What are the differences between an official master's degree and a UB-specific degree?

To find out whether a degree course is right for you, it is not enough simply to ask yourself whether you like the outcomes. It’s worth finding out which tasks recur during your studies and in your work, what difficulties are part of the process, what problems arise in the curriculum, and what projects you’ll need to learn to tackle. Making a better choice means replacing an idealised image of the profession with evidence that’s closer to how the work is actually done.

A simple function within an app may depend on dozens of invisible components. The software receives an action and executes logic; the data reveals what is happening and what happened previously; and, when the problem requires predicting, classifying, recommending or generating a response, an artificial intelligence model may come into play. Understanding a digital product requires distinguishing between these layers and, above all, understanding how they depend on one another.

An interior may appear perfectly resolved on a plan or in a rendering, yet behave very differently once it is put into use. People introduce movement patterns, timetables, noise, objects, maintenance and needs that the final image does not show. That is why designing a space requires relating its function, circulation, atmosphere and materials to something far less static: the life that will take place within it.

Visual communication may draw on graphic design, audiovisual media, illustration or branding to construct meaning, but each discipline plays a different role. Graphic design organises information and visual relationships; audiovisual design adds time and sound; illustration interprets an idea through constructed images; and branding establishes the system that enables meaning and recognition to be maintained across different elements and touchpoints.

A sketch can define the appearance of a character, an object or a setting, but it does not yet contain all the information needed to produce it. In animation, it will need to be developed into shots, poses, timing and movement. In a video game, it must also be integrated into a system with states, rules and technical constraints. There is a chain of translations between the visual idea and the final result.

A product is well designed when it fulfils a function that is relevant to the people and the context for which it was designed, can be used effectively and safely, can be manufactured consistently, and takes into account what will happen during its maintenance, repair and end of life. Its appearance matters, but it cannot compensate for problems relating to usability, ergonomics, production or durability.

A fashion collection isn’t created first and then sold. From the very first decisions, design, brand identity, target audience, materials, costs, timing, communication and sales channels all come into play. The product must have creative coherence, but it must also be accessible to an audience and viable within the brand’s business model.