Our five-pronged approach focuses on your individual strengths to develop your unique qualities towards making you an exemplary pi- designer.
From apps to signage, from illustrated story books to animation films, from magazine layouts to eye-catching brand logos, every aspect of your life involves adept communications.
Communication design teaches you to create compelling messages from concept stage to final form by using appropriate language, visuals, moving images and digital experiences. Our graphic designing course prepares you to address the needs of a hyper-connected world through a wide range of visual media ranging from digital and web to print and publications.
Students get exposure to a variety of fields within the domain of Communication Design, such as graphics & publication, film & animation, branding & advertising and UX/Ul - and many more. Simultaneously, the communication design course prepares students to be specialists in their chosen field, by selecting projects that sharpen their expertise. This approach enables them to move between generalist and specialist, putting them in an advantageous position to address rapidly evolving requirements in their field.
We extend learning beyond the confines of the studio into the larger social, cultural and commercial realms. Students of Communication Design explore the vast potential of the city of Delhi, and discover needs and problem areas to find suitable design solutions; the citizens are your stakeholders, the city's culture and its arts, their repository. Our past collaborations on projects include Select City Walk Mall, Katha Publications, Projection mapping for Martyr's Memorial Museum Hussainiwala, Technical upgrades at the National Museum, New Delhi etc.
Active collaborations between professionals, faculty and peers from different disciplines allows students to learn 'with' and 'from' each other. The communication design course places emphasis on networking, pitching ideas with confidence and seeking feedback from experts, infuses students with an entrepreneurial spirit, as they become experienced and employable.
Society's needs can inspire designers to innovate. Our communication design students are taught to investigate these needs to create solutions that are not only conceptually strong but also shape how our world looks and functions. Through carefully crafted human-centered projects, we sensitise students to create communications that inform, educate and contribute to society's well-being .
Foundation is a bridging program, aiding your transition from school to un-school.
It provides students a pathway to confidently enter the creative, open-ended, exploratory and experimental environment of design education at IIAD. They acquire a broad spectrum of design skills and build their design vocabulary. After successfully completing the Foundation year, students seamlessly progress to BA (Hons) Communication Design course.
VISUALISATION + DESIGN TOOLS + VISUAL & SPATIAL NARRATIVES + COLLABORATION ACROSS DISCIPLINES + DIGITAL NARRATIVES
The first year of communication design entails a journey of ‘unpacking the self’. By digging deep into your memories and childhood, you discover the inner storyteller within you. As you learn new methods of visualization, you are also encouraged to communicate through words, visual imagery and symbols to develop a unique narrative and voice.
Through contemporary debates around gender, diversity, inclusivity, culture and environment, the communication design course lets you explore storytelling using different mediums to engage, inform, persuade, educate, and entertain a varied audience. Your chosen medium – be it newspaper, magazine, television, billboards, apps or internet – becomes the canvas to experiment and explore. Along with developing your hand skills in illustration and storyboarding, you also learn digital tools such as Adobe Creative suite for publication and animation, Invision for UI/UX, Glyphs for type-design, and SketchUp for spatial design, to help you translate your ideas into outcomes. By the end of the year, you would have developed skills to bring your ideas alive across different platforms such as print, digital, audio-visual as well as spatial.
MULTIDISCIPLINARY + PRACTICE-BASED + LEARNING BY MAKING + EXPLORATION-BASED
At the end of this year, your first 8-week Learn On-site industry interface, is encouraged, which should focus on multidisciplinary learning experiences. Communication design students can opt to work in various avenues of communication design – such as print and publication, film and animation, Visual communication, UX/UI, website design, branding and advertising – to name a few.
