The University of Reading gives students more than what is taught in the classroom, and Caroline made the most of every opportunity that came her way. She studied abroad, took part in the Real Jobs Scheme, and her enthusiasm landed her a full-time design job before she even graduated.

Caroline's passion for graphic design came from hand lettering and the interaction between type and image, which is why she chose to study BA Graphic Communication at Reading.

During the study abroad programme, Caroline carried out three months of digitally-focused work in media design. Studying at Duale-Hochschule Baden-Wuttermburg in Germany gave her the flexibility to expand her knowledge, whilst experiencing a new country.

"I definitely learned a lot going to a country where English isn't their first language. I chose to work on interactive animation projects. Seeing the German students' work opened my eyes to a whole new world of design and the grounded, realistic briefs and solutions they had really inspired me."

The Real Jobs Scheme enabled Caroline to use her skills to carry out work for clients within the University. This experience has impacted her career choices, as she was able to gather real-world work experience while she was studying.

"It was through Real Jobs that I learned designing for designers is very different from designing for consumers. It revealed to me that I enjoy designing for a community that cares about the value of design and is willing to invest in it."

Before her graduation, Caroline had already started her career as a designer at Design Science. Working with the Creative Director, she is working hard to enable and improve science communication and bring about behavioural change through design. Projects so far have included instruction manuals for medical tests, infographics for scientific papers, and a pharmacy campaign to raise awareness on antimicrobial resistance.

Caroline says:

"I would recommend the University of Reading's BA Graphic Communication course to anyone interested in being a serious, thinking designer. Even after graduating, I have heard so much about the outstanding quality of Reading graduates because Reading is serious about design and design research."

Find out more about the BA Graphic Communication course