Overview
Get a visual overview of this exciting programme by watching our colourful short video.
Our Design and Branding Strategy MA degree focuses on using design to address key issues in branding. It examines how design thinking can develop a new brand, or improve or expand an existing brand and enhance customer engagement. It aims to produce master’s qualified creative design management graduates capable of making a major contribution to the use of design in branding practices in organisations, both large and small.
You’ll have access to modern teaching and learning facilities, including a dedicated master’s design studio. Here you can discuss and exchange ideas with other students passionate about design management and design-led branding strategy.
Our popular, annual Design Master’s: Industry Student Review Evening is a great opportunity for you to connect with experts from design, brand and business. Their professional and practical perspective will help you to build a strong and clear direction for your research projects and dissertation.
And there’s Made in Brunel - a unique, student-led initiative that showcases our design talent at its finest. Each year our students run a series of industry and community events leading up to the Made in Brunel exhibition. This annual showcase is a highlight of the London design calendar and promotes the incredible work our students produce to the creative community, and is your chance to network with key design professionals.
You can explore our campus and facilities for yourself by taking our virtual tour.
Course content
The course is delivered in three phases. Term one is the taught element. In term two, the seminar and workshop programme exploring future trends is delivered, and you’ll also work on your two research projects. Then you move on to your dissertation and undertake an advanced piece of research relevant to design and branding strategy. This will be assessed through a final 20,000 word submission.
Compulsory
- Branding Strategy StudiesThis module aims to develop a creative strategic approach to branding and its relationship to design, to explore branding and brands and their evolving place in society, to evaluate the contemporary relationship of branding to design management and organisational performance, and to discuss existing and emerging branding concepts in specific industry/society areas or operational application.
- DissertationThe dissertation allows students to write and present a thesis on a current and challenging design management question, to research and critically evaluate a well formulated specialist design management research question derived from their taught modules, key published research, seminar programme and the practical experience of the design research project, to demonstrate a sophisticated and advance use of conceptual tools derived from previous modules, and to demonstrate the ability to add to the field of knowledge by reporting and presenting in a clear, interesting, reliable and thought provoking manner to a high professional standard.
- Design and Branding Futures: Seminar and Workshop ProgrammeThis module will clearly establish the relationship between and value of future forecasting and design strategy and innovation, it aims to engage with the complexity of future forecasting and its implications for design-led management of change, to incorporate the influence of current and future trends into recommendations from students own design and innovation research, and to identify and use ‘design forecasting' and other tools used in the development of personal and team futures.
- Design ResearchThis module aims to develop in-depth knowledge and skills in design research in order to investigate, formulate and specify a suitable and well-focussed specialist project, to critically explore the semantics and definitions of design, branding, strategy, innovation, design research, technology and creativity, and to evaluate the characteristics of and relationship between design, branding, creativity and innovation from leading classic and contemporary research.
- Design and Branding Research Project 2This project allows students to carry out a well formulated design and branding research project, to enable each student to formulate and conduct a thorough investigation and critical evaluation of the effectiveness of design management and branding in one or more organisations in a selected business or non-profit sector, and to address the issues and challenges for design management and branding in research and practice and make positive recommendations for future strategies.
- Design and Branding Research Project 1This project enables each student to formulate an investigation into the factors which impact on the practice of design and branding management in one or more organisations, to explore and evaluate the relationship between design research and progressive design-led branding professional practice, to select and justify appropriate research tools for a developing a design and branding strategy, and to develop an advanced critical understanding of the potential for strategic application of design management in brand development.
- Innovation Strategy and ManagementThis module aims to identify the key drivers informing emergent creativity and innovation in business, to explore the relationship between design and innovation within the changing nature of business models and creative industries, to compare and contrast how the strategic use of design is manifest in the performance of business and other institutions, and to evaluate the role of design and entrepreneurship in creative business start-ups.
- Strategic Design ManagementThis module aims to develop a balanced practical understanding and critical awareness of design management principles and contemporary practice, to critically examine the design process through all major stages, to develop a strategic approach to managing design in order to improve organisational performance, and to explore and debate the influence and origins of design management and design thinking.
This course can be studied undefined undefined, starting in undefined.
Please note that all modules are subject to change.
Read more about the structure of postgraduate degrees at Brunel
Careers and your future
Our graduates are working for companies like Design Bridge, Saffron, Imagination, Interbrand and Ogilvy. They have taken on roles such as brand strategist, brand consultant, brand manager and creative director.
UK entry requirements
- A 2:2 (or above) UK Honours degree, or equivalent internationally recognised qualification in a design or closely related creative subject. Other subjects with relevant work experience will be assessed on an individual basis.
Please note that we do not require a Design portfolio as part of the application for this programme. In the unlikely event that we do need this we will contact you.
EU and International entry requirements
If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list. This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.
English language requirements
- IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
- Pearson: 59 (59 in all subscores)
- BrunELT: 63% (min 58% in all areas)
- TOEFL: 90 (min 20 in all)
You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page.
Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our Brunel Language Centre.
Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.
Fees and funding
2024/25 entry
UK
£13,750 full-time
£6,875 part-time
International
£23,615 full-time
£11,805 part-time
More information on any additional course-related costs.
Fees quoted are per year and are subject to an annual increase.
See our fees and funding page for full details of postgraduate scholarships available to Brunel applicants.
Scholarships and bursaries
Teaching and learning
All workshops and seminars and the vast majority of lectures will be delivered in-person and on-campus with an expectation of on-campus attendance. Some sessions might provide pre-recorded content for you to engage with prior to on-campus activities, such as in-person workshops.
Lecture slides and recordings, workshop and seminar materials and other sources will be available online via the University’s Virtual Learning Environment. The vast majority of reading material, e.g. books and journals, will also be available online with full-text access.
On-campus teaching and learning activities allow you to make the most of facilities available on campus, e.g., workshops, computer rooms and the dedicated studios. In-person teaching and learning activities also help encourage students to integrate into the Brunel Design School community and connect with students from other year groups and other programmes.
The course is assessed entirely by coursework with online submission and feedback.
Access to a laptop or desktop PC is required for joining online activities, completing coursework and digital exams, and a minimum specification can be found here.
We have computers available across campus for your use and laptop loan schemes to support you through your studies. You can find out more here.
Our design master’s degrees are delivered by a passionate cross-disciplinary lecturing team, and enhanced by design and branding professionals who are part of our extensive network of industry collaborative partners.
Study will combine lectures, seminars, tutorials, workshop sessions, independent research, and individual and group project work. There will also be guest lectures from design and branding experts. Additionally, you’ll have the opportunity to participate in a Rich Design series of optional intensive workshops on specialist topics based on the interests of you and your peers and staff expertise.
Should you need any non-academic support during your time at Brunel, the Student Support and Welfare Team are here to help.
Assessment and feedback
Your work will be assessed through essays, analytical reports, research assignments, presentations, individual and group projects and your dissertation.
Read our guide on how to avoid plagiarism in your assessments at Brunel.