VISUAL LANGUAGE II + DIGITAL NARRATIVES + SPATIAL NARRATIVES II + REAL LIFE CLIENT BRIEFS THROUGH INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION BRIEFS + INDUSTRIAL PRACTICES AND PROCESSES + MATERIALITY + UX/UI
The second year pushes the boundaries of communication design and prepares you for the challenges of constantly evolving technology. You will learn both traditional and contemporary skills, tools and techniques, and apply them across complex media applications and practices. From developing your own font to creating a publication, you explore meaningful ways in different mediums to reach out to the target audience. You also learn to use tools and methodologies such as scenario planning, user journey maps, empathy maps, system thinking tools, etc. to come up with user-centric design solutions for UX/UI. Through digital interactive platforms you will weave together images, music, narrative and voice to give modern expression to characters, situations and experiences. The project starts with a visit to an out-station location where you search for stories ranging from personal experiences to recounting of historical events or exploring life in one’s own community. Communication design students also work on international competition briefs such as D&AD, RSA and TypoDay as studio projects. You will create engaging content based on global themes and contemporary issues to inspire change and foster innovation.
INDUSTRY PRACTICE + COLLABORATION + BRAND AND CLIENT + ORGANISATIONAL SET-UP + STAKEHOLDERS + REAL-WORLD CHALLENGES
The 16-week Learn On-site internship is a long-term industry exposure envisaged as the gateway to your professional debut. You get opportunities to work in industry environments and understand the dynamics of organisational set-up. You will work in set-ups such as design studios, advertising agencies, production houses, publication houses amongst others, both within India and internationally. In the past, students have secured internships in several leading design studios including Ogilvy & Mather, JWD, Quicksand, Denstu, Studio Fry, Quicksand, Om books, Roli Books, Oyorooms, Katha publications, Double Barrel Production house and Reliance, among many others.
JOINING THE DOTS + AN EVOLVED SELF + COMPLEX DESIGN PROCESS + ENTREPRENEURSHIP + MAJOR DESIGN PROJECT
Starting your journey with, “unpacking” to now “repacking” the self, you come a full circle. In the final year of the communication design course you create a distinct brand identity for yourself while building your networking and entrepreneurial skills. Working on a Social Design project leads you to evolve into ethical and purposeful design professionals committed to “designing for a better future”.
With the exposure to diverse areas within this versatile discipline and on-site work experience, you now have a chance to focus on an area of interest and strengthen your design abilities within the chosen area.
The Major Design Project is an amalgamation of your chosen medium of specialization and subject-area of interest. Communication design students work on projects in sectors ranging from social to business to entertainment, aggregating a diverse portfolio for themselves. You undertake a project set in business realities, which can be self-initiated or industry-sponsored. You will take independent design decisions while being closely mentored by faculty and industry experts.
Your project will culminate in a creative outcome such as a film, animation, typographic design, social design, campaign, editorial design, interaction design, service design, user experience, spatial experience and many more, bringing a sense of accomplishment to your transformative design education.
Creation of packaging and visual branding for Beejom - an organisation promoting sustainable lifestyle practices. Monika Jain, Communication Design (Batch 2018 - 2022)
‘Dadvice’, a UI/UX application, is a pregnancy guiding app for ‘Dad-to-be’ that covers the trimesters of pregnancy and celebrates the joy of parenthood. Shreya Bhardwaj, student of Communication Design (Batch 2018 - 2022)
A series of fun rhyming story books that revolves around Chandu, The Wonder Pig, a storybook project involving storytelling, visual design and illustration. Janvi Khera, Communication Design (Batch 2018 - 2022)
Specscart
Cognizant
Multia
Learn With Leaders
Ogilvy
Digital Jalebi
Gurdas Studio
Vedantu
Dear Chocolate
YUJ Designs
Niswey
Carelon Global Solutions
Communication Design is one of the fast-moving fields, and proliferates all media and enterprises. From your mobile app, advertisement, poster, movie or book to designing museums, experiences, installations and events, a communication designer is involved in conceptualizing and creating designs that combine visuals and words. Communication design is a wide stream, offering many opportunities, and these are all listed here. Your overarching task is to engage your target audience and deliver a message successfully.
Aarti Uberoi is a multi-disciplinary design practitioner with over two decades of experience as a consultant, academician and entrepreneur. An alumna of Massey University, New Zealand and NIFT, New Delhi. She also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCHE) from Nottingham Trent University, UK.
