Graphic Design & Illustration Courses

Our 'Introduction' courses provide a perfect way-in to a creative field.







Illustration is a form of visual communication which often exists alongside text. Illustrations can help to explain or clarify (or sometimes contradict) the words on a page. Most of all, you could say, they bring the message 'alive', by making it more immediate and exciting. For this reason, illustrations are found across books, magazines, newspapers, websites and social media channels.







Learn how to create powerful illustrations on our exciting range of Illustration courses.

Our Introductory courses provide a perfect way-in to a creative field.







The Children’s Book industry is thriving, largely due to rising literacy levels, and a growing awareness of the importance of early childhood education. As a result, Children’s Book creators are in demand.



Our tutors will teach you the many and various skills you’ll need to illustrate books for children - from drawing and painting (analogue and digital), to sequencing and pacing visual narratives.



You'll learn about the children’s publishing sector; gaining a sense of the different genres and markets for children's books, and where your illustration style might fit.

Our 'Introduction' courses provide a perfect way-in to a creative field.







Graphic Design is everywhere; in our books, magazines, and newspapers. Emblazoning packaging at the corner shop to the mall. On our screens- phones, TVs, computers and tablets. To say it’s important would be an understatement.







Don’t just consume. Learn how to use image and type to communicate your messages, emotions and ideas. Beyond this, learn about the movements and styles which have shaped the field of Graphic Design over the years, and how to find your place there.

Procreate is an innovative digital drawing software taking the illustration world by storm! In this workshop you will explore a number of different techniques to create striking illustrations on Procreate.







Please note* you will need your own iPad with Procreate installed, and a stylus such as an Apple Pencil.

Our 'Introduction' courses provide a perfect way-in to a creative field.







Comics – once considered lowbrow, or seen as exclusively for children, now occupy a higher cultural domain. Partly thanks to a re-brand, (as ‘Graphic Novels’), no weighty subject is off-limits. A graphic novel has even been nominated for The Booker Prize!







Alongside official publishing channels, exists a lively ‘zine’ culture, where comic and graphic-novel artists can legitimately self-publish and sell their work through a network of independent shops and fairs.







Learn how to create Comics and Graphic-novels with City Lit, and – once you have developed your practice – how to navigate this thriving sector.

From the early 20th century onwards, the advent of ‘mass’ media – newspapers, magazines, leaflets, packaging - led to some of the most innovative artistic movements in Western culture: Dada, Surrealism, Bauhaus, Punk.







Arguably, these movements (all of which centralised ‘collage’), have had more of a bearing on contemporary graphic design than anything else. Think of the countless adverts, websites, and social media posts which owe a debt to Jamie Reid’s ‘Sex Pistols’ album designs (which, in turn, owe their existence to the Dadaists).







The methodology of collage should therefore play a role in any good design practice.







Our Workshops enable you to take a deep dive into a specific process, media or tool.



They throw the spotlight onto niche areas of the visual communication field, enabling you to hone higher-level skills and gain deeper insights.







Workshops tend to have a practical focus, with little or no theory or context, although this varies by course.