Why is the Diploma in MAD, Visual Communication & Motion Design the best course for me in 2025?

Stories are the most powerful way to communicate. A good story captures our attention, makes us feel, shapes the way we think and even influences our actions. Telling a good story is essential in the media and creative industry whether you choose to be a writer or a journalist, a games developer or a designer, a brand specialist or an animated content creator. Through the study of storytelling, students will recognise the power of story in connecting people and shaping the way we see the world. They will learn key concepts from ideation to character development, story world building and narrative structure. They will examine themes and create original stories that will resonate with a target audience. They will learn tools in video storytelling. Ultimately, students will present their story in the form of a media product using audio visual technology.

Design plays a vital role in shaping and improving the user experience across all disciplines in the creative industry. It is a basic skillset that is core to the creation of effective animations, games, videos, marketing campaigns, etc that users interact with daily in the real-world. This module aims to cultivate these skillsets through the introduction of the basic principles of design. Students will engage in hands-on photography, digital imagining and illustration exercises to expose them to the importance of visual hierarchy and flow, colour theory, typography and other core design elements. They will undergo training to understand the importance of the design process from developing creative concepts, to sketching for communication and finally art directing effective designs for their users across various platforms.

Creating an experience for users requires creativity and understanding of users. In this module, students will learn ideation techniques to generate interesting ideas, and how to identify entrepreneurial opportunities for their creative solutions. They will also be exposed to basic concepts in psychology to better understand themselves, and others.

This module fosters an awareness and appreciation for animation, game art and design development of interactive media content. You will experience the exciting creative process of design, development and execution in a studio setting. This is an introduction to the specialisation Animation & Games (AG).

Take a curious peek behind the workings of how brands become successful. You will learn how a brand can describe itself to its users, differentiate itself from its competitors, and convey its unique style and DNA through the practice of textual and visual forms. This is an introduction to the specialisations Visual Communication & Motion Design (VCMD) and Digital Media & Communications (DMC).

This module equips you with the skills to connect, interact and dialogue with communities to create effective and delightful solutions. You will gain the ability to understand communities by collecting data, analysing observations and addressing insights before streamlining information to target audiences in an instantly understandable fashion. This is an introduction to the specialisation Experience & Product Design (XPD) & Creative Community Engagement with Psychology (CCEP).

See the harmony between music, performance and production. You will gain knowledge of the fundamentals of music and hands-on experience at the digital audio workstations to produce simple pieces. Your creations can be used for apps, games and videos. This is an introduction to the specialisation Sound & Music (SM).

Unleash your creativity with Storytelling for Digital Media. Dive into the craft of telling compelling stories for the screen in both factual and scripted genres. Explore the Hero's Journey, learn how to engage your target audience, and bring your ideas to life by filming and editing your own video. This is your chance to create content that connects.

This module dives deep into User Experience and Figma, going beyond the basics to give you in-depth expertise in designing engaging digital interfaces. Paired with research methods, you’ll learn how to uncover user needs, analyze data, and turn insights into polished designs. By the end, you’ll be crafting top-notch user-centered experiences with confidence and precision.

This module exposes students to the theory and practice of digital photography within the framework of an integrative digital workflow in content creation, including the finer points of digital image enhancement, manipulation & compositing. Students will be taught product and portrait photography and learn the essentials of controlling and balancing artificial lights with natural lights to achieve impactful aesthetics for photography. Students will focus on studio and outdoor digital photography, and be equipped with the fundamentals of preparing digital images and intermediate techniques of image manipulation & compositing. By the end of the module, students would have created a portfolio of photographic fine prints and digital content for commercial applications.

This module is fundamentally designed to translate and apply the language of motion. Students will interpret and demonstrate the principles of animation as applied motion graphics. Students will be familiarized with industry tools and processes and will eventually be able to employ these principles and processes in motion design projects.

Develop data fluency skills such as formulating questions, processing and analysing data to articulate numerical and graphical summaries. Build a simple data dashboard to generate insights and support a solution for a chosen SDG.

Appreciate the use of both creative and computational thinking skills to solve a SDG-related problem. Apply focused and diffuse thinking , brainstorming techniques, and the four pillars of computational thinking to a chosen SDG.

Please refer to Elective Modules Framework for more information.

This class aims to provide the learner an understanding on what is 3D and how to apply 3D for content creation. Its provide a scaffolding for the learner to understand what can be achieved from 3D techniques.

This module provides a key overview of applied design within real world commercial context, focusing on brand experience that goes beyond the visual context to an integrated multi-sensorial immersion in communication design. Students will learn to infuse creative concepts with two to three-dimensional forms of design solutions such as, Publication and Packaging Design. Practical sessions on Desktop Publishing tools will equip students with the technical aspects of design visualisation. Pre-press skills, production knowledge, as well as introduction to various forms of paper and other materials will also be taught to ensure that students have a thorough understanding of the communication design ecosystem.