Committed to advancing design through a creative blend of business acumen and design education, Sakshi is a designer and an educator. She has over a decade of industry experience, ranging from publication design, animation, branding, and storytelling to design for social impact and education. Sakshi is a graduate in Visual Communication Design from the National Institute of Design with a Masters in Business Administration from ISB, including certification from INSEAD. She also holds a postgraduate certification in higher education from Pearl Academy.
Chandrika holds a master degree in Interactive Multimedia from The LCC, London pivoting the area of Retail, Financial and Travel by applying innovative and transformative thinking. She pursued her Bachelor’s degree in History and Spanish from Delhi University in 2000.
Rich experience of over 20 years in Animation, Design and Storytelling, Shaaz has been an explorer in methods and mediums of visual narratives. As the Founding Director of Mud n Water - a Communication Design Studio, he has produced Animations, Urban Art, Space Design, Ad Films, Short films, Documentaries and Performance Art.
Devan is a design academician with 12 years of versatile experience in both teaching and design industry. He has a B.Des from NIFT - Chennai and an M.Des from NIFT - Delhi. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. from MITID Pune in the area of Design Education - exploring design metaphors as a bridge between cultural interface and curriculum development (for design) in Indian higher education.
Gagan is an interdisciplinary designer, with practice in digital and information design. He holds a Masters degree in graphic design from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, and has completed his bachelors in Applied arts. Gagan has experience of working in the areas of digital product development, game design, IOT products and multimedia journalism.
With 15 years of experience in the field of illustration, storytelling, and animation, Ikroop Sandhu is a Graphic Novelist. She completed her graduation in Philosophy from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi and continued to pursue her passion for artistic expression from Vancouver Film School, Canada. Her diverse base of clients over the years includes NGOs, contemporary Indian artists, and Silicon Valley engineers. She has taken workshops on drawing and graphic storytelling for children and adults, also taught animation and drawing as a guest faculty at NIFT, Kangra. She has honed her artistic skills by making video art pieces for contemporary Indian artists such as Raqs Media Collective, Sarnath Bannerjee, and Mochu. Her work has been exhibited at The Centre Pompidou (Paris), The Tate Modern (London), The Gardner Museum (Boston), The Photographers’ Gallery (London), The Sharjah Biennale (UAE), The India Art Fair (New Delhi) and The Gwangju Biennale (Korea). She has also been a speaker at events organised by SAAG (South Asian Avant-Garde), Ananke - Women in Literature Festival (Dubai), and the Liberty and Light Festival (Goa). Over the years her illustrated stories have been featured in newspapers and magazines such as Times of India, The Hindu, Mint, and Platform.
With nearly ten years of experience, Avanish has an M.A. in Sequential Design & Illustration from the University of Brighton, UK, and a Graduate Diploma in Communication Design from the IILM School of Design, Gurgaon.
Oshin is a Communication Design alumna from DJ Academy of Design, Coimbatore, and has a master's degree from Nalanda University, Rajgir. In her young career, she has worked on a breadth of projects in the industry across design agencies to startups ranging from graphic design to UI/UX. Having an analytical bend, she is a firm believer in the design process. She likes to combine her learnings and abilities best through works that cut across disciplinary boundaries.
Inderjit Singh Jassel is a seasoned industry professional with over 13 years of experience in Visual Communication and Graphic Design. He has hands-on experience in creative project management and is highly skilled in tech applications in design
Kaushikee is an artist, writer and educator based in Delhi. Kaushikee holds a Postgraduate degree from the Royal College of Art and a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) from the University for the Creative Arts.
With a graduate degree in Animation from DSK Supinfocom - Pune, Pranay Patwardhan is an accomplished artist, illustrator and animator.
IIAD's a purpose-built campus to meet the dynamic learning-teaching needs of its progressive pedagogy and curriculum. The adaptive spaces with studios, digital labs and 3D material workshops have been designed to facilitate seamless multidisciplinary collaborations and exchanges.
Students are taught by design professionals. They learn to create compelling messages from concept stage to final form by using appropriate mediums.
