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BA (Hons) Illustration

  • Duration: 3–5 years full-time
  • Placement year: Optional 1 year
  • Course code: W220 (UCAS)
  • Institution code: A66 (UCAS)
Illustration of an overground train on a bridge over a street, with people in the carriages and city buildings either side.
Close-up of a blue and white fabric wrap with the label, showing the LUSH logo, on show.

Meet our Industry Patron – Lush

Meet the Industry Patron for BA (Hons) Illustration – Lush.

For the past 25 years, Lush has pioneered intricate pictorially exciting products such as the fizzing bath bomb, shower jellies and shampoo bars.

Lush places emphasis on the visual and material quality of sustainable final design, building integrated uncomplicated visual statements in antithesis of over-packaging and waste packaging.

Explore our Industry Patrons

Careers and industry

Our BA (Hons) Illustration graduates have created:

  • Children's book illustrations for Penguin, Puffin Books, Macmillan, Nosy Crow, Little Tiger Books, Ladybird, and Flying Eye.
  • Illustrations for esteemed authors such as Philip Ardagh, Enid Blyton and David Olusoga.
  • Editorial Illustrations for The Independent, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Google.
  • Advertising, campaign and promotional materials for Jamie Oliver, Carluccio's, Marks and Spencer, Siemens, Waitrose, Lush, J&B Whisky, Adidas, Sony, Walmart, and Google.
  • Promotional materials and music videos for the music industry for artists such as Enter Shikari, Lice, Pip Blom, Weird Milk, Coach Party and Justin Bieber.
  • Animated content, idents, shorts, music videos and graphics for media production houses such as Channel 4, BBC, Sky TV, Nick Jr, Adult Swim, and MTV.
  • Jewellery, homeware, ceramics and textiles for Tate Modern, John Lewis, Peagreen, and Eudon Choi.

Our alumni are represented by illustration agencies including Jelly London, Folio Illustration, The Artworks, The Greenhouse and The Bright Agency.

Alumni

You can find out more about what some of our BA (Hons) Illustration graduates have been up to since completing their degree at AUB. Explore our alumni stories and profiles below.

A. Crosland holding colourful greetings cards with digital smiley faces, hearts, stars and clouds.

From AUB Illustration student to Creative Director at Scribbler – a conversation with Aisling Crosland

AUB’s BA (Hons) Illustration course has a close relationship with Scribbler as it delivers a live brief...

Colourful playing cards, each with a different object or pattern and pink love hearts.

Playing cards with Creative Direction: How Ben Page blends tabletop gaming with illustrative graphic design

As a person, I find myself creatively drawn to a vague mix of goofy, surreal and whimsical pieces I definitely found this to be the case...

Drawing of butchery

Tom Hovey – BA (Hons) Illustration

I loved my time at AUB. I had just finished a sequential illustration HND which was quite focused...

Inside of a soap shop

Emma Caswell – BA (Hons) Illustration

I decided to base my final project at AUB on multiple briefs for competitions and some self-directed surface patterns...

Figures of naked people

Liv & Dom – BA (Hons) Illustration

Liv & Dom didn’t really happen until the last couple of months of university...

Awards

Our BA (Hons) Illustration students and graduates have gone on to win great things.

2025

  • Winner | D&AD New Blood, Graphite Pencil Award, War Child's Secret 7 – Beck O'Hara (They'll Talk To The Sun)
  • Winner | Pier X Patch one year residency studio space – Kat Harman
  • Winner | Plum Prize, Children's Book Illustration, Scribbler X AUB Card Design – Rachel Ng
  • Winner | SouthernShotty CGandWE competition, first place – Harriet Vincent
  • Highly Commended | New Designers, Affinity Digital Design Award – Léane Ruggli
  • Winner | World Illustration Awards, New Talent Design Product and Packaging – Léane Ruggli
  • Shortlisted | World Illustration Awards, SAA Award for New Talent, Cross Category – Léane Ruggli
  • Highly Commended | Faber FAB Prize – Rachel Ng (The Everyday Bus)
  • Selected | Annecy International Film Festival, Sunrise Film Festival – Chris Duffy (Bear Hunt)
  • Selected | Monstra Festival – Maria Atamas
  • Selected | Cheltenham Awards, War Child's Secret 7 – Ciara Williams, Elana Evans
  • Selected | Julia's House, The Great Tail Trail – l'Eisha Haywood
  • Exhibitor | Poole Pride – Aster Sakalauskaite
  • Featured | ISEB and IAPS Time to Write – Juno Frenzel, Libby Hyde, Rachel Ng, Sezen Munir
Students and alumni have also won the following in the past.
  • Winner | D&AD New Blood, Wood Pencil Award
  • Winners | Pictoplasma (#Secretsidekick)
  • Winners, Highly Commended | The Macmillan Prize
  • Winners, Highly Commended | The Cheltenham Illustration Awards, Student Award
  • Winner, Bronze Award | Creative Conscience
  • Second and Third place, shortlisted | Penguin Book Prize, Children’s Cover Award
  • Finalist | Northern International Illustration Prize
  • Finalist | Lauren Child's Illustration Awards
  • Runner-up | Batsford Art Prize: Illustration
  • Highly Commended | Carmelite Prize

Visiting tutors

The following visiting tutors also contribute to the teaching on the course:

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