1. Professional Overview

The Visual Communication Design program is a school-level first-class program (including undergraduate-to-postgraduate transfer) that the school has prioritized for support. It was established in September 2011 and received the authorization to confer bachelor's degrees in May 2015. The program is based in Guangdong and serves the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It enjoys preferential policies in terms of teaching resources, practical platforms, and event support. Students can enjoy high-quality art design learning resources from the first year of enrollment.

The program keeps pace with the development of the digital era and has constructed a multimedia curriculum system that integrates traditional and digital skills. It covers areas such as graphic design, film production, UI design, and 3D design, aiming to comprehensively enhance students' innovative thinking and design capabilities in multimedia visual communication design, in order to adapt to the trend of information-based multimedia communication.

2. Training Objectives

This program is based in Guangdong and serves the Greater Bay Area. It aims to cultivate individuals with a strong sense of patriotism, moral integrity, and a strong sense of social responsibility, who are well-rounded socialist builders and successors. It mainly aims to train professionals who are oriented towards the frontlines of advertising marketing, digital media, and cultural and creative industry management and services in Guangdong, possessing good general knowledge and solid theoretical knowledge of visual communication design, as well as strong practical application abilities, AI information processing capabilities, logical thinking abilities, and innovation capabilities. They can work in visual design positions in advertising marketing, digital media, and cultural and creative industries.

Graduates can engage in creative, design production, and cultural product research and development in the advertising marketing, digital media, and cultural and creative design industries. They also have the academic foundation for further studies.

3. Training Directions

(1) Digital Static Visual Design Direction

This direction focuses on static visual fields such as brand visual identity, graphic advertisements, packaging design, and cultural products, integrating AIGC-assisted design technology. It aims to cultivate professionals with brand planning capabilities and digital design skills. Students will master the complete design process from concept creation to output, and be capable of performing tasks such as brand design, advertising creativity, UI interface, and e-commerce visual design.

(2) Digital Dynamic Visual Design Direction

This direction is oriented towards dynamic visual fields such as short videos, film post-production, dynamic graphics, and interactive media. It aims to cultivate students who master core skills such as audio-visual language, dynamic graphic design, and post-production effects synthesis. Combined with AI tools and multimedia technologies, students can be competent in positions such as film production, new media operation, animation design, and interaction design.

4. Core Courses

The curriculum system of the Visual Communication Design program deeply integrates AI technology with traditional design skills, covering the following core courses:

● AI Design Module: AIGC-assisted design, AI+ poster design, AI+ brand identity design, AI+ 3D design

● Visual Design Module: Advertising photography, UI design, audio-visual language, dynamic graphic design

● Post-Production Module: Post-production effects synthesis

● Planning and Marketing Module: Artistic planning and marketing

The course setting closely follows the industry's cutting-edge trends, fully integrating AI tools into design teaching, and cultivating comprehensive design talents with AI literacy and innovation capabilities.

5. Faculty Strength

The Visual Communication Design program currently has 21 full-time teachers, including 1 professor, 4 associate professors, 4 lecturers, and 3 with doctoral degrees. The teaching ability is strong, the faculty structure is reasonable, and a favorable hierarchical pattern of "professor leading, associate professor as backbone, and young doctoral students with vitality" has been formed.

The teaching team graduated from renowned design schools at home and abroad, possessing rich industry practice experience and cutting-edge design teaching concepts. Many teachers serve as judges in national design competitions and guide students to win national and provincial awards repeatedly. The team introduces industry projects into classroom teaching, achieving a practical training model of "teaching, doing, and learning integration".

6. Teaching and Research Platform

(1) On-campus Experimental and Training Laboratories

The Digital Creativity Innovation Practice Center is equipped with 6 professional experimental and training rooms:

● Visual Communication Innovation Studio

● Apple Creative Studio

● XR Real-World Fusion Immersive Studio

● Multi-functional Digital Art Design Training Room

● Photography Training Room

● 3D Printing Training Room

According to the needs of teaching practice, it is also equipped with high-end computers, monitors, cameras, interactive sensors, industrial-grade 3D printers and other professional equipment to provide sufficient technical support for students.

Figure 1 Apple Creative Studio

Figure 2 XR Real-Imaginary Fusion Immersive Studio

Figure 3 Photography Training Room

(2) Off-campus practice teaching base

Establish a school-enterprise cooperation training base with 12 enterprises and implement project-based teaching, including: Guangzhou Lingchuang Technology Co., Ltd., Guangzhou SHEIN Xiyin Fast Fashion E-commerce Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Tomato Advertising Co., Ltd., Zhuhai Mozhao Culture Media Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Fanchen Media Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Wanxiangyuan Culture Communication Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Kema Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Xingjia Culture Communication Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Yingshi Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Yunxiang Animation Design Co., Ltd., Huashan Town (Guangzhou) Tourism Culture Development Co., Ltd.

