Stellenbosch Academy of Design and Photography

Stellenbosch Academy of Design and Photography

The Stellenbosch Academy of Design and Photography opened its doors in January 2003 in a quaint historic building on Dorp Street, but due to rapidly expanding application numbers soon had to relocate to Techno Park, the innovation hub of Stellenbosch. This has been our home ever since

In just a short period of time, the Academy became one of the top five creative institutions in South Africa and has maintained that rating for the past six years. Added to this, the Academy was named the number one creative institution in South Africa by the Loeries in 2012.

Our Academic team, led by Dr Ian Marley, are highly educated and experienced within their fields, offering the best instruction and inspiration this country has to offer. In the fast-paced media landscape in which we find ourselves, thinking on your feet and adapting to new tools, media and audiences is key.

Applying creative thinking to new sets of problems means new solutions every day and this is what gets us out of bed every morning. This infectious enthusiasm filters through to our students and results in graduates that can think on their feet and do us proud in the industry.

THREE THINGS THAT SET US APART
Our insistence on staying relevant and consistently reviewing our curriculum to ensure it is keeping pace with the lightning speed of the communications industry.
Our unwavering devotion towards producing the best creative work in South Africa
Our academic staff, handpicked for their enthusiasm, experience and talent ensuring engaging, challenging mentorship and guidance that brings out the best in our students.
With these three things in place, our graduates exit with a powerful combination of inter-disciplinary theoretical and practical skills that are without compare in the South African market. While we see our graduates as our measure of success, the creative industry has also recognised us and we are proud to say we have been in the top five creative institutions in South Africa for the past six years.
OUR ONE-OF-A-KIND CAMPUS

At the Academy the creative potential of our students is a huge motivation. Therefore the campus provides spaces for collaborative interaction, formal classes, research, and a stylish in-house cafe for down time. These multiple spaces allow for unexpected collaboration and fortuitous random meetings, where good ideas can become great. Our campus, situated within Stellenbosch’s innovation hub, is perfectly placed to encourage and foster the very best creative thinking.

We value sustainability and environmental consciousness and to that end our landscaping team have prepared an indigenous garden around the majority of the campus that is designed to absorb carbon dioxide. We have also recently started a vegetable and herb garden, where we encourage students to get involved. To further do our bit for the environment, our Academy bus travels to and from the Stellenbosch town centre – transporting our students while reducing our carbon footprint.

We also have a relationship with the University of Stellenbosch (US) Library Services whereby personnel and students of the Academy can make use of their library services to do more in-depth research.

We provide all new students with training workshops during orientation week to ensure they are able to use our library facilities to their full potential. We always say the best projects start in the library!

The Academy’s student representative body, SISA, functions as the voice of the students within the organisation and also organises various community and social events.

However, to truly get an idea of what Academy life is like, we suggest visiting one of our many open days throughout the year, where you can get a feel for the space and see some of the amazing work our students are producing.

Programmes that we offer

Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communication

The Stellenbosch Academy has a unique educational offering that aims to deliver creative, innovative and socially responsible tech-savvy graduates. This means our graduates leave with a combination of creative, business and theoretical skills and knowledge. As such, the curriculum has four interrelated components: Visual Studies (theory), Marketing (business-related theory), Discourse, and our Creative Majors.

In this context the five majors (Art Direction, Graphic Design, Illustration, Photography and Multimedia Studies) focus on creative and industry-related practical knowledge and skills, with the remaining three components delivering vital context and theory that set our graduates apart in the South African job market.

Visual Studies develops students’ understanding of how historical and contemporary world events have shaped the production of specific images, photographs and designs. They are exposed to European, African and South African forms of visual communication practice and theory, the intention of which is to enable informed decision making in our students’ own creative practice.

Marketing engages with the world of modern marketing where students are introduced to the essential theories and concepts of marketing that are critical to managing profitable customer relationships in an ever-changing marketing and business environment.

Discourse is concerned with design and socially responsible design practice. In this context students are made aware of the power and responsibility that visual communicators have in shaping the way they treat humanity and the earth.

Our tried and tested approach to teaching creative disciplines results in graduates we can be proud of; people who can hit the ground running, while expertly facing the challenges in their new working environments.

Year One

The first year of our degree programme serves as a foundation year, allowing students to have a hands-on experience of all possible majors. In semester one, students do a combination of all five majors. In semester two, they choose two to explore further. This equips them creatively with more than one skill, but most importantly allows them to make an informed choice on their major subject in second year.

SEMESTER 1

• VISUAL COMMUNICATION 1
• VISUAL STUDIES 1
• MARKETING 1
• DISCOURSE 1
• CDP 1

SEMESTER 2