The 2023 Design Week graduate show guide

South East England

Anglia Ruskin University – physical exhibition

ARU’s annual degree show returns in-person this year from the 10-23 June, presenting projects by design, art, film and performance students. The exhibition will explore themes such as society, identity and the environment, and will take place in the Ruskin Gallery and across ARU’s Cambridge campus.

University of Brighton – physical exhibition

This year Brighton University will hold three in-person grad shows. The undergraduate exhibition from 3-11 June; the Architecture and Design end of year show from 3-9 June; and the MA show from 8-15 July. Over 30 courses will take part across the three shows.

Buckinghamshire New University – physical exhibition

BNU’s annual Art and Design summer show will be open to the public from 16-21 June. The work of the university’s final year students will be showcased at the High Wycombe campus, as well as work from the Design Innovation MA students.

University for the Creative Arts – physical exhibition

UCA Farnham Graduate Show Takeover will take place on the campus from 7-21 June. It will feature work from students across the university’s disciplines, from gaming, and motion design to graphic design. Its digital showcase is also now live.

University of Portsmouth – physical exhibition and digital showcase

The university’s faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries will host its annual summer show in person, starting with a preview evening on 16 June followed by the main showcase from 19-23 June. Visitors can expect to see projects in the field of design and performance, creative technologies, and film, media and communications. This year’s show will also house the Centre for Creative and Immersive Extended Reality (CCIXR). Its online showcase will go live on 16 June.

University of Suffolk – physical show

The university’s Arts Degree Show starts with a preview on the evening of 22 June and continuing from 23 June – 1 July in the day. It will take place across two locations, the Arts Building and Suffolk Archives’ The Hold in Ipswich, showcasing work from graphic design and graphic illustration, architecture, digital film production, fine art and photography students.

South West England

Arts University Bournemouth – physical exhibition and digital showcase

AUB will host its graduate summer show on campus from 30 June – 7 July this year. Shows will be available to view online from 25 July. Its MA show will take place later in the year from 8 September – 7 October. Online shows will also be available for both undergraduate and MA projects, with the former going live on the 31 July (MA online show date to be confirmed).

Winchester School of Art – physical exhibition

From 16-18 June, Winchester School of Art will open its campus for the summer degree showcase, featuring six undergraduate programmes, including games design and art, graphic design and textile design.

Arts University Plymouth – physical exhibition

Starting with a private view event on the evening of 23 June, Arts University Plymouth’s graduate show will run until 29 June at Tavistock Place on the campus. Its post-graduate show will run later in the year from 31 August – 7 September at the same location.

West England and Wales

University of West England – digital showcase and physical exhibition

UWE Bristol’s Creative Industries degree show is now underway and will run until 15 June, accompanied by a digital showcase. It will feature work from over 1000 graduates across 30 different courses, from animation to product design.

Cardiff Metropolitan University – physical exhibition

CMU’s Cardiff School of Art and Design degree show started on 7 June and will run until 13 June. Undergraduate students from courses such as illustration, graphic communication, interior design and more will showcase their final projects.

Swansea College of Art – digital showcase

Student work from Swansea College of Art is now live through its digital showcase website. Expect to see work across a range of disciplines such as automotive and transport design, product and furniture design, and graphic design.

Midlands

Birmingham City University – digital showcase

BCU have created a virtual platform to showcase graduate student work from their various institutions, including the Institute of Creative Arts, the Institute of Jewellery, Fashion and Textiles, and the School of Architecture and Design.

Coventry University – digital showcase

Following Coventry University’s in-person shows in May, student profiles and examples of their work are now available on the degree show website.

University of Lincoln – digital showcase and physical exhibition

From 17-25 June, students of the Lincoln School of Design will showcase their work across graphic design, illustration, product design and more at the Brayford campus. The in-person event will be supported by a digital showcase going live on the 18 June.

Norwich University for the Arts – physical exhibition 

NUA’s graduate showcase returns this year from 16-22 June across three campus buildings; Guntons Building, St Georges Building, and Boardman House. Visitors can also visit the university’s pop-up art building on Duke Street were graduates will be selling prints, stickers, paintings and more.

Nottingham Trent University – digital showcase

Following its in-person showcase in May, NTU’s digital showcase is now live, featuring student work from the Nottingham School of Art and Design. Participating courses include designing for the stage and screen, illustration and graphic design.

Staffordshire University – digital showcase

Staffordshire University’s in-person exhibition events have now ended but you can still find work showcased through a digital portal, GradEX, focusing on games, computing, digital technologies, and more.

University of Worcester – digital showcase

Following its physical degree shows last month, work from students at the University of Worcester is now available to view online. Student projects cover subject areas including game art, graphic design, illustration, and creative media.

North West England

University of Central Lancashire – physical exhibition

UCLan’s degree show has already kicked off and will run until 26 June at the Preston campus in the Victoria Building, Hanover Building and Engineering Innovation Centre. It will include architecture exhibitions, film animations and art installations, and 3D modelling and design-focused portfolios.

Lancaster University

Running from 21 June, Lancaster University’s degree show will feature work from design, architecture, theatre, film, and fine art students. It is the first year that the degree show at LICA (“Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts”) incorporates all five disciplines, making it the LICA festival. It will be hedl in the LICA building on campus.

