprised of many areas of interest. Research groups are made up of doctoral students and research assistants, whose focus is on the design of societies and media. Research topics include information design, visual narratives, design processes, emerging practices and techniques in creative industries. These topics are investigated from the sites of artefacts, production, and reception.
Research on communication artefacts explores visualization methods, representations and visual languages used to disseminate facts and fiction. Information design research aims to find best practices to make conceptual information understandable for various audiences. Research on visual narratives investigates cultural, aesthetic and rhetoric aspects in multimodal media, brand identities and environments. Research on design processes and emerging practices focuses on the development of creative industries, including the impact of digital techniques and media convergence on design.
Visual Communication Design research projects combine design education and research within Aalto University and internationally. Ongoing research projects are co-creative and multidisciplinary as carried with other institutions and companies in the private and public sector.
Students in Visual Communication Design are encouraged to study or apply for internships and work placements abroad. The department actively participates in multicultural, international projects, exchanges and conferences. Aalto has exchange agreements with many other top universities in Visual Communication, such as the School of Visual Arts (SVA) New York, University of the Arts London, Politecnico di Milano, École des Arts Decoratifs (ENSAD) Paris, and Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Guidance in choosing a suitable destination is available, and funding for the exchange can be applied for through Aalto ARTS. We also welcome incoming exchange students each semester from around the globe. More information can be found here, or by emailing: exchanges-taik@aalto.fi
Rupesh Vyas was senior faculty at National Institute of Design, India, before joining Aalto. He took lead role in developing Information and Interaction Design as emerging domains of education and practice. He has a Master’s degree in Visualization from M. S. University of Baroda, India. He has over 19 years of experience in VCD education, research and professional practice. He has worked on major national projects in India such as the Census of India 2011, the Multipurpose National Identity Card, and the Smart Card based Indian Union Driver's License. He has wide area of academic and professional interests which includes Visual Identity design, Static and Dynamic information visualisation, Documentation of Visual Culture, Way Finding Systems, Complex Information Systems and Visual Diagraming. He is World Regional Representative of International Institute of Information Design (IIID).
Masood Masoodian has a wide spectrum of research expertise in visualization, interactive media, and interaction design. He is particularly interested in design of interactive visualizations to provide effective means of understating information by ordinary people in areas such as health, energy, and sustainability. He is also interested in the role of visual imagery in graphic design process, for instance in how the presence or absence of visual imagery improves or hinders the ideation process and what impact this may have on the creative design output. He has published extensively in all these areas, and has taught numerous courses in several universities in Europe and New Zealand over the past two decades.
Tarja Nieminen is an artist and designer. After graduating from the University of Art and Design in Helsinki, she pursued further studies in photography and motion media at the Academy of Performing Arts, FAMU in Prague and, on Fulbright grant, at the School of Visual Arts, SVA, in New York. She has been a lecturer of visual communication at Aalto University since 2007. Before that, she served ten years as the Head of the Graphic Design Department at the Institute of Design of the Lahti University of Applied Sciences. In her educational work, she has focused on developing curricula related to dynamic media and international cooperation. For the past eighteen years, her practice has included freelance design work in visual communication as well as fine arts activity in Europe and in the US.
Arja Karhumaa is a graphic designer and a text artist. She wants to foster an academic design practice that cultivates communication design as the domain of criticality, contemporaneity, and activism. In her own work, she is interested in the materiality of language, and how various ways design and writing intertwine. In 2016 she published the book Epägenesis : Katalogi (Ungenesis : Catalogue), which is the methodical part of her practice-based doctoral research. The dissertation examines the situated knowledge of a text designer, proposes graphic design as a form of writing and questions its ensuing public role. Arja has published her work in magazines and anthologies both in and outside of Finland, participated in design competition juries nationally and internationally, and has tried out the role of designer-as-curator. She has difficulties in thinking inside boxes. She cherishes jazz, big cities and Róisín Murphy, and struggles between the call for veganism and her serious love of cheese.
Markus Joutsela is big fan of responsible and clever packaging design and has been involved with packaging as a practicing designer, researcher, and design teacher. Currently he leads the Pack-Age minor and works as the responsible researcher of Aalto University in Valuepack – Tools for Packaging and Branding 2014–2016 project funded by Tekes. Markus is also writing a dissertation about packaging experiences and designing for experiences.
Koistinen Susanna is a study coordinator in Master’s Programme in Visual Communication Design and Photography. She is responsible for MA and exchange students’ guidance and supports the academic staff in their work. Koistinen Susanna belongs to Aalto ARTS Learning Services’ Student Services team and is involved in new student orientation, student tutoring and Personal Study Planning (HOPS) development.
Sari Tarvainen coordinates the major and minor studies in graphic design for Bachelor level students. She supports the academic staff among other things in curricula planning and tutors the students to plan their studies.
Minna Ainoa is Producer for the Department of Media, and she takes care of the Visual Communication Design study projects. She has wide experience from the illustration (pseudonym Helmi Sirola), fashion retail, advertising, and design fields - both from the employee and the entrepreneur viewpoint. Her first book Mystery – Style Traveller was published in spring 2017, and based on her own concepts. She is an active board member and Vice-Chairman of Kuvittajat ry and Editor-in-Chief of Kuvittaja Magazine. She is strongly interested in IPR, fashion history, and martial arts, but avoids mixing them in practice.
Heikki Ohvo is the application designer in the ARTS Technical Services group. He has an expert handle on the computers in the graphic design classrooms, their applications, and guidance for use. He is also responsible for helping faculty with all their technology concerns.