In this module students will start to combine motion design into brand design and how it contributes to the brand manifesto. Students will be introduced to distinctions between time-based and static design using audio, intonation, and combining art and design principles with creative storytelling.

Work in multi-disciplinary groups to apply design thinking methods, backed by research and qualitative data, to tackle local sustainable issues mapped to the SDGs. Tap into knowledge and skills learnt in CCC modules to create innovative prototypes for real-life issues faced by local communities.

This module provides an introductory experience to digital video production for a focus on brand video for VCMD students. They will be taught basic video production through the 3 stages: pre-production, production and post-production. Students should achieve basic proficiency of operating a camera, simple 2 column scriptwriting for brand videos , audio, basic non-linear editing software that, by the end of the module, will produce a video story, individually edited, based on their packaging design module in groups.

Please refer to Elective Modules Framework for more information.

​Tinker Lab is part of the Project Core modules that will be offered to all second year MAD students in semester 2. It is designed to strengthen students' skills and mindset as they work in a transdisciplinary team, tapping onto the transdisciplinary framework, process and tools to innovate solutions. Tinker Lab builds on the practices taught in X-Lab to further develop students’ ability to inspire innovation with purpose, encouraging participants to make a meaningful impact through their creations. This module aims to foster a mindset where tinkering is not just about play but about leveraging technology to bring about positive change (e.g. Sustainability Goals). Participants are invited to explore the endless possibilities of using their skills and ideas as catalysts for meaningful impact, whether on a personal, communal, or global scale. Through hands-on exploration, and collaborative projects, participants will uncover their potential as change-makers and learn to embrace creativity, experimentation, and iteration as tools.

Develop data visualisation skills and apply narrative elements and persuasive delivery techniques to communicate data effectively. Learn to craft compelling narratives, based on hard facts and data, to call stakeholders into taking action to tackle the SDGs.

In this module students will start to combine visual design with motion design. Students will be introduced to distinctions between static and moving design. The lessons will focus on communicating meaning through a combination of typography, intonation and movement. Students will be able to identify uses of dynamic and diegetic typography and apply them to creative storytelling.

This module will allow students to work with a variety of learning objectives tied to Advertising design. They will experiment with ideation sessions and technical skills such as digital imaging to deepen their understanding of the creative processes. The module will be taught using a combination of demonstration, tutorials, hands-on rendering, and critique sessions to familiarise them with creating outcomes relevant to the industry.

In this module students will be introduced concepts of CGI lighting and compositing. Students will be introduce to the theories such as qualities of lights, mood and product lighting. Digital compositing techniques such as AOV rebuilt, depth map and lighting separation will be applied as well. Compositing techniques that deals with filmed footage such as chroma keying, prep works and tracking will be introduced as well.

This module is an extension of Design Studio 1 and introduces moving design into the framework. Student are expected to engage clients and apply research methods to develop a desired future state. They are expected to gather feedback before ideating and will have the opportunity to propose a cross-platform design based on the requirement of the client.

In this module students will work in teams to take on a design brief, propose a solution and execute it under the supervision of a lecturer. Students are expected to exhibit a high standard of spoken and written communication regularly between their teammates and with their stakeholders. Students will not only be assessed on their competency and reliability, but also their effectiveness and impact within their team.

This module is designed to allow students interested in freelancing to learn how to turn their passions into profit. Students develop practical commercial skills, explore media law for the creatives and experience a taste of the gig economy. Students will learn how to hack it, negotiate it and close the deal. They will engage in professional practices with real clients in areas such as self-promotion, acquiring leads, estimating costs of services proposal writing and invoicing. With a practical understanding of media law and policies, including copyright and censorship, students will also recognise the legal rights and responsibilities they have as content creators, learn how to jump over the legal land-mines and navigate the real-life ethical dilemmas faced by media practitioners.

Innovation Lab is an opportunity for students to integrate, apply and deepen the knowledge, skillsets and competencies (both technical and general) they have gained over the course of their study. Building on the skills taught in Experience Lab and the Tinker Lab, students will work in mixed groups to tackle complex real-world issues through industry projects. They will learn how to research and generate new, innovative solutions that go beyond a single domain, while considering other factors such as meeting a business-end, dealing with resource constraints, as well as taking advantage of social, cultural and economic trends. They will also learn how to communicate with their stakeholders and manage a project. By the end of this module, students will deepen their skills in acquiring and synthesising knowledge from across disciplines and develop resilience in tackling complex problems

Get a head start in your career with the necessary skill sets, knowledge and tools to create your very own personal brand. Learn effective strategies to set yourself apart from the competition, and put it to good use and create awareness about the SDGs.

Acquire the skills needed to write in clear and concise English to effectively communicate an intended message to your target audience. Apply these skills when writing for specific contexts, such as scenarios related to the SDGs.

This module aims to immerse students with real-world industry experience. This programme comprises a 22-week enhanced internship programme integrating a structured learning outcome which facilitates authentic learning

Please refer to Elective Modules Framework for more information.