IIAD’s photography lab is equipped with tools like DSLR cameras, professional lighting, backgrounds and screens made available for students to explore visuals, moving images and for documentation purposes.
Linocut and Woodcut printing - Communication Design students put up an exhibition of their work built around 2 key themes - Personal Narratives and Visual Language.
IIAD students exhibit their work as part of the annual global Art Challenge - INKTOBER 2019.
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Communication design is one creative discipline that doesn’t bind you to a niche—the jobs and possibilities are limitless. Technically speaking, it is the strategic creation and transfer of meaningful information through visual compositions. It involves crafting messages that influence audience behaviour, perception and attitude across various mediums like print, digital and social media.
Communication designers are experts in fields of advertising, branding, web design, and information design. However, positioned at the crossroads of diverse creative disciplines, this field is required in virtually every sector, from shaping the interface of your mobile phone to the seamless operation of urban city systems.
Communication design includes graphic design but extends its scope to include a more comprehensive approach to effective communication.
Communication designers don’t just focus on aesthetics—they harness visual language to solve communication problems effectively. Here is a comprehensive list outlining their roles and responsibilities:
Depending on your level and interest of study, you can opt for degree, diploma or certificate-level courses in Communication Design. You can pursue undergraduate or postgraduate level in full-time, part-time or online modes as per the availability at the concerned institution. For your ease of understanding, the table below highlights relevant options and their details:
Fascinated by animation, graphic design, filmmaking or visual storytelling? Learn why IIAD’s tailored Communication Design course is the launchpad to your creative brilliance.
At IIAD, the 4-year Communication Design course (UG) is a pathway to refining vital visual communication skills. Beginning with the foundation programme, which attempts to bridge your high-school learning with specialised visual design studies, the course integrates design practice, thinking and research.
Here, you will learn to craft compelling visual narratives using language, images, videos and other graphic elements. You will also get the opportunity to explore various disciplines like graphic design, animation, storytelling, branding, advertising and user-experience design. This course is tailored to equip you with the essential skills and relevant experiences, ensuring you are industry-ready.
Build your fundamental understanding of design at IIAD over 2 or 3 years, then smoothly transition to your desired university abroad by opting for a flexible model that aligns with your goals. One model provides a concentrated two-year academic track, leading to an opportunity for international advancement to an international university of your choice. In an alternative model, you have the flexibility to opt for a transfer to a university of your preference after completing three years of education within a programme of your choice at IIAD.
To explore more details, connect with our admission counsellors or visit our international progressions page.
The curriculum, adapting to changes in digital and print media, ensures our Communication Design course meets industry needs—offering practical skills for the job market.
Recently, the Communication Design department collaborated with the eighth edition of Serendipity Arts Festival, Goa wherein they worked with local entrepreneurs to develop visual branding and communication systems to celebrate the grassroot communities and their traditions.
Another milestone project is the digitisation of the museum experience at the National Museum, in collaboration with Tricolour India Schauspiel Pvt. Ltd.
Students of the Communication Design course actively contributed to live projects with installations at Select Citywalk and Katha Publications (One Katha At A Time).
They also played a pivotal role in notable initiatives such as Project Mapping for Martyr’s Memorial Museum, Rumiyana for Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust, and Folktale Through Multimedia Animation Films.
This cultivates skills to navigate brand and client dynamics, adopting a user-centric design approach, fostering collaboration, and providing practical insights into complex design processes.
IIAD ensures significant industry exposure for communication design students through collaborations with industry leaders like IBM, Cognizant, Bain & Co., Yuj Design, Square Boat, Legatto HealthCare, WNS Global, Learn with Leaders, Boat, Buffalo Soldiers, Brand Catapult, Digital Jalebi, Pepper Square, AICL Communications, E & Y, Lollypop Design, Sostronk, Userfacet, Vega Industries, Lopez Design, Infoedge India, Yatra, and more, with several of these regularly recruiting talent from IIAD.