7. Teaching Outcomes

Through competition to promote learning, exhibition to promote teaching, project-based teaching to promote the improvement of professional teaching quality, so that students' professional quality and comprehensive practical ability can meet the needs of the society for professional talents. In the past three years, it has won 30 national awards and more than 200 provincial awards, and the teaching effect is remarkable.

The representative award-winning works are as follows:

Author	Work Title	Competition Name	Award Level
Wu Wanjun, Tan Suyue	'Red-tailed kitten water park anniversary adventure'	The 17th National College Students' Advertising Art Contest	National First Prize
Zheng Yinghao, Situ Zulin	'Super Tooth'	The 17th National College Students' Advertising Art Contest	National Third Prize
Zhang Ziyi	'Sleep box' software interface design	The 13th National University Digital Art Design Competition	First Prize
Gao Yingqi	'Playing with water on my face!'	The 12th National College Students' Advertising Art Contest	National Second Prize
Ding Ziyi	'Leyue' IP visual image design	The 12th Future Designer NCDA Contest	National Third Prize

In the 17th National College Students' Advertising Art Competition (referred to as the "Grand Canton Competition") in 2025, the students of visual communication won a total of 23 program awards, including 1 national first-class award, 1 third-class award and 1 outstanding award, 11 first-class awards, 2 second-class awards and 4 third-class awards in Guangdong Province, as well as 3 "Excellent Teacher Awards", which continued the excellent competitive tradition of the Department of Visual Communication Design in various professional competitions.

Figure 4 Wu Wanjun, Tan Qinyue 'Chiwei Little Fox Water Park Smooth Adventure' (Instructor: Zhou Chao) -

17th National College Students Advertising Art Competition National First Prize & Guangdong Province First Prize Works

Figure 5 Zheng Haochang, Situ Chaolin 'Save the Teeth' (Instructor: Zhou Chao) - 17th

National College Students Advertising Art Competition National Third Prize & Guangdong Province First Prize Works

Figure 6 Zheng Haochang, Situ Chaolin 'Save the Teeth' (Instructor: Zhou Chao) -

17th National College Students Advertising Art Competition National Third Prize & Guangdong Province First Prize Works

Figure 7 Gao Yingqi 'Come to my face to play with water!' (Instructor: Zhou Qixin) -

12th National College Students Advertising Art Competition National Second Prize

Figure 8 Ding Ziyi 'Lesou IP visual image design' (Instructor: Li Junyan) -

12th Future Designer National University Digital Art Design Competition National Third Prize

8. Career Prospects

(1) Employment direction

The graduates of visual communication design have strong practical ability, wide employment opportunities and high employment rate. It covers brand design, CG, advertising, film and television, new media, cultural and creative, UI design, e-commerce, animation, games, education and many other fields.

(2) Postgraduate entrance examination

In the past three years, graduates pursuing postgraduate studies in visual communication design have been admitted to the University of Sydney, Kingston University London, University of New South Wales, Guangxi Academy of Arts, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou University, St. Joseph University and other well-known universities at home and abroad.

Lin Jingrou	Liu Zhiqi	Xie Yingyi	Wu Xi	Gao Yingqi
2025	2025	2025	2025	2025
University of Sydney	Guangxi University of Arts and Design	Guangdong University of Foreign Studies	St. Joseph University	Kingston University London

(3) Excellent graduates

The graduates of visual communication design program have good comprehensive quality and strong practical ability, and have achieved excellent development in well-known enterprises and institutions:

● Li Wenguang (Class of 2019): From July 2019 to July 2023, he worked at Shenzhen Tencent Group as a senior visual designer; since September 2023, he has been working at Hangzhou Kuaishou Technology as a senior experience designer.

● Li Zhiwei (Class of 2020): From July 2021 to May 2022, he worked at NetEase Games as a CG art designer; since June 2022, he has been working at Shanghai Mingjue Culture Media Co., Ltd. as an appearance development designer, and has participated in the production of the film "The Wandering Earth 2".

● Gong Zhengyu (Class of 2020): From July 2020 to July 2023, he worked at Southern Metropolis Daily as a visual designer; since August 2023, he has been working at Shenzhen Radio and Television Group as a senior manager of visual presentation.

● Ou Bin (Class of 2021): From January 2021 to February 2022, he served as a graphic designer at Guangzhou Fandao Network Technology Co., Ltd.; from March 2022 to December 2024, he worked as a designer at the Google Experience Center in Guangzhou; from January 2025 to present, he has served as an AI designer at Guangzhou SHEIN Xiyin Fast Fashion E-commerce Company.