Course Information

About this course

In this course, you develop a comprehensive understanding of the Scandinavian and European approach to graphic design and explore methodologies that strengthen your individual design capabilities. You work on project-based assignments in visual identity, branding, and communication across all platforms. Exploration and analysis of Scandinavian and European graphic case studies give your individual design capabilities a competitive edge. This course is taught vertically, and expectations relate to you as an individual student.

Syllabus

Spring 2026 – MC

This is the most recent syllabus for this course

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Spring 2026 – MA

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Spring 2026 – LBH

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Pre-requisites

Enrollment in a professional school or department of architecture or design. Two graphic design studios at university level. Knowledge of one or more programs in Adobe Creative Suite.

Travel on Study Tour

You only take one Core Course per semester, and each Core Course includes two Study Tours: one Short Study Tour to a nearby destination for three days, and one Long Study Tour to another European country for six days.

Led by your faculty, Study Tours take you into real-world settings where you will apply what you’ve learned outside the classroom.

Check out the Study Tours for this course
Students sitting on the floor in a modern building, engaging in a group activity with papers and notebooks scattered around.

Faculty

Lene Højland Bergh-Hansen

Master’s degree in design, visual communication, Royal Danish Academy (Denmark’s Designschool), 2009.  Teacher’s Diploma, N. Zahles Seminarium, 2001. Graphic designer and Art Director, Frame & Work ApS, 2024-present. Graphic designer, Copenhagen Business School, 2016-2023. Self employed graphic designer, 2015-2016. Graphic designer, Cumuli, 2010-2015. With DIS since 2025.

Mark Gry Christiansen

Graphic Designer. Ordinary National Diploma (Portsmouth College of Art & Design, 1987). Degree in Visual Communication (Denmarks Design School, 1992). Worked at Bysted Design from 1989-1995. Self employed from 1995 with projects covering a wide variety of fields within graphic design. With DIS since 2017.

Morten Noer Andersen

Graphic designer (Denmark’s Design School, 1986). Master of professional development and professional education (University of Copenhagen, 2004). Management studies (DR). Launched the MA Programme, Visual Culture & Identity at KADK Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen (2013-2016). Head of Institute of Communication Design, Denmark’s Design School (2001-2007). Head of design at Bysted (2007-2009) and at DR TV (1997-2001). Currently working on a Ph.D. about public visual identity. With DIS since 2018.

Long Study Tour

About this tour

This week-long Study Tour to the Netherlands forms an integral part of the studio curriculum by broadening your understanding of how design shapes human experience. You will examine graphic design in the built environment by studying cultural destinations in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and the surrounding areas. The Netherlands is a visually captivating country and the Dutch have continually been at the forefront of graphic design starting with the De Stijl movement in the early 20th century. By visiting sites and immersing yourself in the environment, you will begin to identify cultural differences through visual and graphic expression.

The sites visited, as sensory experiences, provide you with an opportunity to develop your critical observation skills and diagrammatic and representational proficiency. Simultaneously, you will be equipped with a vocabulary of design concepts, strategies, and materials, which can then be applied in your own creative work in studio and beyond.

Learning outcomes

  • Study graphic design as manifest in contemporary and traditional sites within the built environment of Holland
  • Meet local offices and experts in the industry and learn about innovative design
  • Develop sketching and note-taking skills for recording impressions of sites in a journal

Possible activities

  • Visiting the Stedelijk Museum, Rijksmuseum, and the EYE Film Institute
  • Office visits to prominent Dutch graphic design firms

Amsterdam

Short Study Tour

About this tour

Core Course Week, including this short Study Tour, forms an integral part of your studio curriculum by broadening your understanding of the social and physical context of Danish design. Not only will you discover the qualities that make a design quintessentially ‘Danish,’ you will also experience Danish culture, traditional cuisine, art, and music. You will study graphic design at all scales but with a focus on visual identity and way-finding in the built environment, through examples including significant religious architecture, innovative museum designs, historic and contemporary urban environments, and other graphic design related sites.

The two-day seminar in Copenhagen and three-day Study Tour to western Denmark will provide you with the opportunity to develop your critical observation skills and diagrammatic and representational proficiency. Simultaneously, you will be equipped with a vocabulary of design concepts, strategies, and materials, which you can apply in your own creative work in studio and beyond.

Learning outcomes

  • Study graphic design as manifest in contemporary and traditional sites within the built environment of Denmark
  • Gain an understanding of Danish history, geography, and culture outside the Copenhagen region
  • Develop sketching and note-taking skills for recording impressions of sites in a journal

Possible activities

  • Comparison of different systems of visual identity and way-finding in spaces for art museums, including the Trapholt and ARoS museums
  • Visiting a traditional Danish church with centuries old iconic chalk drawings
  • Studying Brandts Museum in Odense, with an extensive graphic design program covering building identity and communication