Facilitated by active collaborations with design professionals, faculty and peers across disciplines, students at IIAD cultivate a growth mindset by learning from each other. The Communication Design curriculum ensures substantial industry exposure through a variety of masterclasses, workshops and mentorship programs led by industry experts both online and offline. This holistic approach enriches students with real-world insights and practical skills.
Prominent contributors from various creative fields have shared their insights through masterclasses and workshops. Among them, Ruchi Batra, Design Director, IBM, led a session on Interactive Experience (iX). Other notable contributors include Anamika Haksar (filmmaker and theatre enthusiast); Varun Grover (writer, comedian, poet, and filmmaker), MK Raina (actor and filmmaker), Vandana Kataria (filmmaker and production designer), and Sudhanva Deshpande (theatre director and actor). Each of these experts shared their insights and knowledge in areas such as filmmaking, storytelling, acting, production design, and Indian New Wave Cinema.
At IIAD, students receive global exposure through international workshops, elevating their learning experiences. One such workshop was led by Dr. Jake Abrams, Associate Professor in Illustration Animation, Kingston School of Art, Knights Park on poetic objects. The Communication Design department boasts a track record of success, with both students and alumni earning prestigious accolades and awards.
Upon successfully finishing the course, you get the chance to showcase your projects at the yearly exhibition, where distinguished professionals from the design industry attend.
Over the years, IIAD has been graced by the attendance of diverse and influential individuals as guests for the show. These include M K Raina (Theatre Actor & Director), Dadi Pudamjee (Founder, The Ishara Puppet Theatre), Manish Vashist (Design Director, UX Group Manager, IBM India), Laila Tyabji (Founder, Dastkar), Dr. Sraboni Bhaduri (Head of Brand & Consumer Insights at Future Brands), Sunil Vashisth (Sr. Vice President of Strategy at Future Brands), Nikhil Joshi (Partner, Digital Jalebi), Indrani De Parker (Designer and Faculty, IIIT), Amardeep Behl (Managing Director, AB Design Habit & Co. Pvt Ltd), Samar Jodha (Founder, Red Balloon), Arini and Medha Soni (Founder and CEO, I, Arini), to name a few.
IIAD’s communication design course is unique because it’s not your typical classroom setup. Instead, it’s all about hands-on learning in a studio environment, focusing on developing your practical skills. What makes it stand out even more is the active collaboration between professionals, faculty, and students from different disciplines. This mix of perspectives allows students to learn not just from their instructors but also from each other.
In this course, networking, pitching ideas, and getting feedback from experts are key components. This approach not only gives students a taste of entrepreneurship but also makes them more job-ready.
The teaching method covers everything from visualisation and design tools to visual narratives and digital storytelling. Through a five-step process, students discover their unique style by exploring, getting exposure to industry trends, and chatting with professionals.
IIAD’s communication design faculty is a diverse group with names including Sakshi Jain, Aarti Uberoi, Shaaz Ahmed, Chandrika Kumari, Devan Das, Gagan Narhe, Ikroop Sandhu, Avanish Sathianathan, Oshin Vipra Sagar, Inderjit Singh Jassel, Kaushikee Gupta, and Pranay Patwardhan. They bring real-world experience to the table, making the learning experience at IIAD both practical and industry-oriented. To know more, please visit the website.
A career in communication design opens up diverse opportunities across several fields on different levels. Here are some key options:
Notable alumni who have landed with reputable organisations include Aakriti Jain at Grid Design Studio, Lilly Topo at Sostrong, Inder Raj Singh Virdi at freightcom, Lopamudra Bose at Bain & Company, Mallika Johari at Cognizant, Sushmita Rai at Centre for Policy Research, Malavika Thampi at House of Masaba, Duvve Gautam at cult.sport, Angad Singh Jassar at Digitow Design Studio and Komal Singh Bhargava at cashkaro.com.
IIAD alumni have pursued master’s degrees at various institutions globally, including York University and La Salle College in Canada, Loughborough University in the UK, UCA, England and Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University, USA. Locally, alumni have continued their education at institutions like Jamia Milia Islamia and Delhi Technological University in New Delhi.