The world of design is changing rapidly.
The boundaries between disciplines are blurring – and that is precisely where Crossmedia Design comes in.
Crossmedia Design connects art, technology and communication. You will learn about all aspects of design and develop your own position as a designer in a world that is constantly changing. Crossmedia Design is a broad, interdisciplinary programme that brings together developments in digital media and communication. You will learn to design across media boundaries: from print to apps, from posters to installations, from concept to experience. You will work with photography, film, animation, illustration, typography and interaction. You will discover how images, text and technology reinforce each other and how you can develop your own voice and visual language. Crossmedia Design is for critical, curious and communicative designers with guts. Whether you come from a pre-university, vocational or higher professional education background, your motivation, imagination, and your own visual and conceptual vision are more important than your previous education.
Crossmedia Design is a broad, interdisciplinary programme where art, technology and communication come together. You will learn to think and work in a world where images, language and interaction are constantly changing shape. Crossmedia Design prepares you for this cross-disciplinary field of work.
During the programme, you will be introduced to various forms of image production – photography, film, illustration, animation, code and typography – and learn how to combine them in a variety of media: from books to apps, from installations to public spaces. Theory and practice are closely intertwined. An important starting point is that all media use the same visual building blocks: surface, form, colour, proportion, context and rhythm. From this basis, you will explore how meaning is created and how images communicate.
The focus is on developing your own design vision. Together with lecturers, you will explore your position within the field: what does design mean today, and what role do you want to play in it? The emphasis can be on interaction, editing, moving images, 3D or communication – you determine your direction, the programme offers the space.
Crossmedia Design is only available in Enschede and is closely linked to the other programmes at the AKI. The boundary between art and design is never clear-cut here; you move freely between autonomous and applied work, between 2D, 3D and time-based media, between concept and execution.
Study structure
Crossmedia Design requires analytical thinking, artistic intuition and a willingness to continue exploring. The programme lasts four years and consists of two semesters per year. Each year has its own focus and ties in with your growth as a designer. We are looking for students who are critical, communicative and inquisitive – designers who want to delve deeper into image, technology and meaning.
Year 1 – Creating and discovering. You will orient yourself in the broad world of visual communication. You will become acquainted with all the workshops, learn the basic principles of form, colour, typography and composition, and explore your own visual language.
Year 2 – Media and experimentation You will delve into the characteristics of different media and the boundaries between them. Short, intensive assignments encourage experimentation and collaboration. In the second semester, you will work on more complex projects and your first assignments from the professional field.
Year 3 – Personal position You will choose projects that match your interests and work in varying teams on a range of design assignments. You will develop your own working method and specialisation. The third year ends with an internship, a personal project or an exchange at one of our international partner academies.
Year 4 – Research and graduation. You will further deepen your personal research and work on your final exam project. This consists of a portfolio (digital or print), a theoretical research project and a graduation project that you will present during the annual AKI Finals in Enschede.
Subjects and themes
The following subjects recur throughout the programme:
• Design methodology
• Theory in the Arts
• Philosophy / Scenario
• Graphic Design / Typography
• Photography / Film
• Illustration / Animation
• Spatial Design
• Motion Graphics / Interactive Media
• Skills / Technical Skills
Reality Studios Within the programme, you will work on real assignments through the Reality Studios practice agency. Students from different years work here, under the supervision of lecturers, on assignments for external clients: from publications to campaigns, from video work to interactive installations.
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Admission You can register for an entrance examination and enrol for a course in StudieLink, the registration database for universities and universities of applied sciences. Would you like to know more about how our entrance examination works? What other procedures are involved? Then go to our special Admission page.
