Design Courses in Sydney & Brisbane, Australia

Billy Blue College:
Billy Blue College of Design has campuses in North Sydney, NSW and Brisbane, Queensland in Australia. We have grown into a truly inspirational space for design education offering bachelor of applied design degree courses in various fields of design as well as certificate and diploma programs. We are proud to claim an iconic and affectionate place in the hearts and minds of the design community. For more than 20 years, Billy Blue College of Design has been producing some of Australia’s most creative and successful design graduates. Originally founded by industry professionals, Billy Blue is a creative hub where current practicing professionals come to teach and meet with students and staff.

Billy Blue College of Design offers the folllowing design courses:

Bachelor of Applied Design (Communication) Degree Course:
This qualification introduces you to a comprehensive range of communication design disciplines - typography, branding, publication design, advertising, image making, packaging, web design, information design and advertising. You engage with the design process – moving from basic design exercises to a range of fully comprehensive projects – where initial concepts are taken through to printed outcomes or functioning screen-based environments.

This well-respected qualification equips you with the skills to become employed in fields such as graphic design, art direction, photography, illustration, advertising, print media, magazine design and publishing, print media, copywriting, typography, finished art, packaging design, book design, information architecture and interactive graphic design.

Bachelor of Applied Design (Branded Environment) Degree Course:
This course is all about the application of ‘brand language’ (logo, colours, sound, imagery, textures, messages) to three dimensional spaces. You will explore idea generation, articulate creative solutions using a range of media and communication techniques, understand how to manage and uphold the integrity of a brand in 2D and 3D formats, design unique environments in response to brand challenges and understand the effects that a space has on the people that visit it and how, in turn, they can influence the environment they’re in.

You could work in communications, interior design or architectural practices and specialise in the translation of brand language to environments. These environments include interactive spaces, game and virtual design, product launches and exhibitions, museums, retail spaces and way finding systems (eg. airports and shopping centres).

Bachelor of Applied Design (Digital Media) Degree Course:
This qualification focuses on the process of communicating specifically in a digital environment using images, typography, sound, motion and interactivity for expression, communication, social interaction and education.
Digital media design refers to both the process (designing) by which the communication is created and the products (designs) which are generated. Areas of study include internet design, anything interactive (e.g. touch screens), CD ROMs, DVDs, digital interfaces, digital animation, video games, Flash technology, mobile phones and a whole lot more.

Grads are employed in a variety of high-tech positions such as video game design, animation, web design, film and TV, scripting for the web, 3D design, illustration, interactive design, studio or production management.

Bachelor of Applied Design (Commercial Interiors) Degree Course:
Learn how to develop and design unique interiors for commercial interior environments, ranging from hotels, bars, restaurants and workspaces to the interiors of animation/film and game design. This course explores areas fundamental to commercial interiors like branding, lighting, sustainability and materiality, and learn the practicalities of designing inspiring commercial environments. Assess commercial interior design strategies, see how commercial interiors can engage an audience, and apply theory to practice by inventing a range of commercial interior design solutions for real clients.

Based in an architectural or interior design practice you’ll design everything from cafes, hotels, restaurants, exhibitions and workplaces to the interiors of games, virtual worlds and animations. You might even specialise in hospitality design, corporate design, retail design, exhibition design, set design or virtual commercial interiors.

Bachelor of Applied Design (Residential Interiors):
Learn how to create, design and organise innovative and responsible solutions for residential environments, using all kinds of media and communication techniques. You’ll learn how to evaluate residential design challenges, discover how digital technology is influencing the residential interior design landscape, and understand how a creative residential interior can immerse its inhabitants.

Important principles and skills are picked up along the way, and put into practice through design, documentation, the building approval process, budgeting, specification writing and project management. Theory is brought to life through hands-on practical experience in an exciting studio environment.

Upon graduation you could find yourself designing a wide range of residential environments – from single and multi-level houses to the interiors of large scale or high-rise residential apartment complexes. You may also find work in any leading architectural or interior design practice, either here in Australia or around the world or you could also start your own interior design business.

Bachelor of Applied Design (Branded Fashion) Degree Course:
This qualification will challenge both your creative and business mind, and groom you for a world-class career as a Brand Fashion Designer. It focuses on the design, production and marketing of garments. You learn how to create and market a range of design solutions, and use the latest software to communicate your product design ideas.

Discover how to produce clothing designs according to project budgets and timelines, and find out how to manage the integrity and positioning of a brand. Investigate the theory behind design and marketing, evaluate communication and brand fashion strategies, and scrutinize current, present and future fashion trends. Enhance your forecasting, project-management and drawing skills, and comprehend the difference between fashion and clothing, and brand label and designer label.

Billy Blue’s newest qualification equips you with the skills to become a brand fashion designer, buyer, merchandiser or product developer. Having this qualification under your belt also means that you could launch your own range of garments.

Certificate III in Printing and Graphic Arts:
This exciting course is ideal if you want to work in a small to medium printing or design studio in this growing industry. As a pre-press professional you’ll be in charge of preparing digital documents for
output to print. This course teaches you how to assemble text and graphics, and prepare files for final print production using a variety of hardware and software. As a graduate of this course, you’ll be equipped with the skills to work in digital production environments such as print pre-press studios, or magazine and newspaper publishing.

A graphic pre-press professional is responsible for many things – managing design for production, and setting/composing type/graphics into layouts and finished pages ready for printing or production of other visual media. They use the latest computer programs to digitise, manipulate and output images, and produce high-quality digital colour proofs. They’re experts in scanning and adjusting colour and contrast of images, and help input, transfer and alter electronic information for a variety of devices including scanners and multimedia systems.

Diploma of Printing and Graphic Arts (Digital Production):
The Diploma is the 2nd year of the Billy Blue printing and graphics arts course and a step up from the Certificate III in Printing and Graphic Arts (Graphic Pre-press). It equips you with a broad range of knowledge to excel in the graphic technology industry, and advances your skills in the preparation of files for digital workflow.

You’ll become proficient in the use of industry-standard software such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign to prepare artwork for digital print production. It equips you for a rewarding role in digital production environments such as pre-press studios, magazine and newspaper publishing.

As a graduate, you can look forward to advancing your skills in the preparation of files and digital workflow, and the transformation of text and images for final production. Additionally, you will become proficient in the use of industry-standard software such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign to create artwork for digital print production.

Certificate III in Design Fundamentals:
Keen to study design, but haven’t yet compiled a portfolio to gain entry into a Bachelor Degree? Passionate about design, but don’t want to study at a higher level? This course has been designed specifically to ensure that you’ll have a quality portfolio when you finish.

This course gives you great insight into the exciting and dynamic world of design. It arms you with the academic skills necessary for successful tertiary study. On successful completion, it gives you the chance to gain entry into Year 1 of our Bachelor of Applied Design courses.