University of Cumbria – digital showcase

UoC’s Institute of Arts has published student work on a digital portal following in-person events earlier this month. Students from disciplines such as graphic design, games design and illustration took part in the show.

Manchester Metropolitan University – physical exhibition and digital showcase

Manchester Metropolitan University’s School of Art will be holding its degree show from 10-21 June. Exhibitions can be found in the Benzie, Chatham and SODA buildings on the All Saints campus. The student work can also be viewed digitally.

Yorkshire and North East England

University of Huddersfield – physical exhibition

The Arts and Humanities Graduate Showcase, Radar, will run from 10-24 June on the university’s Barbara Hepworth building. The show website, which will feature all of the student work, will launch on 20 June.

University of Sunderland – physical exhibition

The work of Art and Design students at Sunderland University will be showcased from 17 June through to 12 August at Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens. The exhibition will cover subject areas like animation and games art, graphic design, illustration and design.

University of Leeds – physical exhibition and digital showcase 

University of Leeds’ School of Design degree show is returning in-person, as well as online, from 16-30 June. The event will take place at Clothworkers Central building and house the work of students of art and design, fashion design, fashion marketing, graphic and communication design, and textile design. It will also be available to view online.

Northern Ireland and Scotland

Belfast School of Art – physical exhibition

Running from 9-16 June, the Belfast School of Art degree show is hosting its first fully open degree show in the BA Building on the Belfast campus. Expect to see work in the realm of interaction design, product design, print making and ceramics and graphics and illustration.

Edinburgh College of Art – digital showcase and physical exhibition

Featuring student work from the schools of Art, Design, Music, Architecture and Landscape Architecture, the ECA grad show will end on 11 June. Alongside the in-person event, the university has also launched a website where all of the student work can be viewed.

Glasgow School of Art – digital showcase and physical exhibition

The GSA graduate showcase will also be coming to an end on 11 June but can also be found online. It is exhibiting student work from the university’s schools of fine art, design, innovation, and simulation and visualisation.

Gray’s School of Art – physical exhibition

The Gray’s School of Art degree show is returning in-person this year and will take place on the campus. It will run from 10-17 June and showcase students’ projects from a range of disciplines, including communication design, 3D design, and fashion and textiles.

London

Central Saint Martins – digital showcase and physical exhibition

CSM is running its art, design, materials, innovation and culture degree show from 15-18 June this year. The online work will be launching on 13 June. 

Kingston University – physical exhibition and digital showcase

Running from 10-16 June, Kingston School of Art’s grad show will be both in person and online. It will cover all its undergraduate degrees – including graphic design, illustration animation, and product and furniture design – and be showcased across the Knights Park Campus.

Goldsmiths University – physical exhibition 

Goldsmiths’ BA Design showcase will return on 22 June for industry private viewing, the evening of 24 June for friends and family viewing, and 23-27 June for the general public. The event will take place at Copeland Park Gallery in Peckham.

Ravensbourne University – physical exhibition

Dotted across various London locations, Ravensbourne University’s degree show is well underway and will run until 16 June. Expect to see work in the fields of music and sounds design, UX/UI design, motion graphics and advertising and brand design.

Royal Academy of Arts – physical exhibition 

From 8-25 June, The Royal Academy of Arts will showcase the work of 14 students across its studio spaces. Disciplines include performance, installation and moving image, to sculpture, painting, and print.

Royal College of Art – physical exhibition 

At the new campus building in Battersea and the original Kensington campus, the RCA grad show for its 45-week courses will take place from 30 June – 3 July. For the two-year programmes, a second show will take place from 13-16 July at the Truman Brewery in East London. Visitors can expect projects from a range of disciplines, including intelligent mobility, service design, visual communication, design products, interior design, fashion and architecture. 

London College of Communications – physical exhibition

LCC’s second more design-focused grad show will run from 14-17 June on the campus. Exhibiting courses include design management, graphic branding and identity, user experience design and design for branded spaces.

Collection Shows

ARTSTHREAD Global Design Graduate Show

For this year’s Global Design Graduate Show, ARTSTHREAD has teamed up with Gucci to showcase work in four categories: fashion, accessories and textiles; digital, visual communication and film; product architecture and interior; and fine art photography and craft. Students who graduated on or after September 2022 in an arts-related discipline can apply until 31 August. A team will narrow down the submissions, which will be showcased later this year. Judges include Tommy Hilfiger chief design officer Lee Holman, Google UX engineer Iris Qu, and Gomi Design co-founder Tom Meades.

New Designers – physical exhibition 

New Designers will showcase the work of young people in the industry from 28 June – 8 July. The first week will include textiles, fashion, ceramics and glass, and contemporary design crafts, while the second week will feature furniture, graphic design, illustration, motion and digital arts, and product, industrial and spatial design projects.

New Creatives – physical exhibition

Curated by Oxo Tower Wharf, the New Creatives show will feature work from students at universities including Brunel, Kingston and Bath. The showcase will run from 12 June – 16 July.

Banner and featured image courtesy of UCA Farnham