New School of Communication Short Courses 2026

Experience the RCA’s studio-based learning philosophy with leading experts Neville Brody, Adrian Shaughnessy, Astrid Stavro, and Professor Andrzej Klimowski, live online this June and July.

Aimed at professionals and students seeking an opportunity to experiment with new channels and new platforms in an environment catered towards personal exploration, re-appraisal and revitalisation of your current practice.

Introduction to Animation: Contexts and Process

Dates: 1, 4, 8, 11, 15 & 18 June 2026

Early Bird Finishing: 31 March 2026

A live online short course that will introduce students to hands-on animation experience alongside conceptual insights, fostering pathways to creativity and technical processes. Led and developed by BAFTA nominated animators and film makers, Dr Samantha Moore and Bunny Schendler.

For 40 years, the Royal College of Art has been a leader in auteur animation. To celebrate this legacy, this new short course invites you to discover animation practice introduced through the lens of our world-leading critical research. Students will gain a conceptually enriched understanding of animation grounded in the practice of making and discovery, through the process of practical, critical and reflective research.

Who is this short course for?

The course is designed for aspiring, emerging, and developing participants interested in broadening their knowledge and skills through animation practice. It can also help those intending to embark on MA level studies or production professionals wanting to work with moving image.

Typography

Dates: 2, 5, 9, 12, 16, 19, 23, & 26 June 2026

Early Bird Finishing: 31 March 2026

This online short course encourages participants to expand their typographic expertise in an open and experimental environment, under the expert guidance of renowned graphic designers Adrain Shaughnessy and Astrid Stavro.

Typography is part science and part art. A failure to understand this can result in mediocre typographic expression, or worse, miscommunication. This course aims to acquaint participants with the core principles of typography (the science) and inspire typographic expression (the art).

In this intensive learning and working environment, participants are given the practical and theoretical support needed to develop their own typographic practice. Participants are encouraged to acquaint themselves with RCA's pedagogical philosophy.

Who is this short course for?

This is a course for anyone with a basic grounding in typography. It is not for novices. It is for graphic design students and professionals, or anyone actively involved in any field of visual communication requiring the use of typography. It can also help those intending to embark on MA level studies.

The Graphic Novel: Visual Storytelling

Dates: 6, 9, 13, 16, 20, 23, 27 & 30 July 2026

Early Bird Finishing: 31 March 2026

A live online short course that encourages participants to unleash their imagination and master new methods of self-expression via visual storytelling, under the expert guidance of Professor Andrzej Klimowski and Miguel Angel Valdivia.

Human beings love to hear stories, read books and watch films. Some of us like to recall autobiographical incidents, reflect upon memories, gossip or simply chat. But to create a narrative that can engage a wide audience, we soon become aware of the importance of form. A narrative must have structure; it has to be built. Composition, tone, colour, pacing and tempo are the things we have to engage with. This course offers a fresh approach to the subject and aims at releasing the imagination and opening the opportunity for self-expression.

Who is this short course for?

The course is aimed at students, practitioners and enthusiasts who wish to further their skills in creating picture-driven stories that can lead to the making of original graphic novels. It can also help those intending to embark on MA level studies or professionals seeking to discover alternative ways to expand their working method.

Design Without: a Neville Brody Masterclass

Dates: 10, 11, 12 June 2026 with an online session on 25 June 2026.

Early Bird Finishing: 31 March 2026

A professional short course designed to help experienced practitioners challenge creative assumptions, take meaningful risks, and break free from habitual ways of working through a series of rapid, intensive briefs. This course is led by Professor Neville Brody, one of the most celebrated graphic designers of his generation – a leading typographer and internationally recognised art director and brand strategist.

In today's fast-paced, delivery-focused environment, we often lose the permission to experiment, play, and explore without a defined objective. As professional practitioners, our vocational skills become strengths, but they can also become invisible safety nets. We programme ourselves to find functional solutions and make risk-free decisions, often losing touch with lateral thinking and true creative possibility.

This course is a dedicated space to challenge those built-in responses. It is an antidote to the demand for instant, perfect output, offering a framework to rediscover the value of thoughtful consideration, ambiguity, and play. It is a safe space to take creative risks, uncover your "go-to" props, and think differently about your practice.

Who is this short course for?

This course is designed for experienced creative professionals, practitioners, designers, artists, and strategic thinkers from any discipline who feel "stuck" in their professional habits. It is ideal for professionals who want to challenge their traditional responses, discover new creative capabilities and are looking for a supportive, critical environment to test new ways of thinking.