This intense 15-week IRL program is laser-focused on getting you the Design portfolio you need to get where you want to go in your career. It’s an excellent way to prove to yourself and the industry that you’re ready to step up and take a bold new direction. All with a focus on ideas and their execution through Design.
Program Overview
Berghs Advanced: Design consists of classes, coaching sessions, individual and group work, and more than fifteen briefs to furnish your portfolio. This program is perfect for international students with previous studies or experience in communications, advertising, and design – who want to work professionally in English as Designers.
Your core focus will be on Design. From solving compositional problems to communicate visually in a powerful way, to refining your craft to perfectly match the required tone. And from expanding creative campaigns across all executional formats through nuanced Design, to better understanding all the areas that a career in Design can happen.
We do it the Berghs way. This means we focus on Action-Based Learning, which means you learn by doing. You learn by applying great Design to all kinds of projects. It also means the program offers deep collaboration by bringing people with a passion and curiosity for communication from all over the world, to work together across multiple disciplines within communication. It’s the best way to prepare both your professional skills and your portfolio to get to where you want to go.
The middle of Berghs Advanced: Design program is an intensive six weeks designed to refine your skills in Design as your core professional focus. Your portfolio must reflect considerable professional abilities, and this is where you get to deep dive into your domain.
So, you’ll dive into the crafts of Design – from bettering your design and creative craft (both still design and motion design) to executing at a high level across media and formats, to finding your own unique design voice for your portfolio. This module is heavier on individual assignments and it gives you many opportunities to talk to professional Designers and ask any questions about the industry.
Great Design doesn’t happen in a bubble. That’s why much of our Berghs Advanced: Design program puts you with other ambitious students across a wide range of communicators, such as Strategists, Art Directors, Copywriters, Public Relations, and Digital Marketers. The benefits are enormous. You’ll see creative problems from new perspectives and learn to work collaboratively – a key ingredient to outstanding Designers.
Intro Week
For many students, Berghs feels like a new planet (in a good way). So, we prepare you with important self-leadership and teamwork skills. You’ll also survey the leading trends in communication and understand the importance of diversity and inclusion in your work and your workplace. You’ll also get your first two projects to work on, so you start thinking and designing right away.
Module 1: Problem, Insight, Solution
Over five weeks, you work in groups individually on many briefs and learn about problem framing, insight generation, message development, and creative execution. At the end of the module, you master the ideation process and produce and present better ideas faster and more consistently. You also learn to rapidly iterate your work while becoming better at giving and receiving feedback and how to pitch ideas powerfully. This module is designed to give you confidence and to provide momentum to your portfolio.
Module 3: Value
It all comes together in the final weeks to create something unique. First, we challenge teams with a single brief to develop a strategic platform and creative solution that positively impacts the user, the business, and society. Then, using your newly refined skills to collaborate across disciplines, you’ll create a powerful case film, which functions as a capstone project and a hero portfolio piece for future Designers. This module pushes you outside the traditional brief’s usual constraints to create something truly remarkable and that reflects your values as a Designer.
Portfolio Coaching
The core of Berghs Advanced: Design is our unique portfolio coaching course. This is when you get the space and support, to step back and consider exactly where you want your portfolio to take you. Then through a series of projects, coaching, milestones, and internal and external feedback, we develop the portfolio you need, as well as approaches to get your portfolio in front of the right people. It’s an intensely person journey with a lot of support and guidance to make it a deeply positive and rewarding experience.
You need more than a portfolio to get where you want to go as a Designer. That’s why we introduce you to as many industry professionals as we can. This might include site visits and introductions that we can make individually if you’re interested in specific business categories or companies. We’re happy to help you to grow the network that’s right for you.
Internships
With Berghs Advanced: Design you can optionally apply to ger real-world experience with some of Sweden’s best communication companies. It’s a great way to sample career options and start making deeper connections in the industry.
Advanced Design Certificate
Application & Admission Requirements
Do I need any prior knowledge?
This program is for postgraduate students or people with industry experience within a field of design, or design adjacent areas such as photography, motion video, or animation.
We expect Designers to be fluent with design software and have a good understanding of composition and communication.
English level: CEFR B2 or higher, see www.tracktest.eu. Because your English will be assessed during your interview, we don’t require a language certificate.
Include
Please submit your application via this page. Include your CV and a personal letter explaining your related education, experience, and motivation for Berghs Advanced: Design. You also need to provide relevant samples or links to your work related to Design.
You will be invited to a video conference interview to assess your English level and judge your suitability for Berghs Advanced: Design.
After your interview, you will be asked to complete a short task to assess how you think and work creatively. Your application documents, interview, and task will be weighed equally when evaluating your application.
