Choosing the right OCA course for you

Posted: 01/07/26 09:49 | 0 Comments

A perspective from Illustrator & designer, and OCA Visual Communications tutor Polly Harvey.

Are you feeling stuck with choosing which course to apply for?

At OCA, we offer a wide range of courses to suit different interests, and choosing the right one when you apply can sometimes feel daunting.

Consider what you love: what is it that you will look forward to studying in depth? You might feel that you already have a strong understanding of the career path and subject you wish to focus on, but at this stage of study it can also be difficult to pinpoint exactly what you wish to specialise in.

It can be useful to have your long-term career goals in mind. Where do you see yourself, where does your passion lie, and what will fulfil you day to day? This isn’t always clear for students, and it certainly wasn’t for me early on. It took me a long time to focus in on a clear path; from studying Fine Art to working towards an MA in Illustration 10 years later.

BA Visual Communications at OCA is unique as it encompasses and celebrates a range of different approaches to studying design. This means that for those interested in both Illustration and Graphic Design, the course structure enables students to deepen their knowledge using a broader range of disciplines, and also provides opportunities to explore and combine other creative disciplines, such as photography, animation, and printmaking.

Within the Illustration briefs, you will have the opportunity to develop skills in visual narrative and storytelling through digital and analogue drawing. The Graphic Design briefs offer the chance to explore typography, layout, and creative problem-solving, and there are many projects within the Vis Com curriculum that provide opportunities to work with a combination of the two, as well as bring in other areas of design practice, such as moving image.

This exciting crossover gives students the freedom to broaden their skills and gain a well-rounded experience through experimentation. If you would like the opportunity to delve further into possibilities using different techniques and materials in a design context, this course will allow you to do so.

It can be highly beneficial to develop a working knowledge of a range of approaches while specialising in one core area. Doing so diversifies your skillset, allowing you to work across a wider range of different briefs, and helps you connect ideas across different disciplines more effectively.

Within Vis Com, you will have the opportunity to work with a range of different tutors who specialise in a variety of disciplines, enabling you to receive critical feedback from a range of perspectives and enhance your understanding.