Digital Media are any media encoded in machine-readable formats. Digital Media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified and preserved on electronic digital devices. Digital Media, in most instances, is a blend of technology and content. Building digital media products requires teams of professionals with diverse skills. Future prospects for Digital Media include design for Visual
Communication and also productions like podcasts, MP3s, video games, radio advertising, apps for mobile devices, video and lighting displays and electronic books.

Basic design coursework can cover such subjects as drawing, Graphic Design, colour theory and Art History. This course is usually taken as part of a designrelated degree programme. It introduces First Year students to basic techniques for visual communication using colour, line, texture and form.

Communication Design is a mixed discipline between design, informationdevelopment and communication. It is concerned with how media interventions (printed, crafted, electronic media or presentations) communicate with people. Therefore, it is an aspect of Communication and Visual Communication that values Design as process.

Traditional design processes have been supplanted by digital technology, the result of a merging of computer technology with graphics applications software.  Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics software designed for professional graphic designers and artists. Students acquire skills in using Adobe Illustrator to render visual communication. Students are encouraged to acquire Wacom ® tablets (Bamboo®, Intuos® or Cintiq®) and electronic styluses, to facilitate quicker learning through frequent independent practice.

This course introduces basic drawing techniques and it is designed to increase observation skills. Emphasis is placed on the fundamentals of drawing. Upon completion, students should be able to demonstrate various methods and their application to representational imagery. This course also impresses upon students the fact that, the knowledge and understanding gained through drawing from life, directly enhances our ability to draw from the imagination.

This course seeks to introduce students to a good understanding of African societies in order to fully appreciate the true meaning of the art developed by the various societies in Africa. It will also introduce students to recent cultural history of Africa, the importance of culture in the creation of modern Africa, and key issues of cultural production.

This course is designed to help students to develop effective language and study skills for their academic work; improve vocabulary, become familiar with the conventions of standard English Language usage, and develop strategies for preparing for, and taking examinations. The course also aims at equipping students with the mechanical skills for writing academic essays. Participants of this course should be able to enhance their skills for communicating effectively in an academic environment.

At the end of the course, students should be able to: demonstrate acquired study skills in the presentation of information; use appropriate language and writing style in the presentation of information; write good academic essays with appropriate documentation; and communicate effectively in the academic environment.

Course content includes but not limited to the academic discourse community, developing study skills, developing reading skills, the relationship between grammar and communication, developing writing skills and documentation. The course is highly interactive and incorporates various levels of individual and group participation.

The mode of delivery includes lecture series, individual and group assignments, and group presentations.

Globally, branding for individuals, groups, corporations and “ideas” has produced numerous cultural icons. This course teaches students in the Digital Media programme how logos, symbols and trademarks elicit shared meanings over time, assist in visual communication for different clients, and often permanently alter our villages, towns and cities.

In the mid-1400s, printing fostered the development of commercial art. Print design has for centuries been at the forefront of information dissemination. Many items, ephemera and books, are still printed on paper and other substrates. Increasingly digital printing equipment, able to print on all surfaces, have taken over from traditional printing machinery. This course is designed to teach students the rudiments of industrial best practices in planning and executing print and packaging label designs.

Different readers react differently to the same setting of type. Emotions and moods lie at the root of human communication. Typography that is persuasive is guided by long established conventions or present-day tests for novel ways of designing with type. This course, a continuation of DMC 254 Typography, provides students with skills for handling different readership, large volumes of text, and also for determining type specification for special interest groups: children, the aged, and so on.

Photography is integral to Visual Communication. Photographers use the basic tools of photography – cameras, lenses, lights and graphics applications software
– to create images. The camera of choice for Visual Communication is the DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflex) camera which combines the traditional optics and mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with digital imaging sensors. The technology in the DSLR has advanced spectacularly in recent years rivalling the clarity of silver halide coated film and photos printed on bromide paper. This course gives students basic skills in DSLR photography so they have demonstrable practical skills to undertake field or studio assignments of varying difficulty.

Print production has evolved over the last 700 years. Now, printing instructions can be customised in real-time using the internet and conference calls. Students must be abreast with these emerging technological advancements. This course instils knowledge and understanding for mass production. Students are taught to apply their knowledge to source for the optimum output from print-houses.

The course offers opportunity for industry practitioners to present thoughtprovoking insights to students and for discussions to ensue. Emphasis is placed on explaining Visual Communication as an industry. Next, the course launches a realistic view on how real-time events in industry occur and offer lessons to practitioners.

This course is designed to build the entrepreneurial, managing and marketing competence of students with focus on effectively enhancing the skill and attitudes of managing and operating a business.

The first of two Practical Training referrals, students register this course for work already completed during the Long Vacation. Students are given two weeks upon resumption of academic work to submit a report on their internship activities. This industrial attachment programme exposes students directly to the standards and expectations of employers and clients.

This course sequences lessons in the proper approach to creating Book and Magazine Design. It is an exploration of the complex planning and organising that goes into book and magazine design. Magazines, though less formal, often have niche markets and therefore, this course highlights the importance of studying readership surveys and learning the idiosyncratic preferences for different types of readers.

Advertising campaigns depend on partnerships and collaboration. Graphic designers, Art Directors, Copywriters and Account Executives select and structure the sound, look and ‘feel’ of an advert. It is the responsibility of the Graphic designer or Visual Communicator to set a style – the manner in which a thought or image is expressed. They do this by choosing suitable artistic elements and synthesising them. Next, the course introduces students to packaging design as the “silent salesman” and an advert in itself. This course prepares students for the challenging world of Advertising by introducing them to problem-solving for print and television advertising.

The rapid growth in communications, High Definition 4K and UHDTV, the internet and mobile technologies has created a demand for graduates with broad technical skills, specifically in operational areas, systems design, broadcast engineering and networked media technology. This course will enable students to learn the basic theory behind video, audio, IT and IP practices which lay the foundation for a variety of technical industries including broadcast and cinema, radio, TV and internet-delivered media. This course is also specifically a skills acquisition course for current and future applications of online digital technology. Students acquire knowledge and skills for online media technology that they can apply to business, education, entertainment, shopping and advertising using the internet and interactive television.

Animation – cartoons, dancing puppets, and demonstrations by which inanimate objects come to life – can effectively communicate difficult messages or reach special markets such as children. This course is a basic introduction to animation and seeks to offer basic skills in creating visual narratives through animation.

Business Management is simply the management of a business and includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising business operations. Sustaining the business entails making sure resources are allocated to accomplish desired goods and objectives efficiently and effectively.